Asbestos

[CD]

I was surprised to see this description of ‘polished’ in one of the first books on Home Brewing to be published after the practice became legal, written by the Editor of Home Winemaker, C.J.J. Berry. A quick check on the web turned up this Ingested asbestos in filtered beer, in addition to occupational exposure, as a causative factor in oesophageal adenocarcinoma - British Journal of Cancer which led me to wonder when asbestos first began to get a bad name.

Back in 1964, in partnership with a friend, I started moulding fibreglass boats and other items. One of our suppliers of glass reinforcements was Turner Bros, (Asbestos) of Rochdale. At some stage they changed their name to just TBA, then removed any suggestion of asbestos by becoming Turner and Newall.

Asbestos cement corrugated sheeting was the material of choice when I put the roof on what became my brewery in 1979, and asbestos rope and string was in common usage for lagging. I drank a lot of draught beer in the 60’s and 70’s, but at least until now have had no ill effects. A bit frightening though isn’t it.

 

[MZonard]

Asbestosis is a lung condition caused by significant exposure to asbestos fibres in the air. So just drinking asbestos filtered beer would be OK... wouldn't it...

 

[Galena]

Asbestosis is a lung condition caused by significant exposure to asbestos fibres in the air. So just drinking asbestos filtered beer would be OK... wouldn't it...

Not sure what drinking asbestos might do to the bowel, but I guess asbestos filtered beer shouldn't contain any. How you handle the filter and dispose of it might be an issue I would guess?

Incidentally afaik Asbestos in cement is still legal to use, not sure why or how though.

 

[peebee]

Yeap, you are doomed. In another fifty or sixty years it'll catch up with you and see you off before your time.

(How young are you again?).

 

[An Ankoù]

When I was tiny and living in Australia, hopscotch was a favourite playground game. We used to make pucks (I can't remember how these were used) by breaking and filing to shape the sheet asbestos used for roofing (not the corrugated). Never thought twice about breathing in the dust or washing hands afterwards. This is just one pf the reasons I like to keep my entire system well flushed through at increasing regular intervals.

 

[Dads_Ale]

Its catching up with a lot of people now who were exposed in the 1960s and 1970s.
Don't forget asbestos was the wonder material and is also found in loads of stuff such as brake linings, floor tiles, glazing putty, wall panels, pipe insulation and so on. And hardly anyone wore PPE in those days and weren't informed about the hazards although I believe they were well known about by then.

 

[trummy]

Back when we made cars it is said that the air in Coventry contained more Asbestos than what the maximum legal limit is now.
There was debate back in the day whether white should even be considered a dangerous substance
White asbestos fibres tend to be curly wurly so if breathed in they are usually easily expelled. Its the blue and grey stuff that can easily cause major problems their fibres are sharp and pointed and stick in lung tissue
My Dad was a brickie and he cut sheets of the white with a hand saw with impunity and luckily had no ill effects.
White was also used as a bulking agent in artex - banned around the 90s I think. I have scrapped a lot of that stuff off ceilings

 

[Cheshire Cat]

When I worked for Leyland (Bristol Commercial Vehicles) back in the late 70's and early 80's we used to grind asbestos for the bus brake liners it was encased and extracted (not sure where).

 

[peebee]

I remember in the early 70s chasing my hypochondriac mate about the chemistry lab banging two asbestos mats together. So obviously there were hints of it not being good for you back then (but not enough concern to keep it out of schools).

I wonder how concerned I should be about those antics now? I wonder how concerned I should be about my mate now he's exposed to the general nonsense on "social media" channels!

 

[thegrantickle]

Asbestosis is a lung condition caused by significant exposure to asbestos fibres in the air. So just drinking asbestos filtered beer would be OK... wouldn't it...

No.

So the reason asbestos is so dangerous is that the fibres are barbed. What happens is the barb's get caught in tissues and then your body tries to fight it. It can't fight it, because it's embedded itself, so instead the tissue scars over leaving the carcinogenic fibres deeper in the body. This most commonly happens in the lungs because the fibres are also tiny (0.01 microns (ish)) so they are inhalable, but could also cause throat, stomach and intestinal cancers depending where they get trapped.

 

[thegrantickle]

At the same time, it's worth noting that asbestos is only dangerous when it starts to break down/deteriorate. When it's in perfect condition theoretically it would be totally safe to use as a filter. In fact, would you believe that filter cartridges for RESPIRATORS used to be made from asbestos?! Seems mental, doesn't it? But in perfect condition it is a really effective filter. The problem is that it is generally super fragile so if you drop it even once, bits will shatter and become fragmented and then it's incredibly dangerous.

 

[foxbat]

It killed my father in law decades after the fact due to his work in a power station. It takes so long that most who are exposed will die of something else first. He was in his 70s. The disease was fast, he was gone in under a year.

Asbestos was so ubiquitous you'll find it everywhere. We found Asbestos tiles under a carpet in a room we were refurbishing. We just laid the new wooden floor over the top. It's only dangerous when you start interfering with it.

 

[Worf]

Served aboard two different naval vessels that had it for hull/deck insulation and sound dampening in the late 70s when they were removing the stuff. Precautions taken during those evolutions, but still hold my breath (pun intended) every time the subject comes up.

 

[dwhite60]

Older friend of mine worked at the Newport News shipyard in the late 1950's through early 1960's. Asbestos related lung cancer finally got him.

My father died of brain cancer, a glioblastoma multiform. Doc said asbestos caused a lot of this. Dad worked in a number of heavy industrial settings in the 1950's and 1960's.

 

[foxy]

Witernoon mine in WA was abandoned as was the township of 20,000 people there are warning signs about going into the region. My wife's aunt worked in the offices there, she died of cancer. 2,000 of the residents of the town have
died

7 of the 8 men in the asbestos shovelling competition died.

Kids playing in an asbestos pit.

The abandoned mine.

 

[pilgrimhudd]

My dad worked in Devonport dock yard, he remembers sawing up asbestos, the only ppe was doing it outside.