#26
IP: 24.152.131.220
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The dear wife of a cruising friend was lost to the cancer caused by asbestos a couple of years ago. The belief is she came in contact with it as a result of handling/laundering her husband's contaminated work clothes, a 'secondary smoke' exposure for sure.
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Neil 1977 Catalina 30 San Pedro, California prior boats 1987 Westsail 32, 1970 Catalina 22 Had my hands in a few others |
#27
IP: 76.106.2.171
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Quote:
You don't need special clean-up procedures if you're working on your boat. Just bag it and trash it. |
#28
IP: 76.106.2.171
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But that's not the same as a one-time removal of a few feet of asbestos wrap out of your boat. Let's not confuse a one-time exposure to something with a career of working around it.
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#29
IP: 99.50.221.233
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I didn't mean to equate the two. What will minimize any exposure though is to wet the wrap before handling it. The moisture keeps the fibers from becoming airborne. A decent respirator would be prudent too. A particle mask is better than nothing.
It's true that repeated exposure greatly increases the risk as does a lifetime of smoking. Further, I understand that asbestos comes in a wide range of microscopic fiber lengths and only one particular length is known to cause the problem. And different people have different susceptibilities. (Whew, six syllables!) There's also about a 20 year latency period before health problems emerge. Why would I be interested in such things? My tenure in the boatbuilding industry included working with open sacks of powdered asbestos. Every physical exam includes a chest X-ray for this reason. My last exposure was 39 years ago so it looks like I beat the grim reaper. I have lost work friends from those days to it though. Last one I knew of was in 1992, fitting the 20 year model.
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Neil 1977 Catalina 30 San Pedro, California prior boats 1987 Westsail 32, 1970 Catalina 22 Had my hands in a few others |
#30
IP: 74.110.198.83
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Quote:
Quite likely not a "one-time" exposure. By pulling off that wrap, unless you used wet methods (e.g., a glove bag and surfactant), you quite likely caused a fiber release. The pipe wrap is gone, but asbestos fibers quite likely remain behind. Although the well-known studies regarding asbestos exposure and rates of asbestosis and mesothelioma were based on shipyard workers and boilermakers exposed to the stuff for decades, there is a theory that all it takes is a single fiber. I agree that a one-time removal of 10 feet of pipe wrap is very different from working with raw asbestos for 30 years, but I also would not downplay its hazards. Nor would I simply rip the pipe wrap off and toss it in a trash bag. If the insulation is in good condition, tearing it off in that manner almost certainly will make the situation much worse and actually create an asbestos exposure where there wasn't one before. Make a solution of dish liquid and water, spray it down well to keep it wet, wear a HEPA filter respirator, and put it directly into heavy plastic bags (6 mil preferred). Yeah, it's not kryptonite - but it's also not totally harmless and I would not fool around with it lightly.
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- Bill T. - Richmond, VA Relentless pursuer of lost causes |
#31
IP: 216.6.173.89
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Hot Section Insulation
I'm surprised at the angst about finding appropriate insulation for exhaust hot sections. MMI sells just the thing - give Don and Brenda some business in appreciation for their services to us Afourians.
I used the MMI woven glass tape on our Tartan 30 exhaust which runs within two inches of the plywood mid-ship bulkhead for about 18 inches (as well as within inches of most of the important electrical wiring on the boat). Being a "belt-and-suspenders" engineer, I used two layer of the wrap, and the resulting surface temperature is low enough that the tape can be touched (briefly) during operation. If you get the MMI product, discard the supplied clamps which are worse than useless: use SS worm clamps instead. The insulation will smoke for the first few hours, but not to worry. An alternative for the very wary is molded magnesite insulation which comes as two half-cylinders which are clamped around the metal pipe. If you want to go that route (and I don't know why you would want to unless you had an installation where the hot section runs very close to a flammable surface), a few minutes on Google will find you a local supplier. Any glass wool insulating product is something I would keep as far from my A4as possible, preferably not on the boat at all. It's not good for machinery, it's not good for skin, and it's not good for the lungs. The advice that we have already heard on asbestos is good. Asbestos, particularly long-fibered white asbestos as was most common in North American insulation products, is innocuous unless you snort the dry dust into your lungs. Keep it wet, and it won't fly around. It's not poisonous, nor is it carcinogenic in the chemical sense. However, those tiny fibers (blue asbestos is tinier, hence worse) stick in the lungs and cause irritation which can become cancerous, particlarly when chemical carcinogins (e.g. tobacco tars) are present. This mechanism may also apply to finer-fibered grades of glass wool. |
#32
IP: 76.28.45.109
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Quote:
George
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gfatula s/v Tundra Down Seal Harbor, Maine |
#33
IP: 76.167.223.243
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To further George's excellent information, having been exposed myself I've done quite a bit of research on the subject.
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Neil 1977 Catalina 30 San Pedro, California prior boats 1987 Westsail 32, 1970 Catalina 22 Had my hands in a few others Last edited by ndutton; 11-30-2014 at 10:02 AM. |
#34
IP: 184.254.5.201
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Hopefully, still all good!
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-Jerry 'Lone Ranger' 1978 RANGER 30 |
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