Asbestos Tiles / Products

[LizzieMaine]

In the town hall where we did our school plays when I was growing up, we had an asbestos fire curtain that went up and down, up and down, all thru every performance. And I'm not dead yet.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

I've lived with lead paint all of my life and I'm OK.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

I'm still thinking about this.

We wouldn't dream of using DDT wallpaper, yet it was used in children's rooms in the 40's!

BUT today we have other things that over time is discovered to be hazardous.

So really I'm not saying that any concerns are not legitimate, just that in the past I think I would have freaked out over the tiles. Now I just keep it all in perspective.

 

[Miss Neecerie]

So really I'm not saying that any concerns are not legitimate, just that in the past I think I would have freaked out over the tiles. Now I just keep it all in perspective.

Exactly...and since your plan is to let them sit there basically undisturbed....shrugs..I can't really see where that is going to cause huge issues.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

Exactly...and since your plan is to let them sit there basically undisturbed....shrugs..I can't really see where that is going to cause huge issues.

Right! And if I was to sell the house, at that point I would have them properly disposed.

 

[Foofoogal]

Says Charles Elkins, director of the EPA's office of toxic substances: "I would agree that in many cases removal is the wrong thing to do. It is a mistake for people to overreact. But it is also a mistake to say that asbestos is not a problem." In some situations, he says, simply blocking off an area or coating the damaged material with chemical sealants may do the trick. But asbestos insulation should probably be routinely removed from pipes in hallways, for example, to prevent passing children from dislodging it.

I lied. I am going to say more. I am not suggesting PSG should be overly concerned or not sleep at night.
To me though it is like a loaded gun in the house. I see no difference. If one can guarantee no children can have access to things that will harm them then ok. Many children suffer because of lead.
My father picked it up by the armloads in ship yards during his Navy tenure and afterwards. Asbestos truly changed the course of our family forever. By bringing it home on his work clothing and red rags he exposed all of us to it and it is a big continuing issue in the health of our family.
I do think this has strayed way off of the original ? by PSG though but it would be the same as suggesting somewhat that drunk driving is not a big deal really. It would not be the same unless one listening had not been truly affected by it. [huh]
I apologize PSG. Truly. I just have to say it was a nightmare taking care of my father and listening to the history of asbestos. It was known to be dangerous a very, very, very long time before it was taken off the market.
The majority of baby boomers were exposed to many things now found to not be healthy. I do understand this.
http://www.asbestosresource.com/history/

 

[PrettySquareGal]

I lied. I am going to say more. I am not suggesting PSG should be overly concerned or not sleep at night.
To me though it is like a loaded gun in the house. I see no difference. If one can guarantee no children can have access to things that will harm them then ok. Many children suffer because of lead.
My father picked it up by the armloads in ship yards during his Navy tenure and afterwards. Asbestos truly changed the course of our family forever. By bringing it home on his work clothing and red rags he exposed all of us to it and it is a big continuing issue in the health of our family.
I do think this has strayed way off of the original ? by PSG though but it would be the same as suggesting somewhat that drunk driving is not a big deal really. It would not be the same unless one listening had not been truly affected by it. [huh]
I apologize PSG. Truly. I just have to say it was a nightmare taking care of my father and listening to the history of asbestos. It was known to be dangerous a very, very, very long time before it was taken off the market.
The majority of baby boomers were exposed to many things now found to not be healthy. I do understand this.
http://www.asbestosresource.com/history/

No apology needed.

However, I don't agree with the drunk driving being no big deal analogy, but it's true that alcohol kills more people than asbestos every year. If people would leave it alone, bottled up and undisturbed then it would be safe.

More than 100,000 U.S. deaths are caused by excessive alcohol consumption each year. Direct and indirect causes of death include drunk driving, cirrhosis of the liver, falls, cancer, and stroke.

http://www.gdcada.org/statistics/alcohol.htm


Asbestos deaths among U.S. residents have increased from fewer than 100 in 1968 to nearly 1,500 annually in 2000, with no apparent leveling off of this trend, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.

http://www.legalnewswatch.com/394/cdc-finds-asbestos-related-deaths-have-skyrocketed-since-1960s

 

[MPicciotto]

I'm still thinking about this.

We wouldn't dream of using DDT wallpaper, yet it was used in children's rooms in the 40's!

BUT today we have other things that over time is discovered to be hazardous.

So really I'm not saying that any concerns are not legitimate, just that in the past I think I would have freaked out over the tiles. Now I just keep it all in perspective.

Actually DDT is used in Africa for mosquito control. It is in fact sprayed on the insides of homes. The risk to humans from DDT is less then the risks from malaria carrying mosquitoes. Which reminds me, I need to pick up some anti-malarial drugs as I'll be traveling to the Dominican Republic in two weeks.

Matt

 

[Viola]

I lied. I am going to say more. I am not suggesting PSG should be overly concerned or not sleep at night.
To me though it is like a loaded gun in the house. I see no difference.

The gun isn't going to hurt you if you sleep with it in the nightstand and has a practical purpose?

I'll show myself out.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

I decided to dispose of them and not one local dump would take them (I was up front about what they were), so I had to pay quite a bit for a special waste place to take them.

 

[John in Covina]

Anybody hear about the dangers of taking a plugged in blow dyer into the shower with them? Oh, and watch out for McDonalds coffee it's hot so if you spill it on yourself you can get burned. Often ordinary items in any household can be dangerous when not used properly. Lead paint tends to be most dangerous to children as they are the most likely to chew on stuff and injest the lead paint.

Asbestos was used in thousands of items, from construction to auto parts. It was in many of the gaskets that are in cars made until the 1980's and in the friction materials used for brake pads and shoes as well as clutches. A friend told me that as a child they played in piles of asbestos tailings by a mill that used it in making what ever. It's danger is there but the number of people exposed to the risk (as judged today) versus the number of people that actually got the disease is quite small. This is not to take away from those that suffered their issues are very real, but the response of handling floor tiles as if it was radioactive waste is over blown too.

Also; DDT is not very harmful to human beings, In WWII people were sprayed directly with low concentrations for de-lousing. It was removed for (over) use because it traved thru the food chain. The birds eggs were malformed by being too soft and breaking before the baby bird was ready to hatch. It showed up in predatory birds that ate fish first. (See the book "Silent Spring") It's use to combat moquitos and malaria is it's best and greatest use but it must be used judiciously as not to harm the wildlife.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

In the town hall where we did our school plays when I was growing up, we had an asbestos fire curtain that went up and down, up and down, all thru every performance. And I'm not dead yet.

Near downtown Los Angeles, there's a well-known golden era vaudeville theatre that's been turned into a swap meet. The building's stage --right next to the swap meet stalls-- still has its original, beautifully decorated curtain, with the word "ASBESTOS" boldly painted on its front. If that curtain were dangerous, the city would have already forced the building's owner to take it down, yes?

.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

The gun isn't going to hurt you if you sleep with it in the nightstand ...

But you'll be awfully cramped in there, and might wake up with a backache. The gun won't even stay for breakfast.


.

 

[John in Covina]

Near downtown Los Angeles, there's a well-known golden era vaudeville theatre that's been turned into a swap meet. The building's stage --right next to the swap meet stalls-- still has its original, beautifully decorated curtain, with the word "ASBESTOS" boldly painted on its front. If that curtain were dangerous, the city would have already forced the building's owner to take it down, yes?
.

You're confused as to what government does. They had to hire a city designated painter to paint the word ASBESTOS on the curtain. That's political patronege so somebody got paid (off.)

 

[Marc Chevalier]

You're confused as to what government does. They had to hire a city designated painter to paint the word ASBESTOS on the curtain. That's political patronege so somebody got paid (off.)

lol Well, I applaud the painter. The word's letters were painted in a handsome, period-correct font.


(All kidding aside, the word is almost certainly original to the curtain. In an era when theatres burned down with some regularity, a fire-resistant asbestos curtain would have reassured the audience.) Here is a view of the top of it:

.

 

[Miss Neecerie]

lol Well, I applaud the painter. The word's letters were painted in a handsome, period-correct font.


(All kidding aside, the word is almost certainly original to the curtain. In an era when theatres burned down with some regularity, a fire-resistant asbestos curtain would have reassured the audience.) Here is a view of the top of it:

.

You been shopping on Fig in Highland Park again Marc?

 

[LizzieMaine]

lol Well, I applaud the painter. The word's letters were painted in a handsome, period-correct font.


(All kidding aside, the word is almost certainly original to the curtain. In an era when theatres burned down with some regularity, a fire-resistant asbestos curtain would have reassured the audience.) Here is a view of the top of it:

Most city fire codes starting around 1900 *required* such curtains in all theatres and public halls, and required that they be clearly labeled as ASBESTOS as a way of preventing panics. They didn't always work -- the Iroquois Theatre fire in Chicago in 1905 got out of control after the brand-new asbestos curtain jammed in the rigging on its way down -- but they saved more lives than they hurt.

Many of these curtains remained in regular use well into the 1980s in old theatres, lodge halls, and such places, and I believe the current recommendation is that they be left in place. If they've been properly maintained, the paint seals the surface so there's little danger of loose fibres.

Our Town Hall curtain was the classic stereotypical asbesots curtain seen in all movie depictions of old vaudeville shows -- a pastoral scene surrounded by painted ads for local businesses. The ads on this particular curtain looked to have been last updated about 1955, so the practice kept on for a long time. I last attended a show there about five years ago -- and that same curtain, with those same ads, was still being used.

 

[stephen1965]

In the UK there have been lots of fairly recent compensation cases brought by people who have worked with and around asbestos and suffered over a large number of years from declining health as a direct result. That's one of the big problems, health problems brought on by asbestos can take decades to show up. In the UK also, it's widely felt that health issues concerning asbestos were supressed. Hence the compensation being paid out by both government and private companies. My father died from asbestosis but it took over thirty years to kill him was the doctor's estimate. In that time, obviously his lungs gradually deteriorated. My point is that it's dangerous over a long period so best to take a lot of expert advice before deciding to keep it or not.

 

[Hemingway Jones]

Anybody hear about the dangers of taking a plugged in blow dyer into the shower with them? Oh, and watch out for McDonalds coffee it's hot so if you spill it on yourself you can get burned...

As an aside, John, have you ever read the actual lawsuit that pertained to this?

I read it recently, since I have heard everyone referring to it as the best example of frivolous lawsuits. Once you read the case, you realize it was anything but.

The coffee was approx 190 degrees whereas normal coffee is around 135. The woman, who was very old btw, suffered third degree burns on her thighs and groin and underwent skin grafts. There hasd been hundreds of other complaints in the past. She initially asked for $20K to cover her medical costs, but Mc Donald's refused to pay. The suit went through the courts and the initial award in the $2.5MM range was reduced to around $600M and this was again reduced in a private settlement. (Don't quote me on the numbers).

The judges involved sought to punish McD for its callousness in not reaching a settlement.

Interesting stuff...

 

[Foofoogal]

I have pretty much said my stand on this but am glad PSG got rid of the stuff now. It is like a hot potato if it is your issue.
No matter where you stand on any of this it does and will affect any selling of property now or in the future for your heirs to deal with. This was my most concern for PSG.