Asbestos danger? Swift trailer....

I once hauled a load of asbestos from Jersey to Ohio. It was not a Haz Mat load. I picked it up at our drop yard, so I don't know the procedure for loading it, but I can tell you how they unloaded it. I dropped the trailer with tandems all the way back. They have a big Cat with a fifth wheel attachment at the end of a long arm which they hooked to the trailer, and then lifted it up, dumping the asbestos out into the dump. They shook it a few times for good measure, then unhooked and I got it back. There were never any safety precautions taken with that load. It was just like any other freight.

 

20 years you'll have melanoma if they let you stand there. They are suppose to protect the area and all workers dressed out in paper suits and respirators. OSHA violation.

 

Mesothelioma....

Melanoma is skin cancer.

 

Oh, melanoma would be a danger, too, it was sunny out

 

Sunscreen is your friend Tanning beds are not I prefer a nice Mystic tan for that faux glow.

 

A lot of us have handled asbestos gaskets, wraps, friction linings in clutches and brakes (all pretty much from the old days) and I can remember being in buildings with blown asbestos insulation stuck to the walls and ceiling.

Then there was the asbestos rock we all got to pass around in science class in grade school. Probably the same year the teacher folded a piece of cardboard and trickled some mercury across it to show us what metal in a liquid state looks like.

Hmmm... I wonder what that science teacher is doing today??

Anyway- after some reading on the asbestos threat, I think that only the airborne fibers are a threat. Friction linings, blankets and wraps and asbestos in raw form are much less dangerous.

But how about a truck's brakes? Seems like older drivers would have breathed a bit of brake dust through the years.

Maybe someone used that trailer to transport asbestos from a removal project? Y'know, I'de like to find out too.

 

I know but got my words mixed. Strike me down! You knew what I meant.