Asbestos worry! Please help me

[Cbear83]

Hi all, I suffer from very bad health anxiety and always go to the worst end result- I am going to die. From cancer, heart problems, autoimmune things- you name it - I have convinced myself over the years I have had it and spent a small fortune on private tests to reassure myself I do not.

My recent worry is our asbestos garage we have. I go in and out the thing daily to use tumble dryer. Our survey said it is in tact and ok 4 years ago.
Recently we emptied the garage contents into a skip and I could feel dust in my mouth and am worried I was exposed to the asbestos.

My husband also drilled 5 small holes into it to afix a post to wall and I am
Terrified I breathed in the fibres there.

Also recently I noticed a crack in the board about 4 inches long that we have not seen before. I think it may have been the door slamming shut in the high winds- would have been when the Tumble is on.
I am terrified when I went out to get washing in I breathed in some of the fibres from the crack!

I have now convinced myself I am
Going to die in 10 - 40 years leaving my
Daughter and I cannot function at all.
My rational head knows you need to have long exposure the asbestos fibres to cause a problem and the little fibres (if I did inhale any) should not cause me a problem but I cannot accept that!

Am worried about how long fibres stay in the air. The garage door is open daily and I wondered if the high winds would have blown them away. Or if still in the garage and I going in there daily - is this classed as long term exposure?!!!!


The internet is so confusing and I am
Getting in a right state :(

Anyone with knowledge please please help
Me!

[MyNameIsTerry]

When it comes to asbestos ONLY look at medical sources because there are plenty of horror stories out there like many things and there is a lot of misinformation too.

The danger comes from disturbing the fibres so if you break the wall they are in they will be released into the air. However, you also need to remember that there are 3 types of asbestos, blue, brown & white. White was used in domestic properties and is by far the least likely to cause any issues. The real issues where identified with blue & brown which were used in industrial premises and industrial processes until they were banned. The vast majority of cases of later complications come from people exposed to these types in their daily work over periods of years or even their families who were exposed to their works clothes (fibres being disturbed again) again over a period of years.

So, if your property was never even an old industrial building (and even so I would expect more recent conversions to have identified & removed any asbestos) then at the worst it can only be white.

If you had loose fibres, yes they would blow away. Asbestos is found in very tiny quantities in the air anyway and as proven by science, these are levels too low to cause any later issue.

Remember, it's about disturbed fibres. even if you had white asbestos in that garage, which seems unlikely anyway, it would need to be disturbed in your presence e.g. drilling, smashing, etc.

GP's are very used to this issue and I would recommend you have a discussion with them to get the best possible answers but from there you need to tackle the real reason fueling it to this level, the anxiety and again your GP is a good person to be speaking to about support/therapy for this. CBT would be pretty ideal for an asbestos worry.

I noticed you bumped a couple of old threads but here are some more recent ones where you have a chance of replies off people in them:

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthr...light=asbestos
http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthr...light=asbestos
http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthr...light=asbestos
http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthr...light=asbestos

[Cbear83]

ThAnk you for your reply.

I guess my worry is that it was intact and then my husband drilled into it. I was not present when he did but do go in the garage after and do have dis in my mouth 2 years after he did it. He said though it would be long gone mans too little to worry about.

Also the crack by the door slamming. I not sure when that happened and if I was present etc so worried I breathed it in. Also if the wind blow at the crack are fibres being released wtc? Or is it too small to worry about?

And is it safe to go into to to use timber dryer? Any thoughts on this?
Many thanks again !

[MyNameIsTerry]

This is what the NHS say:

It does not present a health risk if it is undisturbed, but if material containing asbestos is chipped, drilled, broken or allowed to deteriorate, it can release a fine dust that contains asbestos fibres.

So, providing the area is not rotting away or being disturbed by some sort of impact damage e.g. drilling, there are no fibres being released. The wind can't disturb the fibres unless they have already been put into this state by either breaking them up or deterioration like rotting.

Considering you know you have asbestos, then it's whether you think you need a survey to check if the area that is showing damage is where it is BUT I really would let your husband make the decision here because with HA you will be battling a lot of distorted thinking that can push you towards all sorts of tests you may never need in your life, as you already know, and your husband will be able to make a less anxiety-biased decision. If he think it's worth a check, then it's worth it to jjust check it.

Perhaps your husband can just check the condition? As long as it is not being disturbed currently, there won't be exposure. I can't say for sure about any accumulation behind anything stored in there but only because I don't know the answer to that but your husband should be able to find that out on the HSE website or from his local council.

[Cbear83]

Ok thank you, my worry is he DID drill into it and there is a crack that goes through to the outside but I was not present when these things happened so the dust should have long gone and be ok for me now?