Asbestos Asbestos Asbestos

[Braeden P]

The asbestos was added from the factory in case of any happy wires.

 

[Braeden P]

The asbestos is covered up

 

[Bi11Hudson]

This is not professional advice. It is solely my amateur opinion. Asbestos is naturally occurring. You have inhaled it before. People were hurt by it, but they inhaled it on a daily basis for years. My grade school had pipes above our heads in the basement classroom that dropped asbestos on our heads. We played with it when we were not busy breaking thermometers to play with the mercury while laying across the back window of our mom's car. Asbestos was an original trial lawyer class action scam to explain why people that smoked two packs of cigs a day were having lung problems. Once they started winning against the tobacco companies, asbestos disappeared from the news.

Agreed; Having worked around sheet stock in a foundry, using it as an insulator against grease on the floor when lying on it, I'm not too concerned about the stuff. I have worked on cement asbestos shingles on my house over 40 years. At 70 plus years, I can still breathe well enough to smoke a pack a day. Nobody lives forever, you got to account for how you make a living. Working in a foundry as electrician versus holding down a desk in an air conditioned office. Me, I'm allergic to air conditioning. . . And worked around hot metal most of my life. And been around pipe and hull insulation on ships the rest of the time.

If the asbestos is in sheet form, soft like a piece of cloth or wire insulation, I would consider replacing it if I was working on the wiring. If it is in a "plate" form, like plastic, I would replace it like any other cover plate. Like it cracked or broke. for rigid parts like switches, leave it alone unless it chipped and needed replacement. Modern insulation doesn't hold a candle to asbestos when it comes to heat. And the soft stuff from steel mills, branded "Kao Wool"(?) looks like spun glass insulation, is as, or more, dangerous than asbestos. It just hasn't been in use long enough to link to lung damage.

To quote the "Bard", 'Much ado about nothing'. . .

.

 

[aliva]

If it were mine, I would let it be. The chances of any of the fiber becoming airborne are slim as long as you don't disturb them.

If you are concerned, you can replace the asbestos with plastic insulating sheet. Wear PPE when removing the asbestos and deposit in a sealed plastic bag and dispose of properly.

Leave it alone. Asbestos is harmless unless it disturbed

 

[Eddyde]

FTR a good encapsulator for Asbestos can be made from white glue (Like Elmers) thinned with water. Best applied by spray but can also brushed on, two coats is adequate to stabilize most situations.

Agreed; Having worked around sheet stock in a foundry, using it as an insulator against grease on the floor when lying on it, I'm not too concerned about the stuff. I have worked on cement asbestos shingles on my house over 40 years. At 70 plus years, I can still breathe well enough to smoke a pack a day. Nobody lives forever, you got to account for how you make a living. Working in a foundry as electrician versus holding down a desk in an air conditioned office. Me, I'm allergic to air conditioning. . . And worked around hot metal most of my life. And been around pipe and hull insulation on ships the rest of the time.

If the asbestos is in sheet form, soft like a piece of cloth or wire insulation, I would consider replacing it if I was working on the wiring. If it is in a "plate" form, like plastic, I would replace it like any other cover plate. Like it cracked or broke. for rigid parts like switches, leave it alone unless it chipped and needed replacement. Modern insulation doesn't hold a candle to asbestos when it comes to heat. And the soft stuff from steel mills, branded "Kao Wool"(?) looks like spun glass insulation, is as, or more, dangerous than asbestos. It just hasn't been in use long enough to link to lung damage.

To quote the "Bard", 'Much ado about nothing'. . .

.

I too have been exposed to Asbestos many times since childhood, and still I'm alive. However, because you, me and others have survived exposure doesn't mean it is not a serious health hazard. There is tons of evidence proving it is a deadly carcinogen. Also there is much evidence that susceptibility to cancer is genetic. So if you don't have the cancer gene you might get away with exposure to carcinogens like asbestos but if you have the gene and you get exposed, you might die.
I think it's irresponsible to offer advice of "I didn't get sick so it isn't a problem".

 

[markba633csi]

Agree with Bear, I would just coat on some Varathane or something and leave it at that
-Mark

 

[FOMOGO]

Spray on clear acrylic seems like it would work well. Fairly inexpensive, and leaves a plastic like finish. Probably no worse or better than other coatings, but something I always have at hand. Mike

 

[Braeden P]

I already sprayed it with liquid rubber because I had some might use some other stuff on the other parts.

 

[Ultradog MN]

I think it's irresponsible to offer advice of "I didn't get sick so it isn't a problem".

And I think it is irresponsible for people who are scared of Everything to try to make others scared of everything too.
The asbestos lawsuits have milked Billions of dollars out of American industry and are a great example of why we aren't competitive any more.
So now instead of a Monarch, Leblond. or Bridgeport we get crappy stuff from China.
That tiny bit of asbestos, enclosed under an electrical cover will Never hurt anyone. But the fear of Everything in life will.

 

[Eddyde]

And I think it is irresponsible for people who are scared of Everything to try to make others scared of everything too.
The asbestos lawsuits have milked Billions of dollars out of American industry and are a great example of why we aren't competitive any more.
So now instead of a Monarch, Leblond. or Bridgeport we get crappy stuff from China.
That tiny bit of asbestos, enclosed under an electrical cover will Never hurt anyone. But the fear of Everything in life will.

I'm not scared of anything, except maybe women that are 6" taller than me, but aside from them, nothing.
But that doesn't mean I am not going to be cautious with known toxins and dangerous materials. That's not fear, it's being smart about self preservation. I find it an interesting phenomenon that some people think just because something won't kill you immediately it isn't somehow isn't as deadly. I assume you wouldn't be so foolish as to handle cyanide without proper PPE, Right? Because it can kill you in a minute, so why be careless when it comes to something that can kill you in years or decades? You'll be just as dead in the end.

Johns Manville corporation, a leading litigant in the asbestos lawsuits is still in business and doing well. So Asbestos had little or nothing to do with the decline in US manufacturing, greed is what did that. Corporations simply realizing they could make more profits by making their products elsewhere. Manufacturing left so the machine tool industry collapsed. Nothing to do with asbestos or lawsuits.