Asbestos, how do you handle it in the industry?

[goosen]

Another thread on this horrible subject. I renovated a house from -65 and have been worried after everything was completed. Especially since now living in the house with children, etc.

I sent in 10-15 material analyses during the renovation, and only 1 came back positive—hard sealant around windows.

Besides this, I have torn down, drilled, and sanded other materials that I haven't tested.

- Plastered walls in the basement never occurred to me that there might be asbestos in the plaster, mortar for a built-in wall, concrete I've worked on, tar paper I’ve torn down, etc., etc.

The tricky thing with this hellish subject is that you can never be sure, NEVER. The guy who built one basement wall might not have thrown in a handful of asbestos in the mortar while the one who did the opposite wall used asbestos in his mortar.

I've read everything there is to read about asbestos and don't understand why the issue is not taken more seriously. Fantastic statistics from @academia among others.

But to my question. How do you plumbers, carpenters, electricians, etc., handle it? Do you test the plaster in every wall you drill into on every construction site? Do you test the tile adhesive behind the bathroom mirror you're about to install? Do you test every carpet, vinyl flooring, sealant, mortar that you ever come into contact with? Many I've spoken to shrug it off and say a little asbestos isn't so dangerous.

The risks are known, one exposure can be lethal, multiple exposures increase the risk. The dust also spreads even after your work is done, affecting children and young people. Children who, after exposure, can potentially develop mesothelioma in their 30s. There are many cases where young people have already died.

Many private individuals are completely unaware of asbestos and it's free-rein to tear things down any way they want.

Talk that asbestos is harmless if you don’t disturb it also bothers me. Consider a vinyl mat with a base of pure asbestos. Every time someone walks on it, fibers must be released that work their way up around moldings, etc. Eternit window sills full of scratches and chips that have come off.

I can't figure it out, one moment it's deadly dangerous, yet barely anything is done about it. 100 people a year die from mesothelioma. Despite it being 44 years since the ban.

 

[Mikael_L]

But to my question. How do you plumbers, carpenters, electricians, etc. do it? Do you test the plaster on every wall you drill into on all construction sites? Do you test the tile adhesive behind the bathroom mirror you are installing? Do you test every carpet, vinyl floor, grout, mortar that you ever come into contact with?

I am an electrician, so I basically don't encounter it to any great extent.
No, I don't test anything, send nothing for testing.
But if I know it's asbestos, or suspect it, then I think it is smart to put on a respirator if I have to work with the material. Maybe not even that if I'm just screwing in a screw or drilling a small hole.

Many of those I have talked to shrug their shoulders and say that a little asbestos is not so dangerous.

Well, that's about how I think.
A little over 30 years ago, all the craftsmen worked with this stuff, in this stuff, but they didn't drop like flies everywhere. Many craftsmen died at that time, but almost exclusively from workplace accidents.
You have to think about risk assessment, I think.

The risks are known, one exposure can be fatal, multiple exposures increase the risk. The dust spreads even after your work is done and affects children and young people. Children who, after exposure, can potentially develop mesothelioma in their 30s. There are already many cases where young people have died.

Now you're exaggerating, you're reading places intended to scare you, not be factual.
The truth is that even those who worked daily producing asbestos materials, asbestos-containing products, and stood 8 hours a day in dust that was pure London fog, even among these, cancer was not very common.
The most common affliction, painfully, and many died, was asbestosis, equivalent to silicosis (stone dust lung), for which large and prolonged exposure is required, i.e. full-time occupational exposure. The occurrence of new cases of asbestosis is practically zero.
And it is about as serious to expose yourself to other dust from very small mineral particles.

And lung cancer due to asbestos is also very rare today, and if you think it's deadly to inhale some asbestos fibers, it is not very comforting to know that every day you are in a regular Swedish urban environment, you inhale about 1000 asbestos fibers.

Of course, one should not be stupid and ignorant, if you know it's asbestos, or suspect it, and it needs to be worked on to a greater extent (sawed, broken apart, sanded, etc.), then at least wear a respirator, and then clean the areas well, wet wipe with cloths that are then disposed of.
If it's really big jobs, one can consider bringing in a demolition professional, who handles everything.

But it is probably worse for your health to have panic feelings over this material, which somehow has become greatly exaggerated in terms of its danger.

Quit smoking, or reduce alcohol (if either is consumed) to extend life and health much more significantly.

 

[Intet]

As a plumber long ago, we tore out villa boilers and insulation with great enthusiasm. We stuck the knife into the insulation and ripped it open without any protection whatsoever. Much later, when I realized that there was asbestos panic among an unfortunate group of people, I asked my old colleagues if they or anyone they knew of had been affected by "asbestsjador." None. Not a single one has. Despite standing in swirling asbestos dust all day, at least for a decade.

So, yes. The completely unfounded asbestos phobia has clearly affected you.

Other occupational groups who worked in asbestos-laden air were/are:

- Locomotive/car repairers.
- Subway personnel.
- Carpenters.
- Etc.

It should be added that of those in the eternit factories who died, almost all were smokers. This was not considered when the statistics were compiled.