Asbestos fear

[Fishmanpa]

What if.....

It's amazing what the mind can do. I'll just say that the best reassurance you can get is "reality" and your mind is not focused on that at the moment. The thoughts are totally fantasy based.

Positive thoughts

[nomorepanic]

Hi

This is just a courtesy reply to let you know that your thread was merged with another of your threads.

Please when posting on similar topics add it onto your previous post rather than starting a new one.

It is nothing personal it is just to make it easier for people to follow your story and to give you advice as a whole.

[Cuckoo8]

Just want to throw in my 2 cents as a construction engineer who comes across asbestos regularly.

I always have the structures tested for asbestos before a renovation if there’s any chance that the substance might be present (this usually means that the building is old and/or hasn’t been remodeled after 1994). Not all materials have to be tested because both myself and the experts I use can tell that there’s no asbestos in it without testing it separately (there’s a list with asbestos products used during a certain decade that we can consult if needed).

Even if no asbestos is found, the work site still needs to be properly contained from where people live/work, because construction dust isn’t something we want to spread out either. And if the contractor fails to isolate the site, leading to the dust spreading all over, then they’re the ones in charge of all the cleaning costs. That means that they should be quite motivated to keep places clean, asbestos or not.

If asbestos is found, we follow the law, which demands that we use a licensed contractor to remove the harmful substance. That removal always requires separate planning and organizing, and the contractor has to submit that plan to the local work health and safety authority. After submitting the paperwork, and the authority has checked that the company has clearance for removal of harmful substances, they’re given permission to go ahead with the work. The work site has to be separated, and it has to be depressurized compared to the surrounding areas to keep the dust from getting out. Also, there has to be a 3-part border tunnel into the work area, where the workers dress and undress and clean themselves. And there are barriers inside the tunnel, too. After the work is done, you’re required to make sure that the air inside the compartment no longer has large quantities of asbestos fibers. This is done by taking an air sample, and the contractor isn’t allowed to take down the barriers unless the result comes back negative.

Of course I can’t speak for the hotel or restaurant owner, but based on my experience, I’d say that you’re far more likely to be exposed to asbestos because a random homeowner decided to renovate their bathroom or kitchen and bypass all asbestos checks than in any setting requiring maintenance attention conducted by professionals.

Feel free to ask me additional questions. I’m not a health professional, but I do know more about asbestos than I’d necessarily want or need to.

[ErinKC]

I'm sorry you're going through this. I went through an asbestos/general contamination fear at the height of my anxiety. It's a hard one because it does make you feel like you're going crazy because it's like you can see the contamination everywhere and can't do anything about it. When we bought our new house 2 years ago we had every room painted before moving in, including the kitchen cabinets. Our painters also patched a section of wall that had been misshapen, probably from being repaired previously.

After they finished all of it we came back to the house and every single inch of it was covered in a fine white dust. It was either from sanding down the wall/cabinets, from spray painting the cabinets, or from the drywall dust they used to patch the hole. They were not careful with containing it, obviously, and it must have been drawn into the air vents and spread everywhere. When I say everywhere, I mean it. The sink tops in our bedroom bathroom, which were up the stairs and around two corners from the kitchen had the coating of white film.

I also have bad allergies to dust and other indoor allergens and whatever was all over the house was sending my allergies out of control. I'd get back to our apartment after spending time in there and be coughing for hours. I'd wake up feeling like I used to feel after a night of drinking and smoking cigarettes in college. All of this sent my anxiety through the roof! I felt like there was no way to ever get the house clean since it was EVERYWHERE.

To make matters worse, we hired an expensive cleaning company that specialized in construction clean up and they completely screwed us. They asked for 2 weeks to get the job done since they were pretty booked and promised so much. When two weeks were over they'd done virtually nothing. I had to call management and demand a refund of our deposit since they'd basically done nothing but attempt to get some scratches out of our countertops and vacuum the bedrooms. Our washer and dryer were still pulled out from the wall and mounds of dust sitting behind them, and every surface was still covered in the white powdery dust.

With like 3 days to go before we had to move in I found another cleaning crew to come. They did a much better job. I replaced all the blinds because nothing could get all the dust off of them. And, finally, we moved in and I eventually forgot about it.

I had another bout of this fear a year later when we had a leak from our bathroom into our dining room ceiling. I went into a panic about mold developing and all the other contaminants that would get into the house when they cut open the ceiling and repaired it. I had to leave the house and stay with my parents for the week they were fixing it so I wouldn't obsess about things like how much debris was on floor, where the workers were walking, etc...

Then, a few months ago we had another massive leak in our basement (home ownership is for the birds!!). This time my anxiety level was much lower and it hardly bothered me that they had to tear up the carpet, run fans for days, cut open and replace all the dry wall along the perimeter of the room, and repaint. It just goes to show that the panic is anxiety related more than logic based.

This is rambling... but it's all to say that I get where you're coming from, but it is your anxiety getting the best of you. It's so easy to obsess about unseen dangers, but there's nothing lurking there to hurt you. You'll be ok!

[carlap]

Can I ask you guys that aren’t worried about asbestos, would you be worried about them changing a boiler in a kitchen while you and your family were eating? Knowing that old boilers can contain asbestos.
Also I’m washing our clothes obsessively incase the asbestos fibres are on them is this realistic?

[Fishmanpa]

Can I ask you guys that aren’t worried about asbestos, would you be worried about them changing a boiler in a kitchen while you and your family were eating? Knowing that old boilers can contain asbestos.
Also I’m washing our clothes obsessively incase the asbestos fibres are on them is this realistic?

I'll just reiterate the answer I posted earlier for what it's worth... No, this is not realistic at all

Positive thoughts

[carlap]

Ok so I’ve been here a few times panicking about asbestos but here I am again
We are due to take my son to Madrid in January to see his favourite football team Real Madrid play. It’s his birthday surprise but I’ve found out they are currently removing asbestos in the train stations there, it’s a big job which I’m guessing will still be going on in January.
The hotel we are booked into is a old building although looks modern inside.
Now I don’t want to go I’m so worried about asbestos being all over the place there.
I know we won’t go on the trains but now I’m thinking it’s just going to be all over the city and in the hotel.
I can’t sleep i already know I’m going to throw all our clothes and shoes away when we get back.
I want to cancel the whole thing but he will be devastated.
My husband has said he will take our son on his own but then I’d feel like I’m exposing him to asbestos while I hide at home.

[axolotl]

Asbestos fear comes up a lot on here but think of it this way. So much was made using asbestos in the 20th Century, before it was known to be harmful.

How many people do you know who have actually died of asbestosis, even though a huge percentage of 20th Century housing was made using it? I would bet anything the answer is none, unless you knew people who worked in industry and were inhaling it on a regular basis as part of their job.

And with the amount of health and safety legislation in this country, do you really think the station would be open at all if it was even possible to contract any form of illness from walking through it?

This is a hugely irrational fear, and is an arbitrary thing your anxiety's latched on to. Are you getting any treatment for this? Changing your plans because routine work is going on in a railway station is a sign things are out of hand.

[Elen]

Hi

This is just a courtesy reply to let you know that your thread was merged with another of your threads.

Please when posting on similar topics add it onto your previous post rather than starting a new one.

It is nothing personal it is just to make it easier for people to follow your story and to give you advice as a whole.

Elen

[carlap]

Is this the same in Spain or are they not as worried about health and safgoas they are here in this country?