Asbestos laying on the ground dangerous?

[CathyA]

We found out a guy down the road from us (who lives in an old building), is remodeling and cleaning out the asbestos himself, because it's too expensive to have done by professionals. I see an expanding pile of "stuff" in his yard. If some of that is asbestos, should I be concerned? (or notify someone to check it out?)

[ToomuchStuff]

What he is doing is illegal, hands down. I know it is done in area's because I live in one (between shingles and old gravity furnaces). What one has to be concerned with, is the airborne version (small particles as it breaks down), because that is what causes the lung issues.
While not considered "hazardous" yet, between my grandfather, (worked in a factory) and a specialist that dealt with insurance companies and abatement, I knew, fiberglass is similar, but hasn't been declared hazardous. (in the same fashion, they still recommend masks when working with it).
The ones you would have to contact are the building department (does he have a permit, etc) and the EPA. (the guys who fine)

[Float On]

You could start with your county health department, they should have an environmental person.

[Alan]

Asbestos is not generally considered to be harmful unless it is releasing dust or fibers into the air where they can be inhaled or ingested.

[bae]

What kind of "stuff" is it? Have you tried talking to him first?

[goldensmom]

Asbestos is not generally considered to be harmful unless it is releasing dust or fibers into the air where they can be inhaled or ingested.
I agree with Alan. It would be good if the guy down the road sprayed the asbestos materials with water to keep any chance of dust at a minimum or to bag it. Remodeling such as this is routine but the asbestos materials usually go into a roll off dumpster so it is not in plain view then to a landfill.

[Lainey]

Asbestos is not generally considered to be harmful unless it is releasing dust or fibers into the air where they can be inhaled or ingested.

I'm glad to read this. Seems like so many people on juries get carried away with verdicts awarding millions of dollars to someone who alleges things like they once touched a caulking substance that contained encapsulated asbestos, or similar very far-removed situations. They may be sick from something they actually did - like hundreds of brake jobs as a mechanic in the 60s and 70s - but since those defendants are bankrupt, they go after other companies who are still solvent and who have an extremely tenuous connection to anything this person might have done. Gaah, don't get me started.

bottom line, I believe that it's wise to use caution, but I don't believe the "single fiber" theory that plaintiff's attorneys try to get juries to buy.

[onlinemoniker]

As I understand a "single fiber" if inhaled can give you cancer 30 years down the road. The thing is how high are your chances of inhaling that "single fiber" if you have very limited exposure to asbestos.

About 9 years ago I remolded my kitchen, pulling up a bunch of flooring. The bottom layer was asbestos tile. I knew I was doing it and it was breaking up as I was pulling it up but it wasn't like I was working in an asbestos factory (if they exist) and it was just that afternoon. I guess I'm at risk. I hope not. But we'll see in 20-30 years. It would really be a drag if I ended up having given myself lung cancer.

[CathyA]

onlinemoniker.........is there any way of checking your lungs before anything bad shows up? I don't know how early asbestos can be detected in the lungs, say by cat scan, etc. If so, maybe there's something you could do to minimize the damage?

[onlinemoniker]

Cathy:

Thanks for your concern. But a CAT scan of the chest is 400 xrays. There is no way I would do that. I think anything that got in there would be microscopic and undetectable anyway. The design of the lungs is such that they're filled with tiny little bronchi. To remove anything they did find would involve open-lung surgery? Does that even exist?

From what I understand (I have mentioned this to others) mesothelioma is the asbestos lung cancer that will show up in people who work around asbestos all the time. I was possibly exposed to asbestos debris from a few broken tiles on one afternoon. I probably have nothing to worry about. That said, I should have worn at least a dust mask.

Word to the wise: Wear a mask.

I'm not really worried. No point. Nothing can be done anyway.

[goldensmom]

My husband is an asbestos abatement supervisor and oversees asbestos removal as well as doing it himself. We have an old house that I've done a lot of work on. I wear a respirator and Tyvek suit when dealing with asbestos (at his insistance) but as previously noted by Alan, if left undisturbed the risked posed by asbestos is a minimal if any. With minimal exposure to asbestos containing materials I don't worry about it. By the way, check the boxes that contain tile at Home Depot, Lowes, etc. and you will find in the fine print 'contains asbestos' and people are up and down those aisles all the time unaware.

[Lainey]

My understanding is that, even for the medical experts, it's very difficult to detect the difference between lung cancer and "asbestosis." You can likely get an expert to say it's asbestosis, therefore opening the door for you to sue. I'm afraid it's become a racket.