Asbestos Asbestos Asbestos

[Richcan22]

So on my lathe in the electrics the covers have asbestos on them. So my question is should I let if be or coat it in something to stop any of it from getting airborne?

You can just spray with a clear coat to keep from being airborne. There’s also an entrapment spray but as long as you don’t disturb it will be fine. Depends on the appearance you can spray with 3M Super 77 or something like that.

 

[WobblyHand]

Proper encapsulation to prevent the fibers from getting airborne is all that is necessary. This protects you. If it is easy to remove (safely) just do it. If not, nearly any encapsulation, rubber, paint, glue, etc. will work. Asbestos, while a wonder material, used for insulation, filler material in tiles and brake linings, gets trapped in your lungs. There it sits irritating the lung tissue. Many people can get lung cancer from it. Some luck out.

My Dad worked in the Charlestown Navy Yard as an electrician and was exposed to a lot of asbestos. The Navy (since it was WWII) was trying to crank out ships. No respirators. Dad knew there was asbestos. Eventually it got him, but it was much, much later. He never was afraid of asbestos. When cleaning out the house, I had to dispose of a roll of asbestos "paper". Stuff was (and still is) an awesome insulator, but would powder if you folded it, cut it, or looked at it cross-eyed. Not worth the health risk to me.

 

[WobblyHand]

Local history: Johns-Manville operated an asbestos factory in Nashua from 1900-1985. During that time, Johns-Manville offered "free-of-charge" asbestos waste to anyone who asked. Many people took up the offer for this waste to serve as "clean fill". Consequently there are a lot of "asbestos dumps" in the area. Not all of them documented. People still discover these sites. (Or re-discover...) NH Asbestos When digging in my yard, I had to be on the lookout for "odd looking" materials. Fortunately, I haven't found any.

J M is still in business. They declared bankruptcy, perhaps to reduce their liability. Whether one considers this good or bad depends on your point of view. You can read about some of it on Wikipedia. Johns-Manville History There are links to Johns Manville corporate on the wikipedia site as well.

 

[Janderso]

Wasn't it around 1977 asbestos became a known health concern?
I remember we had asbestos blankets for welding shields in high school.
The guys in the shop use to blow the dust off brake parts. The shop would have billowing clouds of rusty colored asbestos and metal dust.
It took decades to work out a good replacement for brake pads. IMHO and experience.

 

[WobblyHand]

@Janderso around that time it became public, but it was actually known to be an issue much earlier. I worked as a kid in a tire place and we did brake work. My Dad warned me not to use air to get rid of the dust in the drums. Everyone else used air. I'd dump the fines into a barrel, trying not to get near the cloud. Asbestos was in lots of things. It was really useful. Too bad the friable fibers are a slow and silent long term hazard.

The first few generations of brake pads after asbestos weren't that good... Got to agree with you.

 

[MrWhoopee]

When I was a kid, I was always tinkering with something. At some point my dad got me a couple of 18x24x2 asbestos pads for doing torch work. They were like rigid fiberglass bats. I used them for all sorts of stuff, cut pieces out of them etc. Much later I bought a house encased in asbestos-cement tiles in their original (unpainted) condition. Home improvements required me to do some drilling and cutting, not to mention removing the asbestos insulation from old heating ducts. I'll be 70 in a couple of months and my lungs are still clear. But then, I've never smoked tobacco....

 

[Janderso]

When I was a kid, I was always tinkering with something. At some point my dad got me a couple of 18x24x2 asbestos pads for doing torch work. They were like rigid fiberglass bats. I used them for all sorts of stuff, cut pieces out of them etc. Much later I bought a house encased in asbestos-cement tiles in their original (unpainted) condition. Home improvements required me to do some drilling and cutting, not to mention removing the asbestos insulation from old heating ducts. I'll be 70 in a couple of months and my lungs are still clear. But then, I've never smoked tobacco....

The lungs ability to clean themselves is compromised by tobacco smoke. As i tecall the little hairs are stunned.
Im luck also, never smoked.
It made me cough and smell.
Gee such fun

 

[stupoty]

Spray application means your not brushing it around and braking it up.

I worked someware that had had a lot of asbestos removed and after the removal they applied a spray coating to everything in the area, cables , pipes , walls (was in a service area).



Stu

 

[Bi11Hudson]

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".

First off, it wasn't intended as advice. Further, my comment was not "I didn't get sick so it isn't a problem". It was more a matter of what wll get to me first, the asbestos, the foundry sand and sandblasting(silicosis), my tobacco which I dearly enjoy, or riding a motorcycle across two states to have a cup of coffee at 03: AM, or something entirely unexpected. In essence, I faced my mortality when I was in the military ('68-'74) and am not afraid of dying. There are so many ways to expire, the only safe method is to stay in bed and have 24/7 attendance.

But even that isn't 100% safe. So we arise each day, give thanks for being alive, and pursue our day doing whatever we consider a priority. My concern isn't for my life, it is for the machines surrounding me. Washing parts in gasoline while smoking doesn't scare me, but I don't do it because the fire would burn down the shop, likely the residence, and quite probably the neighbor's house. The wife would be quite ill over the mess. Plus many of my models date from the '50s and '60s. Since they're in the same building as the shop, those older and "one of a kinds" would be a total loss.

I could retire to the country and become a "gentleman farmer" which actually implies that it's my stuff and someone else doing the work. But "Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my" can do just as much damage as the fire. But that requires a great deal of moola. Bill Gates might have that kind of money, but Bill Hudson certainly doesn't. So, life goes on and I make my little bit of a mark on history. I have made my mark and am looking for something to best it. Haven't found it yet, but I'm still looking at grass from the green side.

.

 

[Ultradog MN]

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.

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.

In this whole thread there is a lot of fear - over a tiny piece of asbestos, which is inside an enclosed motor control, that hasn't been opened in how many years and won't be opened again for how long?
Your allusion to cyanide was pure hyperbole, intended to instill fear in others.
Yep. Just looking at asbestos in a photograph behind glass is enough to cause mesothelioma and you will immediately die a horrible death and your loved ones will be cast away like leaves upon a stormy sea.
I see the same kind of fearsome talk on the tractor boards and it makes me wonder how some people can get out from under their bed in the morning...