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 dreadsword
 
Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Gender: Male
 |  | Hrm.... asbestos
< on 12/13/2004 10:41 PM >
|  | | | Did some exploring yesterday in a building abandoned for about 20 years, and encountered some asbestos - partially jacketing an incinerator in one spot, and a nice pile of pipe jackets.
Anyway, this has got me sort of freaked, as none of us were respirated. None of the asbestos was disturbed, and the rooms were ventilated.
Anyone care to share comments or knowledge on this? I know its been discussed before, but I just sort of had to vent.
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Roland
    
Location: Baltimore, MD
Gender: Male
Proud Leader of Brandishing a Firearm on the High Seas UE
| |  | Re: Hrm.... asbestos
<Reply # 1 on 12/13/2004 10:50 PM >
| | | | Well, from what I've heard asbestos usually isn't a problem unless you've been exposed to it for al ong period of time. At least that's what I tell myself after exploring a building with lots of asbestos in it. I've also heard that just breathing in a tiny amount can cause you serious problems often times many years down the road. I've been planning on buying a high quality filter from Home Depot for awhile now, I really need to get around to doing it.
Buildings have two natural enemies- water, and bears. |
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Servo
 
| | Re: Hrm.... asbestos
<Reply # 2 on 12/13/2004 11:32 PM >
| | | | It's cumulative. Being exposed to higher concentrations increases risk, as well as being exposed for longer periods of time. Of course, there are people who were exposed for years and never developed any problems, and then there are people who, for instance, inhaled the dust that came off their spouse's clothing when they came home from working with the stuff and got mesothelioma from that.
There's really no way to tell now if the exposure you had will do any harm. You won't know for 20, 30, or even 50 years down the road. The best bet is to just write this one incident off and wear breathing protection from now on. It's a good idea in general, not just because of asbestos but also because of mold spores, pigeon/rat shit dust, lead paint, and all other manner of nasty airborne contaminants.
That said, if the insulation was mostly intact, not torn to bits, there was not any laying on the ground that would have been kicked up, the area was well-ventilated with a decent breeze, and you didn't touch any of it, you're probably OK. But better to be safe than sorry.
[last edit 12/13/2004 11:34 PM by Servo - edited 2 times]
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el guapo
Location: phx, az
Gender: Male
| | not to freak anyone out
<Reply # 3 on 12/13/2004 11:55 PM >
| | | | but there is no "safe" level of asbestos. the problem with it is that the fibers are so freeking tiny, they get stuck in your lungs. (the little cillia(sp?) things in your lungs and bronchial tubes can't work them out). then the fiber sits there annoying the shit out of the cells, so your lungs start coating them with layer upon layer of scar material. asbestosis is what you end up with later on.
now that i've freaked everyone out... 
the good news: as long as the asbestos had been in place for a while (very likely, since in the US noone uses it anymore), and you weren't being stupid by rolling in it or throwing it around or beating on it or whatever, you are very very likely fine, since any fibers that were floating around are probably long gone.
from: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts61.html
Asbestos mainly affects the lungs and the membrane that surrounds the lungs. Breathing high levels of asbestos fibers for a long time may result in scar-like tissue in the lungs and in the pleural membrane (lining) that surrounds the lung. This disease is called asbestosis and is usually found in workers exposed to asbestos, but not in the general public. People with asbestosis have difficulty breathing, often a cough, and in severe cases heart enlargement. Asbestosis is a serious disease and can eventually lead to disability and death.
Breathing lower levels of asbestos may result in changes called plaques in the pleural membranes. Pleural plaques can occur in workers and sometimes in people living in areas with high environmental levels of asbestos. Effects on breathing from pleural plaques alone are not usually serious, but higher exposure can lead to a thickening of the pleural membrane that may restrict breathing.
mas cerveza, por favor |
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Servo
| | Re: Hrm.... asbestos
<Reply # 4 on 12/14/2004 1:08 AM >
| | | | Posted by el guapo
you are very very likely fine, since any fibers that were floating around are probably long gone.
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That may be true for a well-ventilated area, but in an enclosed area, even if you are careful not to disturb it, it can still be dangerous. The fibers have a nasty habit of hanging in air for a long time.
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Caveman6666
Location: NY
| | | Re: Hrm.... asbestos
<Reply # 5 on 12/14/2004 2:32 AM >
| | | | Yep. Drop into a long abandoned tunnel and flick on the flashlight. Loaded with visible dust particles.
Yet another unoriginal generic UE website. GODDAM! |
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dreadsword
Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Gender: Male
| | Re: Hrm.... asbestos
<Reply # 6 on 12/14/2004 3:21 AM >
| | | | Well, this building was full of holes, with a reasonable air movement (damn cold), so I'd like toi think it will be ok....
Posted by Servo
That may be true for a well-ventilated area, but in an enclosed area, even if you are careful not to disturb it, it can still be dangerous. The fibers have a nasty habit of hanging in air for a long time.
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Servo
| | Re: Hrm.... asbestos
<Reply # 7 on 12/14/2004 3:27 AM >
| | | | Just as a PSA... P100 masks are not difficult to find. You can generally pick them up at hardware stores (Home Depot, Lowe's, and similar) for $25-$35 US. Just make sure it says it's P100 and is rated for asbestos.
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yaggy
Location: Tunnel #8
Gender: Male
| | Re: Hrm.... asbestos
<Reply # 8 on 12/16/2004 8:45 PM >
|  | | | http://www.galleri.../en/product/128701
One-time investment of $30 and you're covered for a long, long time.
These half-face masks are comfortable, secure and with a stock of 100 filters, you're good-to-go for a long time to come. The filters are H-class and include protection from asbestos. Not to mention, in poor-quality conditions such as dusts and lead paint debris, your breathing of clean air will keep you energetic and alert. Can't recommend this mask enough. Get 'em while they're so cheap. The mask w/o filters is worth $50+. The filters are worth about $4ea.
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Servo
| | Re: Hrm.... asbestos
<Reply # 9 on 12/16/2004 8:58 PM >
| | | | Uhh... well I'm not sure about the designation on those. If it doesn't say P100 or N100 on it somewhere, I'm not sure if you want to use it.
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yaggy
Location: Tunnel #8
Gender: Male
| | Re: Hrm.... asbestos
<Reply # 10 on 12/16/2004 9:07 PM >
| | | | Tricky.. it's military/government issue. Who do you trust? Uncle Sam? 3M? Both? Neither? You always hear how private companies have higher standards than the government. But the bottom line is, they've had to have tested with asbestos fibers and mists to determine its ability. I mean, if you're gonna call something water-proof, for instance, you need to at least drop it in water a few times and verify that it works. I feel there's a good barrier between me and crocilodite with my "Comfo II" respirator!
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Servo
| | Re: Hrm.... asbestos
<Reply # 11 on 12/16/2004 9:37 PM >
| | | | Nono, I didn't mean I don't trust them. What I mean is, there are different standards for masks implemented by NIOSH. For instance, it's possible to buy one that's only 95% efficient; it would be rated N95 or P95, and would let more asbestos through than an N100 or P100 mask would. While it may say "For use with asbestos" you can't be sure which rating it is or how effective it is.
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nick santarelli
Location: Ontario
Gender: Male
| | Re: Hrm.... asbestos
<Reply # 12 on 12/29/2004 3:03 PM >
| | | | Hmmm, now I'm getting scared.
I lived in a house with asbestos lined pipes for...11 years, crap, and I moved out just over a year ago now.
I never went around banging stuff off the pipes, but i was still around it a fair bit. Once in a while I would accidentally hit my head or something off the pipes, but i would run upstairs right away (all the pipes were in the basement). Could they have done a lot of damage to my lungs if the asbestos wasn't disturbed that often?
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Captain Midnight
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia
| | Re: Hrm.... asbestos
<Reply # 13 on 12/29/2004 5:18 PM >
|  | | | Posted by nick santarelli
Hmmm, now I'm getting scared.
I lived in a house with asbestos lined pipes for...11 years, crap, and I moved out just over a year ago now.
I never went around banging stuff off the pipes, but i was still around it a fair bit. Once in a while I would accidentally hit my head or something off the pipes, but i would run upstairs right away (all the pipes were in the basement). Could they have done a lot of damage to my lungs if the asbestos wasn't disturbed that often?
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I'm pretty sure they don't use asbestos to insulate pipes, most likely its just fiberglass pipe insulation. Wich is basically the same stuff you probably got behind your walls. The yellow or pink fiberglass insulation is usually wrapped in a jacket made up of white kraft paper bonded to aluminum foil. One of the primary duties of this jacket is to minimize the exposed surface of the actual insulation. In fact if the insulation was installed correctly it should also be taped at every joint, exposing almost no fiberglass at all.
Your lungs are probably fine.
the night time is the right time |
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Caveman6666
Location: NY
| | | Re: Hrm.... asbestos
<Reply # 14 on 12/29/2004 6:08 PM >
| | | | Posted by Captain Midnight
I'm pretty sure they don't use asbestos to insulate pipes |
Not no more. Old houses are full of it.
Yet another unoriginal generic UE website. GODDAM! |
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nick santarelli
Location: Ontario
Gender: Male
| | Re: Hrm.... asbestos
<Reply # 15 on 12/29/2004 8:11 PM >
| | | | Posted by Caveman6666
Not no more. Old houses are full of it.
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Exactly, old houses, you have no idea how old that house was, well neither do I, but i know it was asbestos.
Oh well, what're you gunna do about it now.
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wooble
Location: Surrey, UK
Gender: Male
| |  | Re: Hrm.... asbestos
<Reply # 16 on 12/29/2004 9:45 PM >
| | | | Seeing as the respirator filter topic has come around again, I recently came across some filters for sale rated "P3". While it would appear this has the same meaning as P100 (99.97% particulate matter removed), I've never heard mention of this rating here or elsewhere, which made me hesitate before buying (the filters are a 40mm screw fit, which can be hard to find, so I'm hoping it's just a less-used designation).
Has anybody heard of P3 filters before?
The particular one I'm looking at is the PF10 P3 by Scott Safety.
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