It seems that whenever there is asbestos on a job, I wind up pissing off the customer by insisting that the letter of the law be followed.
I get a lot of resistance, attitude, and “I’m not concerned about my health” comments, I’ll just get someone else to do it.
I’ve been around it way too much as have most of you other contractors. I don’t want to breathe in any more. The average HO hasn’t been around it like we have and the “little” bit on his house is “no big deal”.
Makes me feel like a jerk, but I know I’m right.
Replies
http://www.workershealth.com.au/facts001.html
http://www.nohsc.gov.au/PDF/Standards/AsbestosGuide.pdf
http://www.nsw.gov.au/fibro/brochure.asp
Not US standards but in Australia we have massive amounts of asbestos and it's taken very seriously. (thanks James Hardie)
When I remove asbestos sheet I use a pump up weed sprayer and spray it as I break it, as well as disposable overalls with hood and resparatory equipment.(facemask) I enclose the area if possible with plastic sheeting and when finished throw the overalls and gloves in and fold plastic inwards.
If the asbestos is loose (friable) I wouldn't touch it. Get specialists.
Hope this helps somewhat.
Edited 8/4/2006 8:23 pm ET by Richard1
What kinds of situations do you typically run into?
My grandfather was a union carpenter for at least 35 years, he told me of the times when they used to cut sheets of this stuff in closed rooms and no masks. Said the dust was so thick you couldn't see two feet in front of your face.
He died of it, asbestosis, he had heart problems for years and no one could figure out why. Got tested and found out about it, it was obviously too late.
This stuff is no joke.
What's wrong with me? I could ask you the exact same thing.
You are right. No one dreamed it up out of thin air, the realization of the danger came about when people died and there was a search for a cause.
My husband died last November of mesothelioma from sawing/installing cement-asbestos soffits one summer in the mid-60s. The literature we read stated there is no known least threshhold over which you are safe, so...you may not need to breathe any more of it to be at risk...sorry, but true.
You go boyo!
As a homeowner, I've been trying to get every last spec of the crap out of my house as safely as possible. For big jobs I call in a crew of specialists, for little ones I use encapsulant and an asbestos grade filtered facemask. I consider a little job drilling a small hole in my popcorn ceiling.
I plan on playing with my grandkids.
Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
Don't let their door hit you in the butt when you turn and walk away from the job. The stuff is not heathy for you.
Proper removal is not that much money.
I'd ask the HO why they don't want to just remove it themselves? That ought to shut them up quick.
They want you to save them a buck by risking your license, big fines and your health.
Sounds like a good deal to me.........
Joe H
The last lady (last week the test came back on the sample - 15%-20% asbestos) wanted new skirting and a fence all around her house. She does want to remove it herself (said so anyway, in a pissed off way) because she is not concerned about her health!!!!!!!!! I have decided that I won't even do the fence because it comes within 4 ft of the side that will have loose and airborne asbestos from the old skirting and I don't want to even go there.
Here's the thing, I have, it is a known fact, breathed in much of it in my career and I have had friends die of it. You have related stories of the like.
Bottom line........................it kills people.
So why does it piss people off so much? I'm not being rude, just real.
I did, by the way, let the door hit me on the way out, now I'm having a rough time sitting on my motorcycle!
http://grungefm.com
I got my former employer (a multi-county planning agency) hacked off at me because we were moving boxes in a storage room and guys I worked with were dropping the boxes from waist high and raising a cloud of dust so you couldn't see from one end of the room to the other. When I saw that this dust was from a bunch of asbestos pipe insulation I left the room and refused to work there any more. I called to report it and got passed all around--finally called my state rep's office and he had the health dept. come over. They roped it off, put up a "Cease and Desist" order. Next thing I knew, the owner of the building had sent over a kid in a T-shirt and blue jeans, not even a dust mask, and he threw the insulation in garbage bags, swept the dust up with a broom and threw the bags in a dumpster. (I asked if he knew he was sweeping up asbestos and he said, "Yeah, I don't care." I think my employer would have fired me over what I did, but figured I'd make a big issue of it in the media.