Asbestos - Dealing with it. | on ElectriciansForums

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SafetyFirst

I have been in the trade on/off for 10 years now, with the current economic climate i have been thinking of the possibility of going on my own as work is very inconsistant.

I haven't been looking for any work as yet as i currently have a very steady mon-fri 40hr week job but frinds and family have been really on at me in recent times and i have been carrying out the odd job here and there.

The thing is i have always been worried about the A word. Possibly i am a little bit shall we say paranoid about asbestos, it plays on my mind quite a lot whenever i am about to work on an old building. If it was possible i'd only make a living out of working on new builds all the time.

I would like to hear of peoples views on asbestos. Especially those who meet a client for a job that invloves a building from the pre 90's. Does it cross anyone's mind while inspecting the job?
Do you always ask the client if they are aware it's within the building? Do you place your trust in them if they say there's none?


Even if you go on an asbestos awareness course, asbestos is invisible to the naked eye so could be hidden in anything. Does it worry any other electricians on here?

I know we will all meet our eventual destiny, but i know of someone who sadly passed away with the desease and it's not the best way to leave the world.

Sorry that this isn't an upbeat post but i would like to hear your views.
 
i've smoked 30 smokes a day for 50 years. you think i care about asbestos? it's not generally a hazard in our game. only if disturbed.
 
Does it worry any other electricians on here?

Not me one little bit,the damage it can inflict didn't concern the powers to be until the compensation culture we now have, persuaded them it was financially easier for those in power to make it a workers health issue,the health and well being of the worker is a new trend

Having said that,many workers paid the ultimate price of the careles attitude of the employers and Government

I and many others have worked with it,sometimes knowingly,but more often than not unaware
Whats done is done

You can do all the courses you want and become aware and be qualified in its safe removal and disposal or just become aware

There are risks in all walks of life and all we can do is make it as safe as is economically viable
If you are a little paranoid about asbestos at work,then its the wrong trade to be in

 
Do an asbestos awareness course , apart from that , you might come across it , you might not even know you have , check to see if theres an asbestos register when you go onto a new job site , apart from that ......

Jamie
 
it is out there BUT awareness and risk assesments for dealing with it are much higher than they were years ago Undisturbed its not a problem its when you dont suspect or expect to find it that problems COULD arise personaly iv seen a fair bit of it recently in old fuse boards labled up and left closed recomended renewal of sae Still waiting for instruction
 
I too am parnoid about asbestos and I also know of someone who died from a related disease. I think the best way to deal with anything that you are scared of is to learn about it. The more you learn the more equipped you will be to spot it and act accordingly. Here are a couple of websites I've found, there maybe better ones.

ABOUT US | NATIONAL ASBESTOS HELPLINE
HSE: Asbestos - health and safety in the workplace

For me I think I will definitely go on an awarness course even if its just so that I have a bit more of an idea of what to look out for.
Good luck
A/C
 
I lost my father to asbestos, he was a sparks also. can't say i'm paranoid about it though. Yes i;m careful but it helps to be aware on the age of a property that i'm going to work in though. common sence is all that is required.
 
I always ask a client if they're aware of asbestos being present in the building. If they are, don't do any work until they sort it out as it is their duty by law to do so. If not, I still always wear a decent respirator to FFP3 when I'm creating dust in older buildings. Better to be safe than sorry and even still, it stops your nose getting bunged up with the black gunge you'd inevitably have to pick out in the shower that evening if you weren't wearing a mask. An interesting fact that I learned from an asbestos specialist is that 9 out of every 10 of us on this forum will have asbestosis at this moment in time! It's the degree of it however and the amount in our lungs that kills which means you're still unlikely to die from it.

Best advice, go on an asbestos awareness course. Check out the HSE website as they are running free ones at the moment nationwide!
 
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I posted a thread its a sticky some where on asbestos its alot more common than you think its like every thing the more you see it the easier it is to spot some of it is more dangerouse than others artex to pipe lagging for instance .
 
I always ask a client if they're aware of asbestos being present in the building. If they are, don't do any work until they sort it out as it is their duty by law to do so. If not, I still always wear a decent respirator to FFP3 when I'm creating dust in older buildings. Better to be safe than sorry and even still, it stops your nose getting bunged up with the black gunge you'd inevitably have to pick out in the shower that evening if you weren't wearing a mask. An interesting fact that I learned from an asbestos specialist is that 9 out of every 10 of us on this forum will have asbestosis at this moment in time! It's the degree of it however and the amount in our lungs that kills which means you're still unlikely to die from it.

Best advice, go on an asbestos awareness course. Check out the HSE website as they are running free ones at the moment nationwide!




Unfortunately, free asbestos training from HSE etc ran out 25th Nov 2011. I hope that HSE do a similar thing again soon that would be really useful.
 
it is out there BUT awareness and risk assesments for dealing with it are much higher than they were years ago Undisturbed its not a problem its when you dont suspect or expect to find it that problems COULD arise personaly iv seen a fair bit of it recently in old fuse boards labled up and left closed recomended renewal of sae Still waiting for instruction


On a rip out of old Otter Mill switchgear which contained aspestos the main Shield chargehand looked at it and said it was not harmful, being cementitious based.

I am not commenting myself, merely relaying what a trained competent person said.
 
On a rip out of old Otter Mill switchgear which contained aspestos the main Shield chargehand looked at it and said it was not harmful, being cementitious based.

I am not commenting myself, merely relaying what a trained competent person said.

Sorry mate you cannot just look at it an say its safe all asbestos is harmful to a degree it only takes one fibre to lodge its self in you lung only way to tell is by getting it analized ,
[ElectriciansForums.net] Asbestos - Dealing with it.
 
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Unfortunately, free asbestos training from HSE etc ran out 25th Nov 2011. I hope that HSE do a similar thing again soon that would be really useful.

Sorry m8 they didn't run out November is asbestos awareness month for H&SE and they offer free training that is given away by the training provides for free

Did one this year 15 spaces and only 8 people bothered there bums to turn up ,Personally i think it should be free unless you DONT turn up thats 7 people thats didnt get there training becasue of the selfish actions of others

Jamie
 

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