I've been exposed to asbestos

[merlin50]

yes we are all doomed, the school i went to had some asbestos class rooms our farm buildings had asbestos roofs, and lots of the temporary houses were built from asbestos, the science lab at school was full of the stuff. even the ironing board was made from asbestos.

 

[ladylola]

Yes the last course I went on left pretty much everyone thinking. Maybe that cough or slight pain or bit of cartarh is asbestosis because as Crank has so rightly pointed out it CAN be just one fibre and all the places we've worked in probably exposed us to some degree and then there's brake shoes (well older cars anyway) wearing away every time a vehical brakes and where does that dust go? Out onto the roads, and then there's dust from landfills - we were told some sites actually remove the asbestos from bags before burying!
Without a doubt we're all doomed.
But back to the case in hand , yes the school has been lapse with their paper work i.e. not showing or informing you of the registar and reports but on the plus side your exposure has been very minimal at worst, probably at more risk driving home .

 

[Nige F]

I am quite sure that when a site has been surveyed and asbestos found they have to have a asbestos registrar and place notices up in the affected areas advising you of it,, the school will have a diary of any injuries or accidents so make sure you register it with them

They sure do - @ a hospital in a seaside town , built mid 70`s - every window reveal has a little sticker N. London hospital has sodding Astos/cement huts joined by half open corridors - not 1 sticker anywhere . Yes I get round a few hospitals , but my favourite was the Victorian one I used to live in for a time

 

[crank39]

Used to drop the waste off at the transfer station and everytime i saw them pick the bags up off the floor with a mechanical grab the bags always ripped and AIB and cement fell everywhere, made me wonder why the strippers spent all that time double bagging, taping, spraying each bag when they just go and treat it like this.

Asbestos fibres are so fine they reckon in a sealed room it can take upto 4 hrs for asbestos dust to settle, with a bit of a draught it'll probably never settle thats why it can travel for miles and miles if out in the open, for this reason IMO you'll be breathing it in everytime you go out, some people will contract lung cancer and some won't, its pot luck it seems.

I also remember an article in our local paper some years back when a 28 year old woman died through breathing the dust in, turned out she used to take a short cut through some industrial area on the way to school and was breathing it all in

 

[joinerjohn]

There have been recent cases in our local rag about deaths from asbestosis. The latest one reported this week was of a 74yr old who died recently. Others included an 86yr old and a 77 yr old. They all were exposed to asbestos in their working lives, whether they worked for the railways or in power stations etc.
Now,, not wishing to sound unsympathetic, but I hope I live to be 74 yrs old.
Quite honestly if you have been exposed to asbestos, from these reports , I wouldn't worry unduly about it.

 

[Mickymoody]

Micky you're wrong, well according to the guy that hosted the last asbestos awarenes course i went on you are and i've been on two, the second was a more intensive course, i have also been on a 3 day asbestos operatives course too.

In theory it CAN take just one fibre but in the real world you are very unlikely to just breathe in one fibre.

Asbestos dust, consisting of millions of tiny airborne fibers, floats in the air and gets into the lungs. The body responds by forming scar tissue when small asbestos fibres are inhaled. Extensive scar tissue formation is what can lead to lung cancer, asbestosis, and malignant mesothelioma.

Once inside the body, asbestos fibres can increase in size due to ferrugination, or the permeation of iron in the fibre. When an asbestos fibre lodges itself in a lung, the body's immune system tries to fight it.

The body has cells called macrophages in the immune system, which exist to absorb, or eat, foreign particles or bacteria in the body. When an asbestos fibre gets into the lung, the macrophages try to absorb, or eat the fiberes. But remember, asbestos fibres are slivers of crystal rock, so the macrophage is unable to destroy or absorb an asbestos fibre. The fibre continues to travel throughout the lung, causing scar tissue. The macrophage attack on the asbestos fibre also leaves iron deposits and causes the fibre to increase in size due to ferrugination so as you can see it really CAN be just one fibre to kill you

You contradict yourself, then prove what I am saying...why disagree, when in fact you agree?

 

[wotan]

Is there ANYTHING that you like about that job SS? I've NEVER seen a single member on here spout so much shyte about his employer. You're either very unlucky or a trouble maker. I ain't made my mind up but I'm swayed toward the later.

I rather suspect an opportunist, trying to milk the school for compensation, almost everyone has at some time or other been in contact with asbestos.

Wotan

 

[Alarm]

Although it does smack of a possible claim and reason to leave the job he clearly dislikes. The fact is he was exposed without adequate information being provided.
He should have made the checks himself, being the "person in charge" of minor works. The school should have provided more easily available information.

Court wise both to blame IMHO.

Personally hated contracting to schools. Think one person got it right.
"They dont turn up or try to leave all day, at night break in"

Parenting is to blame there, simple as!

 

[ferdinand2000]

I have unknowingly come into contact with asbestos on the school premises, whilst working as a site supervisor (caretaker).

having worked there for 2 months, i've only just found out a week ago.

the report shows that I have come into contact with a rope seal around a Boiler access hatch'

The school has an 'Asbestos Report', but had hidden it from me, as I was the one who was to be doing the "DIY" drilling etc. around the school.

Moving on from the debates about whether it does, or doesn't kill you, and how many bits of what it takes...

Lost my dad last year to mesothelioma last year, and the cause has been put down to exposure to asbestos while stand-in supervisor for a job as a Borough Architect in 1970-71 for a couple of months - the only real exposure anyone can find. Not working on the stuff - visiting site daily during construction, crawling through equipment rooms etc. The Council have admitted liability.

Record - concisely and in a way which will *last* - what has happened, with photos if you have them, a copy of the report, names, letters etc, on decent paper. Put it in an envelope, get the date witnessed by a colleague, and file it with your bundle of legal papers (will, pension plans etc). It won't take long to do, and no need to tell anyone.

Then just keep it - in case anything happens in 30-40 years. Your family may need the records. Or we hope they won't, but if they do they will appreciate your thoroughness.

Ferdinand

 

[Mw Roofline]

Imagine after 4 pages of this the OP forgot to tell us he's late 70's

 

[Mickymoody]

'Exposure' tends to reflect a continual exposure to the material, not one single fibre.

 

[joe-90]

No it doesn't. If you are 'exposed' to radiation it might just be once as in a bomb or leak. Go to bed Mick.

 

[sooey]

When I was an apprentice mechanic many years ago, we used to remove the brake drums on a service and blow all the dust out from the brake linings with an airline. 'orrible taste it was, after doing that virtually all the way through my apprenticeship the advice came that wet cloths should be used to wipe them out instead. Later again brake linings with asbestos in were banned. Who can I sue???
Dangermouse has summed this guy up on the other thread I reckon.

 

[wotan]

At least friction material that contained asbestos, did not wear your discs and drums, away as quick as the present day materials do.

 

[sooey]

At least friction material that contained asbestos, did not wear your discs and drums, away as quick as the present day materials do.

Oh, well that'll be a comfort for all those old spanner monkies families after they've snuffed it with the asbestos lurgy.