How is the deadly asbestos disposed of?

Cutting pipes after removing asbestos

• QUESTION: First and foremost, I have read your posts and am thankful there is someone that contributes information regarding the dangers of asbestos. My friend recently removed canvas covered insulation in his basement by spraying it down. Some of the white material remained on his piping and I saw some on the floor as well. I helped him cut out most of the piping. I cannot an approximate amount of linear feet of material that was removed but I would say it was approximately 10. Most of the insulation was elbow joints. This was not mud sealant, but again, the canvass covered insulation. When I helped him cut out the piping it was already removed but there was that remaining white stuff. At one point he was cutting a pipe and it was vibrating the pipe and the white was falling off and I started to freak out. Immediately had him give me a professional respirator that took two "100 rated" canister filters." I think some white material ultimately ended up on my shirt and stayed on some time after we were done. Luckily 80 percent of the time I was down there I had the respirator on. I am just freaking out because I spent the last two days googling on my blackberry and home pc everything about asbestos, diseases, different fiber types, etc. I'm 28 and just really concerned about my health lately. I think my friend contaminated his house but luckily this was my once and last time there. I just want to know if I'm screwed for life and if you can help me out in anyway to determine what my exposure level was. Fyi, it was the canvas wrapped with cardboard underneath-type insulation. I saw some and it looked like plaster with shiny material since some had fell on his boiler. Thank God I wasn't around when he removed it, but I'm also wondering what the levels could have been since he removed it. Not much I can do now other than be happy I had a mask on most of the time. I have a feeling its not a big deal but just want to be sure. I was probably down there for 15 mins before putting the respirator on. Thanks for any and all of your help. ANSWER: The type of pipe insulation you are describing is almost always asbestos containing. The compressed carboard paper on the pipe runs is quite typically around 10% to 30% chrysotile asbestos, and same goes for the white, powdery, hard elbow fittings (mag-block). Your friend was not wise in stripping this himself. It's unfortunate. The good news is 10 linear feet is not very much material, and it sounds like you wore the correct type of respirator for the majority of the time. A half-face respirator with P-100 cartidges are what asbestos-abatement workers use during asbestos removal projects. They are highly effective at filtering asbestos fibers (99.97% efficient for particles greater than 0.3 microns), and can be used in environments with up to ten times the level of airborne asbestos that OSHA says a worker is allowed to be exposed to on a daily basis. For levels higher than that, a battery powered respirator that creates a positive pressure within the face-piece is usually used. Obviously I don't know the concentration of airborne asbestos fibers in the area you were working, but take some comfort in knowing that the respirator you used provided a great deal of protection as compared to using nothing at all (if your "100-rated" canisters were actually P-100 filters). Many of the people who are being diagnosed with asbestos related diseases now days were workers who often had GROSS exposures many years ago in trades that manufactured or installed asbestos products. Think of the pipe fitters who installed the asbetos pipe insulation... going to work every day for years, cutting segments of the asbestos pipe insulation with saws and creating tons of visible asbestos dust in the air, and breathing it with no respiratory protection at all. Your 15 minute exposure to 10 linear feet of insulation pales in comparison to such exposures. It is true there is no known "safe" level of asbestos exposure, but I wouldn't loose any sleep over your brief duration exposure. As you have probably seen from my past posts, there is really nothing to be done post-exposure to help prevent the chances of any future problems. All you can do is remain aware of asbestos hazards in the future and avoid exposures whenever possible. If you still have your clothing that got asbestos debris on it - wash it thoroughly if you really want to keep the shirt, or better yet just throw it out if it's a ratty old t-shirt you don't mind losing. Tell your friend to have an asbestos inspector go through his house before he makes any more bonehead moves with DIY renovation work. ---------- FOLLOW-UP ---------- QUESTION: Well, I asked and the good news is that he stripped the material on Monday and I was down there on Friday. He did wet the material down and bag it so I'm not as concerned as I was initially. So any white residue that was left on the pipe was def asbestos containing, correct? What is the white stuff exactly other than asbestos? And yes it was def mag-block.I would highly doubt the levels were above osha acceptable levels especially since there was a period of 5 days between him removing it.also, if he was fairly careful in removing the material, what was the liklihood of damaging fibers going into the air? Probably not possible to tell without an air test. I have read that waiting in line on highways with your windows open at the toll booth can be fairly hazerdous and I have been in that type of situation more than 50 times so I guess I really shouldn't lose sleep at this point. Thanks again for everything. I feel like I am becoming OCD with thus stuff; I guess for a good reason.

• Answer:

  Asbestos fibers will settle out of the air in a matter of hours. They can certainly be resuspended very easily with doors opening/closing, people walking through, etc., but most of the junk settles out in several hours, and you're left with a surface contamination issue (with potential for resuspension). Any white residue left on the pipe would "most likely" be asbestos. I have seen mag-block hard elbows that are non-asbestos containing before. Typically you find that in installations where the pipe runs were fiberglass, and the hard elbows were magblock. But even then, sometimes they are asbestos, sometimes they aren't. The only way to truly tell is look under a microscope. Anything else is just a generalization. In general, hard elbows present on piping systems with compressed carboard insulation or magblock runs, they usually ARE asbestos-containing. Mag-block is a slang trade term. Calcium silicate is the white powdery material. Sometimes they mixed in 10 - 30% or more asbestos to make the elbows stronger and more heat resistant. Impossible to tell or guess at the airborne fiber concentrations your friend was exposed to. Mag-block is nasty stuff. Even when handled very carefully, it releases a lot of fibers. It pretty much needs to be soaked to the point of saturation to keep things under control. About the toll booth scenario... yes asbestos is still present in some brake pads. You can go to an auto parts store and buy them off the shelf unknowingly still. There are still applications of it in our daily lives despite erroneous assumptions to the contrary. It's all about dose. The # of fibers one would get from stripping asbestos pipe insulation vs. driving down the interstate is comparing a mountain to a mole-hill. True there is "no safe level of exposure" but common sense needs to prevail as well. We all know smoking causes lung cancer, but you don't run off to the doctor fretting for your life because you inhaled a whiff of second hand smoke while walking past a person smoking on the street corner. Same principles apply here. "It's the DOSE that makes the poison".