14 June 2012

A pane in the lungs? Asbestos testing Catch 22

| poetix
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asbestos hazard

Mr Poetix closed a window over-vigorously, and it cracked. Time for new glass.

Problem; our house was built in the 1950s, and according to the window people, the putty around the glass may contain asbestos. This needs to be tested before they will replace the glass. Fair enough. I don’t want anyone getting mesothelioma.

I rang the asbestos testing people. They told me that I must remove a piece of the putty to take to them for testing, enclosed in two snap-lock bags. Now, this strikes me as a little odd. I am expected to do the very thing that the tradesmen won’t do, and risk breathing in loose material potentially containing asbestos, in order to get a sample for it to be tested? They told me that they could not give advice on safe removal.

Is this safe at all? Should I wear a mask? Are poets known for strong lungs? Has anyone else faced this problem? Seriously, I would love any advice on how to safely remove the putty sample, as I have no idea. Otherwise we face a very cold winter with a cracked window.

Thank you, dear rioters.

[Photo by ktheory CC BY 2.0]

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Frankie118 said :

Don’t know if this helps at all but there is a dedicated website for working with asbestos in the ACT: http://www.asbestos.act.gov.au

Will check it out.

Thanks again everyone.

Don’t know if this helps at all but there is a dedicated website for working with asbestos in the ACT: http://www.asbestos.act.gov.au

wildturkeycanoe6:08 am 15 Jun 12

For all this headache, I’d just get the whole frame replaced too, rather than go through so much hassle. Honestly, I’m still not so certain about the riskiness of asbetsos. The chances of getting it seem to be a bit hit and miss – some people living in the asbestos mining town for decades never suffered at all – yet a home handy man may have contracted it from doing a kitchen reno? Like many have said, it’s about the airborne particles, so what they do in the real world is spray a pvc based glue over the contaminant before removing it. That way it doesn’t go everywhere. Removal is very expensive so I hope you get a resolution out of this the cheapest way.

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd8:59 pm 14 Jun 12

God damnit. Give me your details and i will come give you a professional opinion. Is it putty faced or beaded? To me it sounds like the glazier didn’t want the job.

Btw, turps will not soften 60 year old putty.

zander said :

I think you’re being a bit melodramatic, gettting a small sample one time would not pose any significant risk. The glazier doesn’t want to do it as they deal with it day in day out, which over time would pose a significant risk. (think of the doctor and nurse hiding behind a screeen when you get an x-ray). How much does getting the test cost? I’d be inclined to just remove all the putty myself if the test price was too high.

Melodrama is a good description. Just walk in, get some putty and put it in a bag.

VYBerlinaV8_is_back said :

Apparently you can collect the putty, dry it in the sun, then chop it up very finely and snort it up your nose. It makes you feel great. Possible side effects include going mental and trying to root a chick up the arse in an alley in civic.

A tad obsessed, are we? Take it to that non-asbestos thread (get it?) not this nice just trying to avoid a painful death one.

To the people who are helpfully suggesting I get a NSW person, thank you, but I feel there is something wrong with subjecting someone from interstate to a risk just to avoid a bit of fuss. And I feel that this mess should be able to be solved in the ACT, given that the ACT is where I live, and where these regulations (if that’s what they are) are in force.

MERC600 said :

andym said :

Maybe you should try another glazier……

Get somebody from outside the ACT, they wouldn’t give a rats about a small bit of putty. Remember years ago when there were mushrooms all over our houses , with contractors removing roof insulation. Richard Carlton took great delight in showing what the Australian taxpayers were forking out in the ACT, while the good residents of Qubyn got a roneo’d sheet telling them how to do it themselves.

I really read that as rodeo’d. Sorry, Queanbeyan.

As previously stated the problem is airborne fibres. If the putty is hard or firm you could use mineral turps to soften it. Then scrape it off – you may have apply the turps/scrape several times.

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd4:40 pm 14 Jun 12

Highly unlikely there has been asbestos mixed into the putty. Some mastic tape has it in it though.

VYBerlinaV8_is_back4:28 pm 14 Jun 12

Apparently you can collect the putty, dry it in the sun, then chop it up very finely and snort it up your nose. It makes you feel great. Possible side effects include going mental and trying to root a chick up the arse in an alley in civic.

andym said :

Maybe you should try another glazier……

Get somebody from outside the ACT, they wouldn’t give a rats about a small bit of putty. Remember years ago when there were mushrooms all over our houses , with contractors removing roof insulation. Richard Carlton took great delight in showing what the Australian taxpayers were forking out in the ACT, while the good residents of Qubyn got a roneo’d sheet telling them how to do it themselves.

Disclaimer; I’m not an expert!

Asbestos is only dangerous when the fibres become airborne. Unless the putty is extremely dry or brittle and crumbling into very fine dust I would think it’s reasonably safe. To reduce the chance of dust, spray the area you’re working on with water. The fibres are minuscule which makes regular ‘dust masks’ and old clothes fairly redundant as far as protection goes.

Contact a Painter Poetix – they are used to dealing with asbestos regularly and the one I use does a great deal more than painting and plugging holes, he is handy with carpentry too and grateful for all types of work!

There’s asbestos throughout the older suburbs. I suspect removing a small sample with a knife will not significantly increase your exposure beyond what you’ve already been exposed to.

If you want to be on the extra extra safe side, just go to Bunnings or a tradie shop, buy a half mask that takes P1/P2 dust particle filter cartridges. It’s good to have one of those masks anyway for when you are doing clean-outs; there can be a lot of nasty stuff in dust apart from asbestos like rodent fecal matter and dried chemicals.

And maybe some disposable gloves and a disposal painter’s suit. But I think it’s probably overkill. Personally I’d just get a knife and gouge a bit straight in to a bag.

Anyway, here’s a link that might help you:

http://www.workcover.nsw.gov.au/formspublications/publications/documents/working_with_asbestos_guide_5484%5B1%5D.pdf

Maybe you should try another glazier……

zander said :

I think you’re being a bit melodramatic, gettting a small sample one time would not pose any significant risk. The glazier doesn’t want to do it as they deal with it day in day out, which over time would pose a significant risk. (think of the doctor and nurse hiding behind a screeen when you get an x-ray). How much does getting the test cost? I’d be inclined to just remove all the putty myself if the test price was too high.

Moi, melodramatic! Surely you jest! (Faints.)

Thank you everyone for your advice. Most people tend to confirm my idea that this is a tad silly. If I do it myself I will do as Clown Killer says, and wear really old clothes I can dispose of. (And hope no-one thinks they’re worth rescuing.)

A_Cog said :

Get ready for even more stupidity poetix…
The rules for asbestos in the ACT are that you can get it assessed by asbestos assessors (and pay $65 or more for that assessment), but the assessor cannot be an asbestos removalist (or vice versa).

Does this mean that there are also people who you can pay to do little jobs like removing a putty sample?

A_Cog said :

Get ready for even more stupidity poetix…
The rules for asbestos in the ACT are that you can get it assessed by asbestos assessors (and pay $65 or more for that assessment), but the assessor cannot be an asbestos removalist (or vice versa).

How ridiculous that such token red tape exists for something that can kill you. It would be funnier if it wasn’t true.

I can understand this; it’s along the same lines as don’t get your accountant to audit your books. A tester may be tempted to say it contains asbestos, and recommend that they should remove it immediately.

A_Cog said :

The ACT Government should have a bunch of mobile inspectors who come, assess, and remove. They could tie this to their own internal asbestos register, so as homes change ownership, new owners aren’t forced to go through the same process as previous owners of discovering they live in a death-trap.

This makes sense. The only issues I can see are the usual ones: increased bureaucracy; timeliness; increased cost.

Clown Killer11:21 am 14 Jun 12

For my two cents worth …

Treat the stuff as if it was asbestos – wear a good quality mask, gloves and old clothes that you can chuck if you get any on you – and remove it yourself.

If ou get it tested and the results come back positive then you will know for sure and you DO NOT want to know for sure.

Get ready for even more stupidity poetix…
The rules for asbestos in the ACT are that you can get it assessed by asbestos assessors (and pay $65 or more for that assessment), but the assessor cannot be an asbestos removalist (or vice versa).

How ridiculous that such token red tape exists for something that can kill you. It would be funnier if it wasn’t true.

The ACT Government should have a bunch of mobile inspectors who come, assess, and remove. They could tie this to their own internal asbestos register, so as homes change ownership, new owners aren’t forced to go through the same process as previous owners of discovering they live in a death-trap.

I think you’re being a bit melodramatic, gettting a small sample one time would not pose any significant risk. The glazier doesn’t want to do it as they deal with it day in day out, which over time would pose a significant risk. (think of the doctor and nurse hiding behind a screeen when you get an x-ray). How much does getting the test cost? I’d be inclined to just remove all the putty myself if the test price was too high.

Seems a bit counter intuitive that they need to get a sample off you when you suspect it to be asbestos…. my guess would be a mask, and some disposable tweezers?

I don’t know the content well enough to point you to a particular part of the site, but you may find looking through through asbestos.act.gov.au to be useful.

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