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Pinewold t1_ixuzkp3 wrote

Reply to comment by phrobot in How to best cover fiber cement dangling tiny fibers (carcinogenic)? by UsefulBeginning

Is this new? When I bought my house, we had all asbestos removed because it was said a single dose once is sufficient. It was more of a risk of how much was enough so many exposure dramatically increased the odds.

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UsefulBeginning OP t1_ixv10lu wrote

That was my understanding too, that a single exposure event is risky. But I dunno.

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Orway2000 t1_ixv49k5 wrote

For asbestos they are microscopic glass toothpicks that penetrate to the smallest reaches of the lung and get stuck. They are not cleared and will form a unique type of lung cancer. Theoretical cancer models, one hit hypothesis, is what your hearing about. Its theory. The suggestions to encapsulate are good ones. The approach to not disturb/sand etc. is also the best way to reduce an exposure risk. Wear PPE and you’ll be fine. Note the asbestosis lawyer commercials, they were occupational exposures without PPE.

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Pinewold t1_iy3x4l4 wrote

If the fibers were left after an asbestos removal project, they may not be asbestos. The asbestos removal folks who worked on my house removed a bathroom floor because the tile had asbestos in it. The bathroom was not even on the list of items to check. They found the stair treads to the basement had asbestos and several other obscure tile patches under the water heater and a washer. They really tested everything!

The most impressive part of the cleanup was the clean room approach, they used zip walls to create plastic rooms around all exposure point and sealed second chambers to get in and out. All air circulation was completely filtered with special filters. The room had to be washed down and the air filtered until a air quality meter showed a safe level of particulates for an extended period of time.

Best $1500 (1993) I spent for my family and my mental health of not having to worry any more.

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