On Thu, 24 Feb 2005 11:36:02 +0000, Cuprager wrote:


Not picking on you but what if the op had broke apart the board going by
your advice, had a good look to see if there were fibers there, maybe
passed the bit of board to his wife who had the kids at her feet to have
a look... not a nice thought, is it?

Why ever not? Assuming it was an asbestos containing board it is
most likely Chrysotile cement - the risk from a single incident of
breaking up a dozen sheets of this with an angle grinder in a sealed
room and then holding a line dance in the debris is for all practical
purposes as close to zero as makes no difference. Given the total
disregard for asbestos in the past if occasional exposure was so
hazardous we should all be long-dead. Even ironing boards contained
asbestos. In the very unlikely event of it being Amosite or
Crocidolite (almost impossible) the chances of harm from taking a
small sample are still negligible. Even in the USA - where asbestos
litigation is rife - the recommended way of a householder taking a
sample of _any_ suspect material (serpentine or amphibole) to send
off for analysis is:-

*Only the person taking the sample should be in the room. That person
should be wearing rubber gloves.

*Shut down air conditioning, fans, or any other ventilation systems
that would blow fibers around.

*Before you begin, prepare the material by wetting it lightly. Wet
fibers are much less likely to become airborne than dry ones.

*Do not disturb the material any more than is required to take a
small sample.

*The sample should include the full depth of the dampened material,
though should be quite small.

*Store the sample in a clean sample container (35mm film canister,
small glass, plastic vial, or whatever container comes in the kit).

*After the sample is in the container - tightly seal it.

*Use a damp paper towel to clean up any material on the outside of
the container or spilled onto the floor.

*Cover the hole created by removing the sample with a small piece of
duct tape to prevent further spread of fibers.

Note - No need for masks or disposable overalls if you don't make a
living doing this procedure.

However, asbestos products, particularly those containing the
amphibole group forms, are without any doubt the greatest single
cause of fatal _industrial_ injury.

There is also no doubt that the risk from all forms is largely
related to the amount and the period of exposure. Asbestos diseases
follow a dose–response relationship curve. The more asbestos you
inhale the greater your risk of contracting an asbestos–related
disease.

http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/causdis/occ8000.pdf

The risk of occasional exposure is not zero but it is very small. The
vast majority of the approximately 3,000 asbestos related deaths in
the uk each year are amongst people who worked in industries where
they were exposed to large amounts of asbestos fibre for many years.

http://www.coeh.man.ac.uk/teaching_l...s/asbestos.php is
worth reading as well.

Chrysotile Asbestos is a hazard - it has the potential to cause harm.
However occasional exposure carries an extremely low risk.


--
Peter Parry.
http://www.wpp.ltd.uk/