Anyone know anything about asbestos?

[Hasty8]

I do know that asbestos is definetly NOT alive.

Thank you Mango. As always, your input is both insightful and unique.

[GT]

What are the chances I have it?

Dude,
your fine, we work with the stuff at work all the time, well the contractors do the actual "work."

I wouldnt be suprised if your school or other large older buildings you have been in have asbestos. More than likley the building you were in had trace amounts in the floor and celling tile as well as the mastic. You didnt sand down the floor remodel the place?

ONE asbestos fiber, smaller than than the human eye can see, if ingested in the lung can (and will) produce cancer.

If that were true it would be one of the most dangerous minerals on the planet, and there would be allot more casses of cancer.

[Thordic]

Its not really surprising a lawyer would try to inflate the dangers of asbestos. After all, lawyers have made millions off of asbestos.

There are three types of asbestos:

• Chrysotile or white asbestos comes mainly from Canada.

• Amosite, or brown asbestos, comes from southern Africa.

• Crocidolite, or blue asbestos, comes from Australia and southern Africa.

"White" asbestos makes up roughly 90% of the asbestos that was used in the US. Most of the other 10% is "Blue" asbestos, I believe.

In any case, "white" asbestos is MUCH less harmful than "blue" asbestos. So 90% of the asbestos in the country, while not harmless, is MUCH less likely to lead to cancer / long-term health issues than the remaining 10%.

So odds are, even if you are exposed to asbestos, you have a 9 in 10 chance of it being the much less harmful kind.

[Thordic]

And a lawyer is impartial about asbestos, especially when his firm does asbestos litigation?

Baron & Budd Announces $6.4 Million Verdict for Family of Cleveland Asbestos Victim

Manhattan Jury Awards $47 Million Asbestos Verdict

San Francisco Jury Awards $33.7 Million To Former Navy Electrician

And lastly...

$250 Million Asbestos Verdict Awarded Against U.S. Steel

And we are supposed to believe you as an impartial bystander presenting unbiased views here? Seems like there is good money in asbestos litigation. How much does your firm get? 30%? 50%?

I might as go ask Bill Gates whether Windows or UNIX would be a better choice for an operating system.

[TheTramp]

Post links Tramp. Time and again, I post a fact, I provide the link. I could pull names out of my keister as well but without links they are worthless.

Out of my keister, right. Do your own homework if you care so much.

And I can say that you can always tell when an attorney is lying by checking to see if their lips are moving.

You're just a tool. Or perhaps another Shartly but even more offensive and nasty. Just what we need.

Like I said, play in friable asbestos for all I care.

Just do keep in mind, you really seem to be falling into the trap that all lawyers are bad and all lawsuits are frivolous.

[Lohman446]

My general feelings on Asbestos - and no I don't have the links to back them.

Asbestos is a dangerous material - if it were as dangerous as some of the lawyers would have you beleive its a miracle that anyone in America is alive, considering its widespread use on a variety of applications.

[GT]

Baron & Budd Announces $6.4 Million Verdict for Family of Cleveland Asbestos Victim
Manhattan Jury Awards $47 Million Asbestos Verdict
San Francisco Jury Awards $33.7 Million To Former Navy Electrician
$250 Million Asbestos Verdict Awarded Against U.S. Steel

Civil law and hard science are to completly different topics. Go see what NIOSH says about occupational exposure to asbestos....

[Thordic]

I only posted those links to show why The Tramp would be biased in his viewpoints on asbestos, since he said he works for a firm that does asbestos litigation. Edited my post to make it more clear.

I don't think its anywhere near as dangerous as lawyers and some others make it out to be. Science tends to back up my viewpoint.

[GT]

Science tends to back up my viewpoint.

True,
Most of these cases are really old or the company refused to implamnet the new safety regs. I beleive there is still a case aganist a subsid of haliburton that is still in court from the 70's. So just because the case was settled today doesnt mean the event occured recently.

[Python14]

So what are exactly are we arguing over?

How much asbestos can the human body take before it dies?

Anyone wanna test?

Moral of the post: Yall are being children. Don't mess with Asbestos....simple as that.

Seriously....yall are almost as bad as PBN.

[cphilip]

There is one rare cancer that is caused by Asbestos exposure. My older Sister died from this a couple of years back. Mesothelioma. It has a very long latency period. She never worked with it at all. It is suspected that she was exposed due to demolition and reconstrucion in a adjoining building that she worked in. Apparently the Asbestos removal was not done to specification allowing dust to exscape the work area over into the area she resided in. This was done at a large Airforce Base in Tampa Florda where she worked as a civil servant for SOCOM Command. She was diagnosed with it and later one lung was removed. However before she could start Chemotherapy it was found to have spread from the one to the other and then into the plural cavity. From the time of diagnosis and symptoms onset until she died was about one year. Which is fairly quick for this normaly slow spreading cancer. Some of you may recall that I spent 6 months down there helping my Brother in Law nurse her until she died.

http://www.mesotheliomaweb.org/mesothelioma.htm

Again.. not everyone is suseptable to Mesothelioma but only a few fibers can trigger it in a person suseptable to develop it.

Unfortunately many buildings were designed for it as a primary fire protection. So that removing it can make that building suseptable to fires. If its not friable and can be sealed and encapsulated, its best to do that. And when needed it must be professionaly removed and it is buried in a lined landfill. It is a mined mineral. So from wence it came it returns.

There are also many forms of non friable Asbestos. Things like Asbestos tiles and sidings. It was also impregnated into caulking. All these forms are farily stable and do not aerosol easily and are fairly safe if not dry sanded or disturbed by scraping.

The most dangerous of course is the ones that become airborne particles. So they can be breathed in. Like the fluffy spray one that is commonly used to coat beams and panels. Most often this can be sprayed over with epoxy to encapsulate it until such time as it might be removed. But often its not practicle nor safe to remove it and not redesign the fire protection of the building. There is no replacement that works as well. And many times it was figured into the building plans so its dangerous to remove it.

[HoppysMag]

many public buildings still have asbestos tiles. there is asbestos all over the place, and in the end when all the money hungry lawyers and stupid people are done, we will see its not that big of a deal if we make a few changes.

[cphilip]

If that were true it would be one of the most dangerous minerals on the planet, and there would be allot more casses of cancer.

It is true... if your one of the people suseptable to forming Mesothelioma. But no one knows how to tell a suseptable person from an non suseptable one. It's not understood. The cancer itself is rare. But... its ownly known cause is Asbestos.

[cphilip]

many public buildings still have asbestos tiles. there is asbestos all over the place, and in the end when all the money hungry lawyers and stupid people are done, we will see its not that big of a deal if we make a few changes.

What we have learned from the days of going in and wildly trying to get it all out is that we exposed people to more danger. Since those days we have adopted a more resonable approach which includes identification and labeling, encapsulation, and only removal when needed or when renovation or demolition demands it. Its best sealed and left alone until it's more favorable time to remove it. If it's encapulated and left alone it can do more good than harm.

[paintbattler]

Thanks guys. I don't know if this makes any difference in it or what, but all the walls were like torn apart and there was nasty stuff still on the ground. It basically looked like a tsunami went through there. From what I remember, there was insulation hanging down and I am pretty sure that I touched some of it...This is not good is it?