Asbestos

[MutineerParticipant 1467]

Today i found out i’ve been exposed to asbestos dust for quite some time. It’s highly likely i’ve breathed that crap in. Initially, i was apoplectic with rage but now an inexplicable calm has descended.

Anyone know if the duration or amount of exposure influences the onset of Mesothelioma? I’m still a relatively young man so i worry about having it in middle age. Apparently, it takes a minimum of 15 years before there are any symptoms. It could also take as long as 30-40 years to manifest, according to Wikipedia.

I know some of you guys work in construction so maybe you have some knowledge on the subject?

"The secret to happiness is freedom... And the secret to freedom is courage." - Thucydides

[PistolPeteParticipant 27143]

Don’t worry about it —it was widely used in this country for decades; some people are susceptible–a little dust and they die and others could snort it and nothing happens. If it begins killing you hire a lawyer and your heirs and assignee’s will live very well for the rest of their lives.

[hmskl’dParticipant 6406]

I worked in the power generation industry long ago and was involved with insulating of high temperature areas. We were careful wearing positive pressure protection etc, but, there was still what I now know was fairly long term exposure at some level throughout the area.
I haven’t had any noticeable trouble over decades. That’s all I can say as it relates to my personal experience. I was also exposed to lead fumes quite a number times, more times than I can recall, as industrial paint hit hot metal during construction and repair. Nothing has happened there either.

[AutoliteParticipant]

As young kids in elementary school we would play with raw asbestos in art class. We would mold it into masks and wear them on our faces. That was over fifty years ago.

Many years later I had a job where we used raw asbestos to mold seals for the joints in furnace ducts. We didn’t even think about wearing any PPE.

I was also exposed to it in the military when they replaced the insulation in the hanger where I was working at the time. And that was almost 30 years ago.

No ill effects at this point in life. Like PP says, don’t worry about it. There’s just no way of knowing how much exposure is dangerous or who will be affected by it. I read about a kid who died after one single exposure from helping his dad do a clutch change.

I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it…

[Chris1234Participant 353]

My dad, had it on the lungs (called plasma or something). Hes also lost friends to it. It wasn’t the asbestos that killed him and it didn’t really cause him too many issues later in life. He was exposed to it in an era where there was absolutely no awareness about the dangers so people were breathing in s~~~ loads of the dust. He was telling me stories of people sweeping up the dust/off cuts without any protection and you could see the dust in the air. The number of people who were exposed to it (almost everyone he worked with) compared to the number of people who were killed is relatively low.
I’m sure I’ve been exposed to it doing work on old houses in the past as well (demolishing old bathrooms etc). I think recently there’s been massive progress in drug treatments which stall the growth of mesothelioma so if it does get me in 15-20 years hopefully there’s treatment available.
The way I look at it is there’s nothing that can be done to past exposure so I try not to worry about it, I just make sure I’m careful if I’m in a situation where I could be exposed to it in the future.
You can’t worry about something in the past which may not even be an issue in the future.

[FrostByteParticipant 19005]

Asbestos is only dangerous when it is airborne. It needs to be cut or destroyed in a way that causes it be small inhalable particles. The particles are like spears that (naturally) line up when inhaled and imbed themselves in the lungs. The lungs react to this specific type of damage with emphysema or cancer. Being around abestos is not dangerous until it sawed or whatever makes it airborne.

If you rescue a damsel in distress, all you will get is a distressed damsel.

[MutineerParticipant 1467]

Thanks for the advice fellas. It’s another reason to live in the moment and make the most of life.

"The secret to happiness is freedom... And the secret to freedom is courage." - Thucydides

[AutoliteParticipant]

Mutineer wrote:

Thanks for the advice fellas. It’s another reason to live in the moment and make the most of life.

Yes exactly! I mean you try and look after yourself and avoid known hazards but don’t waste time worrying about things that you can do absolutely nothing about.

Life is based far more on uncontrollable fate than we really like to think about. So I just try and to not think about it so much. 😀

A person at the end of their life was once asked; “What is your biggest regret in life”? The answer was; “All the time spent worrying about the stuff that just never happened”…

[Author]

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