Dust inhalation

[Bjay]

Thought ide start a new topic for everyone to post some experiences and knowledge about the dangers.

 

[Bjay]

Ill start out by saying that many years ago we used to blast with sand and glass beads. If I had of known then what I now no theres no way I would sucked in the dust. Yes Im a smoker but I cant change the past.

 

[Licking windows]

Did an induction on a big building project in the city years ago and the shop stupid got around to the designated mdf cutting room and all the associated dangers. He then went on to tell us that there were investigations going on into government cover ups in regards to asbestos still being used in tram breaks and that innocence people waiting for a tram were being exposed to the stuff :N:
Never heard another thing about it so Im tipping more cover ups and some nice hush hush money paid into a certain union slush fund :N:

 

[RM Outback]

Yeah asbestos wasn't considered important enough in the 80's by many employers rather it was considered a nuisance even though the dangers were known. For me it was a case of the job needed to be done so we could get to the next one, as a 1st year apprentice I was keen to impress. Fitting locks to fire doors that were full of it and working on safes. Same as you Bjay if only I'd known what I know now.

Back in my Dad's day it was a huge part of many industries. Dad along with many involved in the transport industry would fill hessian bag's by hand and load them onto the semi's. When the Hardy case was being investigated Dad was interviewed and his statement recorded. He was essentially the employer albeit employed in the family business, as it was back then if he could do the job so would anyone who worked there because that was the mindset of the day. The business wasn't at fault due to the fact they acted as contractors for Hardy. I remember him saying how they would be covered by it to the point of looking like Ghosts from the manual shovelling to fill the bags. Sadly some of those men and possibly some of their family members such as wives and anyone washing their clothes contracted asbestosis.

As for today's dangers I for the life of me can't understand how MDF (Medium Density Fibre Board) is sold let alone used in almost every door frame of every new home :8 :8 :8 it is horrible stuff.

Im aware of silicosis and mindful of how I treat rocks but I'm keen to hear from the experienced members of the potential dangers we are exposed to :Y:

 

[Licking windows]

Yeah asbestos wasn't considered important enough in the 80's by many employers rather it was considered a nuisance even though the dangers were known. For me it was a case of the job needed to be done so we could get to the next one, as a 1st year apprentice I was keen to impress. Fitting locks to fire doors that were full of it and working on safes. Same as you Bjay if only I'd known what I know now.

Back in my Dad's day it was a huge part of many industries. Dad along with many involved in the transport industry would fill hessian bag's by hand and load them onto the semi's. When the Hardy case was being investigated Dad was interviewed and his statement recorded. He was essentially the employer albeit employed in the family business, as it was back then if he could do the job so would anyone who worked there because that was the mindset of the day. The business wasn't at fault due to the fact they acted as contractors for Hardy. I remember him saying how they would be covered by it to the point of looking like Ghosts from the manual shovelling to fill the bags. Sadly some of those men and possibly some of their family members such as wives and anyone washing their clothes contracted asbestosis.

As for today's dangers I for the life of me can't understand how MDF (Medium Density Fibre Board) is sold let alone used in almost every door frame of every new home :8 :8 :8 it is horrible stuff.

Im aware of silicosis and mindful of how I treat rocks but I'm keen to hear from the experienced members of the potential dangers we are exposed to :Y:

It certainly is a worry (mdf) as from memory its banned in nz, America and probably a host of other countries with more sense than what we seem to have :N: the mdf cutting rooms on site were a bit of a joke really, sure they reduced the dust and fibres from travelling but the stupid thing was that the person or persons inside doing the cutting didnt were masks
I remember doing another big job out at Monash uni and the plumbers came across asbestos in the pipe lagging and the shop stupid called a strike until it was cleaned up and everyone on that site was given exposure notices :N:
Been exposed prior to that as well as after it :N: not everyone who is exposed goes on to suffer the consequences though!

 

[Theduke]

If youre worried about any possible illness from dust/fine particle inhalation get a chest xray every 5 years through your doctor, can be part of a checkup. I have done it for the last 15 years to keep on top of any possible problems

 

[Licking windows]

If youre worried about any possible illness from dust/fine particle inhalation get a chest xray every 5 years through your doctor, can be part of a checkup. I have done it for the last 15 years to keep on top of any possible problems

Say if an X-ray did pick something up, then what? Would it be a case of monitor and wait and see? Or would it be more like right we have caught this early lets see what we can do?

 

[savage bitter]

when I did my trade as a mechanic we were told by collage not to blow out brake drums with air when I told my boss that he laughed and kicked my ass the mechanics I did my trade with all died from asbestos related problems and to watch these blocks who were quite big lose large amounts of weight and die was not a pretty site even builders in town died from it to and it is a nasty way to go ps wouldn't wish it on any one get a dust good quality mask pretty cheap in my opinion

 

[Booney]

If youre worried about any possible illness from dust/fine particle inhalation get a chest xray every 5 years through your doctor, can be part of a checkup. I have done it for the last 15 years to keep on top of any possible problems

Great idea think Im going to do it to ,this has really made me think about all the asbestos and dusts Ive been exposed to having been a sparky for 39 years and worked in many hospitals,schools, universitys factories,construction sites,old home rnovations all over Melbourne ,the stuff is everywhere and all the dust is usually where we run the cables some precautions were taken on some jobs but there is still an old school mentality amoungst some contractors and builders of Ah whats wrong with ya just get it done . Its not over yet unfortunately.
Booney.

 

[LONEWOLF]

Part 1.....Ok here is My long Story You may need a beer or coffee before you read
.. I have worked in the Construction Industry for nearly 40 years.. Most of my tine was doing Air-conditioning, Industrial Pipe Lagging and also working on Furnaces and some Railway work. And best of all Asbestos Removal.. My Father also did the same for over 50yrs... Like Father like Son I suppose...
Asbestos was the number 1 choice for lots of Insulation in these industries and lots of others.. I was always nervous and conscious of this 'Nasty'..
My Father lived a full and happy life up till 2yrs ago when he passed away at the ripe ol age of 91... He had No Lung issues except for C.O.P.D..(emphysema) due to smoking 60 smokes a day. I was so surprised that there was no asbestos issues due to his exposure over many years..
I was doing heaps of Re-ferb work on old buildings and there was Asbestos everywhere but We were 'assured' by the builders that the 'Nasty' has been removed...

Jump forward to 1985 when I was working on a major re-ferb job on a 40 story office building in Sydney... I was put in charge of a crew of 15 ripping out the old Air-con Plant room and making it a nice and shiny new one... We were told by one of the Worlds Biggest Builders that ALL ASBESTOS HAS BEEN REMOVED 1 YEAR BEFORE any-one started work on the building.. That alone set off my alarm bells...
They used 2 mini excavators to cut off two sides of this old building and change the shape from a square building to a flashy new semi-octagonal Building.. This excavator was doing this work for 9 months AFTER asbestos removal... The whole building shook and was quite scary sometimes.. In one of the Plant rooms there was Asbestos everywhere but was sprayed with a poly film and then covered with Vermiculite to 'protect' the Asbestos.. We had to cut into this to attach new ducting or to install fire dampers.. Always wearing masks and protective suits and with special training.. I raised the issue about all this vibration from the Excavators disturbing Asbestos and was told by the site Manager of our company that all was ok... I wasn't ok with that, so I asked the Site Manager of the Builders about this issue and was told to' F off im full of XYZ ' AND stop causing trouble or I will be removed off site.. 'Not and never going to happen bud' I told them... Asbestos Jonny they called me...

So I took a big breath after several weeks and spoke to our Union They assured me im not going anywhere... They approached the Builders with the backing of several other Unions and we ended up on a 4 week long strike... 360 Workers walked off site for 4 weeks... The Builder produced the Asbestos report given to them 2yrs before any major work started by all trades and the Unions Demanded a new testing Regime was to be started before anyone came back to work... After another 4 days this 'testing' was completed.. and the report was handed to the builder and all unions involved... They placed air-monitoring sensors in all plant rooms and on random floors up to roof top...

Work-Cover was also involved and was backing the Unions on this one... Their 'Safe Level' of exposure was 1 part per Million of Asbestos in the Air...
The report came back that level 38 had 45 ppm... L33 was 64ppm.. These readings increased the lower they went down the building...
Asbestos Jonny saved the day or so I thought, till they called me into the office, told me to sit down and stay calm ONLY to tell me that My Plant room was a wopping 1079ppm.... 350 Workers Exposed to Asbestos and My crew of 15 were the worst affected... MAN DID I GO OFF... and had to be restrained from punching the xyz out of that site manager.... We were told that no further work on the whole job was to be done till all tests came back a reading of 1 or better still zero... and 'cleaning' was carried out by a Specialist Asbestos Removal Company
I along with 350 workers now have a letter admitting their mistake and any repercussions were to be born on this Builder.. Work-cover also gave us the same in case the builder decided to close shop. We all have yearly x-rays and the bill is sent to Work-cover and to this day, this still is done.. We completed the job in 1988ish... No more issued were detected...

PT2..... FWD TO 2006 and many jobs later... I started to feel unwell, so I went to the Dr... After a few tests he couldn't work out what was going on with me till I had my yearly x-ray a little earlier... The Report said I had Asbestoses or Mesothelioma and ordered further urgent testing. Both are Death Sentences...
All at the same time as Bernie Banton was having the fight of his life staying alive and battling James Hardy.. ... I was advised to contact my Union and seek Legal advise...... I was put in contact with a special branch of a major law firm who flew a rep up from Sydney to see me... They said if the 'Reports' were correct we need to start action against one of the Worlds biggest Builders now. Time is Short.. They flew me down to Sydney, put my family up in a 5 star hotel and told me to see their specialist as he was looking after Bernie and would be very keen to see me... I was advised that we were looking at a pay-out of $3m at least as they knew of the dangers and I would have been one of the youngest to ever suffer with an Asbestos related Disease . I wouldn't see a cent tho as I would be Dead by the time it was sorted... Man what a stress-full time that was... Lots of tears shed in those 2 weeks...

I had the opportunity of meeting with Bernie and we shed a few tears together over the crap they were laying on him .. It took another 3 weeks to find out the final Result.....

NO ASBESTOSIOS or anything like that.... I had a rare 'Bacteria' found in Plant room Cooling towers associated with Legionaries Disease... Totally curable with 8 months on a very strong Anti-biotic... We were so relieved that it wasn't Nasty and the Wolf Lives to tell his Story to all....

That's why I like Unions as I feel without their assistance I and 349 others would have never known of the Asbestos in that Building and would have died most likely never knowing... I now have taken an interest and made a promise to Bernie before he died, that I would spread the word of the Dangers that exists in our Work Place and Homes to the Day I Die...
R.I.P Bernie Banton 1946-2007... :brokenh: O Always in My thoughts...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_Banton

Now the World knows My Story..... Not Many did till now...

LW.... :koala:

 

[LONEWOLF]

If youre worried about any possible illness from dust/fine particle inhalation get a chest xray every 5 years through your doctor, can be part of a checkup. I have done it for the last 15 years to keep on top of any possible problems

Say if an X-ray did pick something up, then what? Would it be a case of monitor and wait and see? Or would it be more like right we have caught this early lets see what we can do?

Depends on what it is and if it is Treatable..... With All Dust, Coal, Asbestos and a few others, THERE IS NO TREATMENT....... By the time they pick it up there won't be much time left if it is a real Nasty.... Your Dr will also have to report it to the Health Department...

You seek Legal Advise or contact your Union if you are a member or ask your Dr... IF you know you have been exposed you need to have an x-ray every year... With most nasties you will be Dead with-in 5 years....

Booney, DO IT AND START NOW with the first x-ray... You are in the same situation as Me... We both have Worked in one of the highest risk jobs out there... Your work places are exactly the same as Mine..... You are so correct it wont get you now but in 40 years down the track it will.... The Home renovators are the bunch that needs to watch their health in the future... They have no idea...
I HAVE ALSO COME ACROSS THE SAME MENTALITY ON THIS FORUM IN THE PAST WHEN I TOUCHED THE SUBJECT....

On another hidden Danger note Who has Old Railway Sleepers as Garden Beds or 'Features' in their Gardens at home.... They are FULL of Asbestos.. Get rid of them....

LW....

 

[Tathradj]

went to a Capital City to do an upgrade.
Asked to see the asbestos register.
"Don't disturb the floor tiles out the back."

Installed a few terminals out front then decided to
go to the server room and start the server process.

Here was a small crew happily cutting the floor to install
some cable ducts.

Through the floor tiles.

I notified the Site Manager.

Site was shut down for 2 weeks decontamination.

I was on stand bye for 5 days then went home until
recalled to complete the job.

The crew who ignored the register were thrown off site
never to work again for that particular building firm.

I was shouted out for a few nights food and beer for that one.

 

[LONEWOLF]

Now I do know you are a true Champ Doug... Well Done.. erfect: :Y: :Y: :trophy: You will come across it often in your field... Old Cables are another Nastie...

Ramjet should also be getting X-rays every year due to the Train Set he plays with daily....

I have been to too many Funerals of 'the Oldies' in My Industry that have died from Asbestos related issues.... :brokenh: :flowers:

LW..

 

[LONEWOLF]

Asbestos is Still used today in lots of things... From Brake pads for cars, bikes, Trains to insulation in Industrial Ovens... Even the Chinese tried to sell some stuff to Aussies full of Asbestos...
Only last year the Government Banned the Import of little Chakra idols of various different Minerals from China destined for the Gem Industry... Full of Asbestos...

LW...

 

[Ded Driver]

the 'fibre' in MDF (Medium Density Fibre board) & HDF is wood.
The real danger in MDF is the formaldehyde in the glue.

one wood that is dangerous for wood carving/lathing is the heartwood from the Australian Grasstree (also known by another name that is politically incorrect) .. apparently the lathe dust can cause lung cancers similar to asbestos.

 

[stoyve]

Total respect for you LW :|
I was fully exposed to asbestos for 4 years working in a foundry from 1979 to 1983.
I used to ware an asbestos lined suit with a full hood.
There was no cloth lining in the hood at all.
I also had to jack hammer out the the bricks inside the furnace during a shutdown with only a paper mask on.
That company shut down about 1988 so I don't have any chance to get that followed up.
Cheers Steve

Part 1.....Ok here is My long Story You may need a beer or coffee before you read
.. I have worked in the Construction Industry for nearly 40 years.. Most of my tine was doing Air-conditioning, Industrial Pipe Lagging and also working on Furnaces and some Railway work. And best of all Asbestos Removal.. My Father also did the same for over 50yrs... Like Father like Son I suppose...
Asbestos was the number 1 choice for lots of Insulation in these industries and lots of others.. I was always nervous and conscious of this 'Nasty'..
My Father lived a full and happy life up till 2yrs ago when he passed away at the ripe ol age of 91... He had No Lung issues except for C.O.P.D..(emphysema) due to smoking 60 smokes a day. I was so surprised that there was no asbestos issues due to his exposure over many years..
I was doing heaps of Re-ferb work on old buildings and there was Asbestos everywhere but We were 'assured' by the builders that the 'Nasty' has been removed...

Jump forward to 1985 when I was working on a major re-ferb job on a 40 story office building in Sydney... I was put in charge of a crew of 15 ripping out the old Air-con Plant room and making it a nice and shiny new one... We were told by one of the Worlds Biggest Builders that ALL ASBESTOS HAS BEEN REMOVED 1 YEAR BEFORE any-one started work on the building.. That alone set off my alarm bells...
They used 2 mini excavators to cut off two sides of this old building and change the shape from a square building to a flashy new semi-octagonal Building.. This excavator was doing this work for 9 months AFTER asbestos removal... The whole building shook and was quite scary sometimes.. In one of the Plant rooms there was Asbestos everywhere but was sprayed with a poly film and then covered with Vermiculite to 'protect' the Asbestos.. We had to cut into this to attach new ducting or to install fire dampers.. Always wearing masks and protective suits and with special training.. I raised the issue about all this vibration from the Excavators disturbing Asbestos and was told by the site Manager of our company that all was ok... I wasn't ok with that, so I asked the Site Manager of the Builders about this issue and was told to' F off im full of XYZ ' AND stop causing trouble or I will be removed off site.. 'Not and never going to happen bud' I told them... Asbestos Jonny they called me...

So I took a big breath after several weeks and spoke to our Union They assured me im not going anywhere... They approached the Builders with the backing of several other Unions and we ended up on a 4 week long strike... 360 Workers walked off site for 4 weeks... The Builder produced the Asbestos report given to them 2yrs before any major work started by all trades and the Unions Demanded a new testing Regime was to be started before anyone came back to work... After another 4 days this 'testing' was completed.. and the report was handed to the builder and all unions involved... They placed air-monitoring sensors in all plant rooms and on random floors up to roof top...

Work-Cover was also involved and was backing the Unions on this one... Their 'Safe Level' of exposure was 1 part per Million of Asbestos in the Air...
The report came back that level 38 had 45 ppm... L33 was 64ppm.. These readings increased the lower they went down the building...
Asbestos Jonny saved the day or so I thought, till they called me into the office, told me to sit down and stay calm ONLY to tell me that My Plant room was a wopping 1079ppm.... 350 Workers Exposed to Asbestos and My crew of 15 were the worst affected... MAN DID I GO OFF... and had to be restrained from punching the xyz out of that site manager.... We were told that no further work on the whole job was to be done till all tests came back a reading of 1 or better still zero... and 'cleaning' was carried out by a Specialist Asbestos Removal Company
I along with 350 workers now have a letter admitting their mistake and any repercussions were to be born on this Builder.. Work-cover also gave us the same in case the builder decided to close shop. We all have yearly x-rays and the bill is sent to Work-cover and to this day, this still is done.. We completed the job in 1988ish... No more issued were detected...

PT2..... FWD TO 2006 and many jobs later... I started to feel unwell, so I went to the Dr... After a few tests he couldn't work out what was going on with me till I had my yearly x-ray a little earlier... The Report said I had Asbestoses or Mesothelioma and ordered further urgent testing. Both are Death Sentences...
All at the same time as Bernie Banton was having the fight of his life staying alive and battling James Hardy.. ... I was advised to contact my Union and seek Legal advise...... I was put in contact with a special branch of a major law firm who flew a rep up from Sydney to see me... They said if the 'Reports' were correct we need to start action against one of the Worlds biggest Builders now. Time is Short.. They flew me down to Sydney, put my family up in a 5 star hotel and told me to see their specialist as he was looking after Bernie and would be very keen to see me... I was advised that we were looking at a pay-out of $3m at least as they knew of the dangers and I would have been one of the youngest to ever suffer with an Asbestos related Disease . I wouldn't see a cent tho as I would be Dead by the time it was sorted... Man what a stress-full time that was... Lots of tears shed in those 2 weeks...

I had the opportunity of meeting with Bernie and we shed a few tears together over the crap they were laying on him .. It took another 3 weeks to find out the final Result.....

NO ASBESTOSIOS or anything like that.... I had a rare 'Bacteria' found in Plant room Cooling towers associated with Legionaries Disease... Totally curable with 8 months on a very strong Anti-biotic... We were so relieved that it wasn't Nasty and the Wolf Lives to tell his Story to all....

That's why I like Unions as I feel without their assistance I and 349 others would have never known of the Asbestos in that Building and would have died most likely never knowing... I now have taken an interest and made a promise to Bernie before he died, that I would spread the word of the Dangers that exists in our Work Place and Homes to the Day I Die...
R.I.P Bernie Banton 1946-2007... :brokenh: O Always in My thoughts...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_Banton

Now the World knows My Story..... Not Many did till now...

LW.... :koala:

 

[stoyve]

After I was exposed to asbestos in a foundry, I worked in the flooring industry .
One job involved the removal of over 1000 m/2 of asbestos backed vinyl tiles.
This was done by using a gas flamed torchto soften the tiles, then using a sharpened shovel to scrape it all off.
Of course we then proceeded to vigorously sweep it all up and then shovel into wheelbarrows, only to dump it outside into a bin.
Mmmmmm, happy days..........
NOT!!!!

 

[RockRat]

One way or the other we were all exposed to asbestos. 60s/70s.
Coming back from vietnam on the HMAS Sydney we were bunked in
hammocks that swung below Asbestos covered pipes, Sailors on
ships then where exposed to it 24/7. The asbestos i was told
was Crocidolite, or blue asbestos which is the most dangerous
type of asbestos. One member of my platoon died from liver
cancer put down to contact with asbestos.
Xrays have shown i have scarring on the lung, i'm okay,
one of the lucky ones i guess.
You still see today young blokes on building sites
cutting masonry without a dust mask, 10 foot
tall and stupid, or ignorant. Even though workplace health
and safety is a bit over done sometimes, this is one aspect
that should be enforced more. Sillicosis is not a nice injury
to have, my scaring is most likely due to crushing Quartz. :argh:

 

[Theduke]

I forgot to put any time I feel really crook I get a xray done also. My main exposure is from silica dust, silicosis is something that I may be facing in the future. I do worry about it but theres not much I can do about my past exposure so all I do now is manage my current exposure and minimise any with ppe and workplace controls

 

[user 4485]

I get a work sponsored chest xray every 3 years. So far all good.
I often wonder when digging on the goldfields in different soil what I might be breathing in. Get some funky smells at times. Could be old chemicals, pathogens etc. In dry, dusty conditions a dust mask may not be a bad idea?