[gaffa09]

http://www.asbestos.nt.gov.au/faq/health_r...s.shtml#answer5



Health risks
How do I get sick from asbestos?

When does asbestos pose a risk to health?

I have been in a building that contains asbestos. Do I need to see a doctor?

What do the exposure standards mean?

What size particles are important?

Are there different levels of risk?

How long does it take for health problems caused by asbestos exposure to become apparent?




Answers

How do I get sick from asbestos?
Breathing in asbestos fibres can cause asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma. The risk of contracting these diseases increases with the number of fibres inhaled. The risk of lung cancer from inhaling asbestos fibres is also greater if you smoke cigarettes.

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When does asbestos pose a risk to health?
Asbestos fibres pose a risk to health if airborne because inhalation is the predominant route of entry into the body.

The effect of asbestos on health is dependent on:

• length of duration of exposure
  
• the concentration of airborne asbestos fibres, and
  
• the size and form of the fibre.

People who have suffered health effects from exposure to asbestos have generally worked in either the asbestos mining or milling industry, worked in industries involved in making or installing asbestos products, or are from the immediate families of these people.

In all of these situations there was exposure to high levels of airborne dust, from either the processes involved or from the workers' clothes. These exposures occurred over a number of years and at levels many times higher than allowed by present day exposure standards.

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I have been in a building that contains asbestos. Do I need to see a doctor?
Not necessarily. Asbestos does not pose a risk to health if the material is undamaged, in good condition and managed properly. However, if you think you may have been exposed to asbestos fibres you should consult a doctor who specialises in lung disorders or occupational exposures.

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What do the exposure standards mean?
Exposure standards are set by governments at levels which will protect workers from adverse health effects.

They allow for a worker being exposed to the hazard at that level 'every day of their working life' (approximately 45 years) without damaging their health. The levels are determined from the results of research, animal trials and the effects of exposures in the past.

Due to past experiences in Australia - particularly at Wittenoom (an asbestos mine in Western Australia) - the nation is a world leader in research into asbestos related exposures.

The occupational exposure standards in Australia are some of the strictest in the world. They were developed through the National Occupational Health and Safety Commission and have been adopted by government and industry throughout Australia.

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What size particles are important?
The size of the asbestos particle is critical in determining whether there will be a risk to health from inhaling the fibres. Fibres which are 5 microns or more long and 3 microns or less wide are the most likely to remain in the lungs. (A human hair is approximately 20 to 100 microns wide). Fibres larger than this tend to be removed by the normal clearance mechanism of the throat and lungs.

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Are there different levels of risk?
Yes, different forms of asbestos material have different levels of risk. If asbestos fibres are in a stable matrix material such as bonded in asbestos-cement (A-C) sheeting, they cannot become airborne and therefore will not be a health risk.

Provided these products are maintained in good condition, they present no risk to health. However, precautions must be observed during any alterations, demolition or removal of these products as there is an opportunity for fibres to become airborne.

In asbestos material such as pipe lagging and sprayed-on insulation the fibres are not bound in a matrix and are much more likely to release high concentrations of fibres into the atmosphere when damaged. These forms are generally covered with a durable exterior protection which minimises damage occurring, and the subsequent release of fibres.

These materials must only be handled by a fully licensed asbestos removalist, because of the potential risk to health.

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How long does it take for health problems caused by asbestos exposure to become apparent?
People who suffer asbestos-related health problems have usually been exposed to asbestos over a number or years. Symptoms of asbestos-related diseases do not usually appear until about 20 to 30 years after the first exposure to asbestos.

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<H3 align=left>Other FAQ Categories</H3>General asbestos questions

Handling asbestos

Testing for asbestos

Asbestos in schools including answers for parents

Asbestos in remote communities

http://nz.search.yahoo.com/search?yfp-t-50...01&ei=UTF-8


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[Alan Thomas]

I designed packaging machinery that incorporated the use of asbestos. My work also involved coming into contact with asbestos in the repairer of both industrial ovens and cooling equipment. I have recently been diagnosed with a lung disorder which they first thought was cancer. After a biopsy they decided it was not cancer and consider the possibility of asbestosis because of the extensive scarring in my lungs. While that possibility has not been eliminated I have a provisional diagnosis for another disorder while waiting for various tests concerning various other possibilities for the damage experience.

With regards to the above information posted there is a common mistake whereby the greater focus of attention is on the day-to-day contact with asbestos over several decades. The reality is asbestosis can be caused by a single encounter. The problem is when the asbestos particles that plume up like a cloud is ingested by breathing it in the body cannot get rid of it and it just sits in the lungs from that point on creating scar tissue.

Some of the material and above articles is actually quite incorrect. For example asbestos fibres in the stable matrix materials such as bonded asbestos cement is fine so long as you do not use something like skills sought to cut it and create a whole lot of dust. The most common way to cut this material was to use her skills saw. During the 1980s I was required to quote on the development of cheap cutting devices for this material so as not to create dust. This required that I research the problem. They knew the risks back then and did nothing or too little too late, with the result that a large number of people now suffer from asbestosis. This problem really comes to light when a firefighter as to put out a fire when the building is made of these types of materials or is not slated with these types of materials. The concrete or encapsulating materials burn away leaving the asbestos which is completely impervious to heat to plume up in a cloud which of course firemen end up breathing. This is particularly true when they are going into a burning building to rescue somebody. Although they used breathing equipment they become covered in this dust and end up breathing it in, or their colleagues breathe it in, when they leave the building. They even take this type of dust home for their families to breathe when they have not cleaned up properly, particularly in cases such as volunteer firemen. In these cases there is no time to call the "licensed professional".

[Alan Thomas]

Hardwired read the posting again. I am a mechanical design engineer who used asbestos as an engineering product. I also produced a government in relation to asbestos-based products. I consulted with experts in regards to asbestos. I have been involved with the DSIR in relation to asbestos. I may have an asbestos injury. I am sympathetic to those who do have asbestos injuries because I have the same symptoms

[gaffa09]

I knew very little about Asbestos until i was told that i have it at the beginning of this month. this is the last thing i thought i had. I knew something was wrong for some time now BUT WHAT I didn't know
In reading this report i find it to be a very good guide.
it states that it can take some 20 to 30 years on to raise its head.
now i wonder how ACC are going to deal with this one .
as it is not related to smoking but work .
In the fire service we were trained to eat smoke breath smoke as well as dust .
when we where told to stay to dampen down after some big fires the dust and smoke from some of these old buildings etc hannahs fire was chocking .
I wonder

[Alan Thomas]

Bugger!!

[hukildaspida]

Sorry to read you have been diagnosed with asbestos, however it comes as no surprize given the industry you have worked in.
Why does it happen to the nicest of people Gaffa09?

We would imagine there's a large number of undiagnosed cases out there because proper testing has previously not been available.

One wonders how many people who have lived in houses with asbestos ceilings etc have lung related injuries as a result of asbestos.

We read recently of a World Health Organisation Professor Peter Sly based in England who has done research into Chemicals which may be worth a Google to see if you can find out more.

Take Care />

[gaffa09]

Thanks to members that care.



Please all members read this first posting as it may effect you ,Builders, construction workers, demo workers, fireman, freezing workers , and in some cases electricians , plumbers, that worked on freezing work site , Possible hospitals tunnels where pipes and electrical cables are carried Housing , Plasters used on ceilings painters
Maybe even office workers

This is only just a guide
If i am wrong please say so or if there is more to add please share
.

[Gloria Mitchell]

 gaffa09, on Nov 26 2008, 10:50 AM, said:

Thanks to members that care.
Please all members read this first posting as it may effect you ,Builders, construction workers, demo workers, fireman, freezing workers , and in some cases electricians , plumbers, that worked on freezing work site , Possible hospitals tunnels where pipes and electrical cables are carried Housing , Plasters used on ceilings painters
Maybe even office workers

This is only just a guide
If i am wrong please say so or if there is more to add please share
.

The tradies who worked on building the Meremere power station used to drop fluffy clouds of the stuff on other workers for fun my electrician friend tells me. He got a check up and has plural plaque sitting in his lungs....(72 now) but has had no probs with it yet. Loads of his mates died so far.....sad to see. I had a cousins husband died of asbestosis....not nice. ( builder)

some of that early spray on ceiling finish is highly charged with asbestos so if it needs to be moved......get the experts in with the right gear.

cheers Gloria.

[MINI]

Yes, this is interesting as it is still about in the housing built when the stuff was allowed to be produced.

Recently as in a couple or so years ago, I had my bathroom refitted and tidied up. This in a 1950 old house!! You should have seen what the ceiling was made from. You talk about dust. Could not use the vacumn cleaner on it, it was so fine. It would have buggered the vacume.

Kept a cover on my nose and mouth all the time the demolishers were here, but they wore nothing. Honestly even my sons are guilty of not covering their faces when demolishing things. One would think the fine dust is not good for you even if it is not abestos.

In the seventies and eigties there were groups of abestos removers around in Wellington. It was all they did as the sites would have to be totally enclosed in tent like plastic before they would start removing it and the guys would be all kitted out in breathing apparatus and overalls that didnt go in the washing machine etc.

Then big trucks laden with this stuff would be taken to the tip to be disposed of. Guess whos house the roared past to get to the tip. Yeap, my new townhouse. Plasitc flapping in the wind and dust blowing out behind the drivers. They couldnt care less.

Used to have to hose the house down once a week just like washing the car. Now I believe some of the land at the tip has be sold for residential, and they talk about green NZ. Yeah like Right!!!

There was a big Hoohah in Australia about Hardies plaster board. So they went to another country just to keep making the stuff, even though they knew it was not fit for usage. Big outrage over that. Did not keep up on the fine detail of it all though. This was 8-10 years ago I think.

[gaffa09]

bump

[gaffa09]

Asbestosis is a lung disease
Asbestosis is one of the lung diseases caused by breathing in asbestos fibres over a long period of time. The disease develops after at least 10 years of constant exposure to asbestos. The symptoms of asbestosis, in turn, take many years to show. People who worked with asbestos are most at risk.

Asbestos used to be a popular building material
Asbestos is a mineral that can be woven like wool. It was popular in building materials throughout this century and could be found in corrugated roofing, cement pipes, paint, fabrics and brake linings. Now that we know about the dangers of asbestos, it is no longer mined in Australia and asbestos removal programs have been put in place.

The symptoms
The symptoms of asbestosis include:

• Coughing
  
• Tightness in the chest
  
• Shortness of breath
  
• A bluish tinge to the skin caused by lack of oxygen.

The lungs become scarred
Over time, the asbestos fibres cause inflammation inside the lungs. This can lead to scarring. The scar tissue, or 'fibrosis', is hard and inflexible; this makes the lungs stiffen and stops them working properly. Getting enough oxygen from each breath needs a much greater effort. Fibrosis looks cloudy in chest x-rays. Testing the lung function is another way of diagnosing asbestosis.

Outlook
Asbestosis usually worsens over time. It can lead to respiratory failure and death. There is no cure for this disease.

Asbestos can cause many lung diseases
Some of the other lung diseases caused by asbestos include:

• Benign asbestos-related pleural effusion - fluid between the chest wall and the lung.
  
• Diffuse pleural thickening - thickening of the lung lining.
  
• Lung cancer - smokers exposed to asbestos are most at risk.
  
• Malignant mesothelioma - cancer in the cells covering the lung surface and within the chest wall.
  
• Pleural plaques - thickening of the chest wall lining and the lung membranes.

Where to get help
See your doctor for information and referral.

Things to remember

• Asbestosis is caused by breathing in asbestos fibres over a long period of time.
  
• It is just one of many lung diseases that has been linked to asbestos.
  
• There is no cure.
  
  Related articles:

Asbestos and your health.
Asbestos in the home.
Asthma.
Cadmium.
Cancer and asbestos.
Cystic fibrosis.

[hukildaspida]

A link through to the bbc website which shows pictures of where asbestos is mined in Russia.

So what will the New Zealand government do if patches of asbestos are shown up in thermal imaging when they carry it out over the natural Northland region of New Zealand as they have recently indicated to find minerals?


http://www.bbc.co.uk.../world-10623725

[hukildaspida]

Mr Fluffy's toxic asbestos legacy in Qbn

By David Butler
June 26, 2014, 2:53 p.m

http://www.queanbeya...-legacy-in-qbn/


DESPITE a $100 million clean-up and continuing media coverage of the health dangers left behind by the now defunct Mr Fluffy insulation company in Canberra, Queanbeyan is still yet to see any major clean-up action on what remains a potentially deadly public health situation.

An estimated 60 properties in Queanbeyan were filled with the highly dangerous loose fill asbestos insulation installed by Mr Fluffy in the late seventies. However unlike the ACT, where a major, government-funded survey and clean-up program was rolled out in the late eighties, most of the affected houses here remain unaccounted for and untreated.

Queanbeyan City Council will be writing to 11 affected residents this month reminding them about the loose fill asbestos dangers facing pre-1980 houses and their responsibilities to let tradesmen working on their house know about the risks involved.

And Queanbeyan Mayor Tim Overall is again seeking to bring the State and Federal governments to the negotiating table to fund a clean-up in Queanbeyan, following a similar but ultimately unsuccessful attempt made by Council in July 1998.

In a letter sent to federal member Peter Hendy, Cr Overall said the scope and hazardous nature of the situation was well beyond a local government organisation to handle alone.

"Any resolution on this issue in Queanbeyan is well beyond the capacity of the Council, and I would welcome an early meeting with yourself, together with Mr John Barilaro to discuss the matter and proposed representations to the Commonwealth Government," he said.

Queanbeyan Council ran a program in the late eighties encouraging local residents who suspected they had loose fill asbestos insulation in their property to submit it for anonymous testing. Eleven positive results were registered, however an extrapolation of the Commonwealth-funded Mr Fluffy survey in Canberra- which identified around 1 per cent of pre-1980 houses as affected- points to possibly 50 more unidentified properties in Queanbeyan that were insulated by Mr Fluffy.

Cr Overall also met with ACT chief minister Katy Gallagher to discuss the issue, which continues to leave a toxic legacy in Canberra, as well as stretching out to surrounding regional areas where Mr Fluffy traded, including Batemans Bay. State member John Barilaro said he would also lobby the NSW Government on the issue.

"I have written to Federal and State government ministers to seek assistance in managing the issue and whether additional regulatory measures can be introduced," he said. "I will work closely with Queanbeyan City Council, the ACT Government and Federal Government to find a way forward."

However Mayor Overall said that a previous attempt seeking Commonwealth assistance on an asbestos clean-up was quashed back in 2000 when then Prime Minister John Howard sent a reply letter to Queanbeyan Council "indicating it wasn't a Commonwealth responsibility."

Former member for Monaro Steve Whan said the NSW Government has also been previously unwilling to act. He said this issue remained "unfinished business" for him and one of the reasons he was seeking to re-contest the state seat.

"It's a real frustration for me that I wasn't able to do anything for these people when I was in Government, and the reason for that is because the agencies in Sydney say 'well we'll set a precedent' and they worry that it [asbestos clean-up] will spread over into sheet asbestos, which is in millions of houses," Mr Whan said.

"But if the ACT managed to get the Commonwealth to fund clean-up and demolition of those houses in Canberra, than they have to come to the party with the State and do something in Queanbeyan.

"In the ACT there was a program of removal, so people will actually come forward and say 'I think I might have it, come and test it.' Whereas in Queanbeyan they know that if they find it, they'll get no help and all they can do is seal it in and then have the house drop massively in value if they want to sell it.

"The circuit breaker here is that the Federal and State governments- maybe with the local government- have to come to some sort of agreement that for houses that have loose fill asbestos insulation ... they need to provide some money to come in and probably pay for the demolition of those houses in all actuality," he said.

[hukildaspida]

Mr Fluffy contamination: Banks offering support to ACT asbestos victims

http://www.abc.net.a...-in-act/5912718

Updated about 3 hours agoMon 24 Nov 2014, 2:40pm
Grey asbestos and blue asbestos fibres Photo: Bank offer support to Mr Fluffy victims. (ABC News)
Related Story: Mr Fluffy asbestos homeowners already opting in to buyback scheme
Related Story: Mr Fluffy owners express anger over buyout deal
Map: Canberra 2600

Five banks have offered support for Canberrans dealing with Mr Fluffy asbestos contamination in their homes, including flexible loan arrangements, fee waivers and a range of other measures.

It comes in response to a plea from ACT Chief Minister Katy Gallagher, who approached the banks last month asking for a "compassionate and responsive approach" for homeowners facing the prospect of refinancing as part of the deadly loose-fill asbestos remediation program.

So far Members Equity Bank, Beyond Bank, National Australia Bank, Commonwealth Bank and Teachers Mutual Bank have offered support.

The banks' approaches differ and homeowners have been advised to discuss the options available with their individual banks.

Ms Gallagher said all banks were putting in place Mr Fluffy relationship managers to offer special support.

"Some of these banks have agreed to put in place hardship and relief support similar to that accessed at times of natural disasters," she said.

"Others will help homeowners' service two loans rather than take on bridging finance when purchasing a new home."
Other banks asked to get on board

The ACT Government's asbestos response taskforce will send out a formal letter to homeowners next week, outlining buyback conditions and their eligibility, that can be presented to their bank.

"The Asbestos Response Taskforce is continuing its discussions with other banks on ways in which they can assist and I look forward to advising of more financial institutions coming on board to support the community," Ms Gallagher said.

"I encourage other banks to get onboard and do their part to support these homeowners at this difficult time."

The Chief Minister said so far more than 490 homeowners have opted in to the buyback and demolition scheme and home valuations were now underway.

"More than 50 relocation assistance grants have been paid as homeowners permanently relocate and to date $2.4 million has been provided to support homeowners through assistance as well as asbestos assessments of their houses," she said.
Bill to help finance buyback scheme to be introduced on Tuesday

The ACT Government plans to buy and then demolish about 1,000 houses contaminated with Mr Fluffy asbestos insulation, using a scheme that will be underpinned with a $1 billion loan from the Federal Government.

Tomorrow a bill will be introduced to the ACT Legislative Assembly to cover the territory's contribution.

"That will be an appropriation bill in the order of $750 million to finance the buyback scheme," Ms Gallagher said.

The final cost to the government is expected to be about $300 million, after it recoups money from the sale of cleared blocks purchased from Mr Fluffy owners.
More on this story:

Mr Fluffy buyers flood Canberra housing market looking to buy
Warning Mr Fluffy asbestos crisis could 'distort' Canberra real estate market
Mr Fluffy asbestos residents welcome billion-dollar Commonwealth demolition, compensation deal
Compensation limited for buyers who knowingly purchase Mr Fluffy houses
Two ACT cancer cases 'linked to Mr Fluffy asbestos'

Topics: asbestos, states-and-territories, canberra-2600, act, australia