Last night at work some co-workers and myself were exposed to asbestos ,
we are working on a heat exchanger which was built in the late 1960's
it has a brass bundle inside which we pulled out couple days ago, the Exchanger shell is approx 12' long 4' feet in diameter , and 1/2'' - 5/8'' thick.
On each end of the Exchanger it has a channel head , and between the channel head and tube sheet (bundle) there was a an asbestos gasket , which at the time we didnt know .
Myself and another welder are on one end of the exchanger welding / overlaying the end of the shell were a channel head was gauged off , the other end there were apprentices buffing the gasket off, ( only doing what the foreman told them to do ) .
while they were buffing , airborne particles were thrown into the atmosphere , and then they were told to stop by QC ,
immediatly my partner and i were told to exit as well , i wear my PPE (personal protective equipment ) as much as i can , being an alloy welder i am exposed to all kinds of fumes , lead paints , etc , working in power boilers , oil and gas refinerys , etc,
"Today" my health is a big concern for me , as i even quit smoking , drinking , and whatever else i did ;)2 yrs ago ... yes i still have a life :-P
After we were told to undress our coveralls , hardhats , ppe and contain them in garbage bags , and go for a shower. We then went for a meeting with the client and i felt like they minimized the whole situation , by saying that it is a friable asbestos and that we have nothing to worry about :waiting:
Ive fairly educated in construction and know my rights and obligations as a worker somewhat.
I talked it over with my forman , and he just minimized it as well !... imo because hes a baglicker:wackoff: and doesnt wanna lose his position ,(pathetic) , So i know i cannot get an honest answer from him =ballwasher
I work N/S , so they sent us back to our hotel rooms in a van , as the company trucks are contaminated too.
Later on today im calling my doctor , Next shift we are supposed to have a conference call with the clients industrial hygenist , which i already know , hes gonna minimize the scenario ... I feel like the client wants to sweep the incident under the rug , of course there is a lot of "games" manipulation fear tactics used to bully , er workplace bullying , im not afraid of speaking up!
Heck ! i was looking for a job when i found this one !
I know i can find other work as im very confident in what i do ...
Any ideas / thoughts how i can handle this professionaly (healthy boundaries), stand up for myself and my co-workers without giving anyone a muay thai clinch !

From what I know about asbestos, one time, acute exposure should have no negative effects on your health. Mesothelioma is one of the biggest risks in regards to asbestos exposure. Most of the risk factors dealing with this disease were linked to chronic exposure to asbestos dust, however, a few cases have been reports with exposure over a period of about a month. The downside for you is that symptoms do not normally present for many years (often 20 to 59 years later is in the case with the majority of the exposures around the WWII era).

I am not a doc or qualified to give you a clean bill of health, but given such the short duration of exposure you will most likely suffer any negative effects from a small amount of acute exposures.

I don't think your foreman and the others are minimizing the situation, but if I were in your shoes perhaps I would feel the same way. They made some good calls getting you out of the area and cleaned up.

You said you wear PPE. Did you happen to have a dust mask or particulate respirator on at the time?

Be a little more specific on exactly what ppe you were wearing at the time.

I assume Canada has a group similar to our OSHA and if so then I would think they would have to be notified in a event like this. They are there for your benefit and not the companies/clients.

^ What Gaurdian said, it's the same thing w/ lead based paint, it requires long periods of exposure to cause serious ill effects.

I was a construction foreman for few years before moving on into IT.
They are BSing you if they said it is friable and it is safer because of it, meaning friable asbestos is easily turned into dust with minimal effort. Like guardian mentioned these things don't show symptoms for a very long time. What actually happens in your longs is that your lung tissues wraps itself around asbestos particle and the the tumor gets bigger and bigger as time goes by. According to the training that I went through to be a cerified asbestos work supervisor back in the 90's you won't even see early symptoms for minimum of 7 to 10 years. This is the reason that asbestos removal records are kept by EPA and other agencies for a very long time.

Tyvek suits with HEPA masks are minimum requirement in areas that asbestos may become airbourn, like in your case, since typical asbestos dust is slightly bigger than 3microns, and this is why synptoms don't show for a very long time, since it takes years for your lungs to develop tumors big enough to be seen by any medical scans.

I would definitely talk to your union rep and document this case for any future references. even if you don't have a union rep or belong to a union, I would get a affidavit or statment regarding the incident and get a copy of work that will be performed by the asbestos removal company. They are the ones that do the sample testing and determine the type of asbestos involved. other than that, there really isn't any means that can give you a clean bill of health, since no technology exists yet.

I would contact Canada's version of OSHA. Also there are lawyers that are Asbestos lawyers.

From what I know about asbestos, one time, acute exposure should have no negative effects on your health. Mesothelioma is one of the biggest risks in regards to asbestos exposure. Most of the risk factors dealing with this disease were linked to chronic exposure to asbestos dust, however, a few cases have been reports with exposure over a period of about a month. The downside for you is that symptoms do not normally present for many years (often 20 to 59 years later is in the case with the majority of the exposures around the WWII era).

I am not a doc or qualified to give you a clean bill of health, but given such the short duration of exposure you will most likely suffer any negative effects from a small amount of acute exposures.

I don't think your foreman and the others are minimizing the situation, but if I were in your shoes perhaps I would feel the same way. They made some good calls getting you out of the area and cleaned up.

You said you wear PPE. Did you happen to have a dust mask or particulate respirator on at the time?

Be a little more specific on exactly what ppe you were wearing at the time.

I assume Canada has a group similar to our OSHA and if so then I would think they would have to be notified in a event like this. They are there for your benefit and not the companies/clients.

For PPE / respirator , its a 3M halfmask with P100 filters

I was a construction foreman for few years before moving on into IT.
They are BSing you if they said it is friable and it is safer because of it, meaning friable asbestos is easily turned into dust with minimal effort. Like guardian mentioned these things don't show symptoms for a very long time. What actually happens in your longs is that your lung tissues wraps itself around asbestos particle and the the tumor gets bigger and bigger as time goes by. According to the training that I went through to be a cerified asbestos work supervisor back in the 90's you won't even see early symptoms for minimum of 7 to 10 years. This is the reason that asbestos removal records are kept by EPA and other agencies for a very long time.

Tyvek suits with HEPA masks are minimum requirement in areas that asbestos may become airbourn, like in your case, since typical asbestos dust is slightly bigger than 3microns, and this is why synptoms don't show for a very long time, since it takes years for your lungs to develop tumors big enough to be seen by any medical scans.

I would definitely talk to your union rep and document this case for any future references. even if you don't have a union rep or belong to a union, I would get a affidavit or statment regarding the incident and get a copy of work that will be performed by the asbestos removal company. They are the ones that do the sample testing and determine the type of asbestos involved. other than that, there really isn't any means that can give you a clean bill of health, since no technology exists yet.

My mistake .... typo ... NON-FRIABLE , (the asbestos being bound into a product matrix ) from what ive been researching it is not AS detrimental as friable , however like i stated earlyer , it was very old exchanger and the apprentices were buffing it , so then its breaking up .
unfortunately 1 out of 2 app's and my partner were not wearing respirators at the time , they are very cumbersome ,uncomfortable to wear , however i do put up with wearing it .:wallbash:

If you are exposed for 8+ hours a day over a 20+ year period, then MAYBE you could have an asbestos related problem. The simple exposure you're talking about above is l4ess damage than opening your window on the freeway and getting exposed to brake dust.

Have a beer, forget about it and move on with your life. There is nothing here to be concerned about.

If you are exposed for 8+ hours a day over a 20+ year period, then MAYBE you could have an asbestos related problem. The simple exposure you're talking about above is l4ess damage than opening your window on the freeway and getting exposed to brake dust.

Have a beer, forget about it and move on with your life. There is nothing here to be concerned about.

Agreed.

You obviously want to minimize exposure wherever possible, so you are right to be concerned. But minimal exposure for a short time is nothing to lose sleep over.

I certainly won't be seeing you in the hospital for asbestosis or anything. Just wear the gear if you have to work with it.

Yea I had a lot of it in my house when I was renovating it, had very minimal exposure to it (2 hours, one time). Two and half years later no health issues. I was wearing gloves and I know some random guy on the internet isnt the most scientific proof.

in short go to a doctor if you're worried, but you should prob be alright.

Im in construction also and had been exposed to it many of times... xyd68 is right... most brakes are made of that shit and we breathe it in all day long!! so theres nothing to worry about a small amount of exposure

+1 go check with doctor if you are really concerned about it.

For PPE / respirator , its a 3M halfmask with P100 filters

unfortunately 1 out of 2 app's and my partner were not wearing respirators at the time , they are very cumbersome ,uncomfortable to wear , however i do put up with wearing it .:wallbash:


Good for you man. Wearing a mask gave you even less to worry about. Take a load off and go enjoy whatever it is you enjoy. Don't sweat it.

I think youre freaking out over nothing

I think youre freaking out over nothing

thanks "tips" :thumbup:

I'd go see a pulmonologist and ask his advice.