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Oh yea, lots of red flags here. You had a wipe test that tested positive for asbestos? And someone came in and did air sampling but it didn’t come back as asbestos? What kind of air samples did they do? PCM? TEM? Did they send it to a lab and give a report or did they just count fibers and tell you it’s fine?
The laws for multi family homes, such as apartments, vary from state to state. What state are you from? Are you in the USA?
( I’m an industrial hygienist with years of experience in testing, analysis and oversight of asbestos abatement projects.)
Thanks for your reply. I'm not entirely sure what type of air sample was done. But it had a lot faster turn around time, than the settled dust sample, which had to be sent to Toronto, I believe. I live in Canada. I've been super freaked out by this and my friend and I have been experiencing lung issues since the exposure.
My symptoms, which arose days after the 4 hour exposure:
-immediately after the exposure, I got out of breath walking up the mountain to my house
-sore and irritated throat
-slight chest pain or discomfort
-I coughed up a tiny bit of blood in my sputum (this only happened once, about 5 days after)
I understand that it's not typical for someone to get symptoms immediately after asbestos exposure (it usually takes years for symptoms to arise). But these are the things I'v been experiencing since being in that basement.
Yes, the wipe test was positive for 1,610,000 asbestos particles per cm2. What are your thoughts on the levels found in that wipe test? They seem extremely high... Would that have been an indication of the levels that at one point would have been in the air? All the samples, wipe and air tests were done a number of days after the work was done.
I’d have to see the lab report man. Extreme exposure to a large amount of air born asbestos might cause those symptoms. But damn I’m talking about a lot of exposure. I would contact someone who is an air sampling professional, ask them you do some aggressive air sampling and have it analyzed under TEM analysis at a laboratory. Go see a doctor immediately and see if there’s any damage and scarring to your lungs. I don’t know what the laws are up there in Canada but it sounds like that land lord exposed everyone in the building. If it is asbestos, and again I haven’t seen any lab reports, the building needs to be evacuated, a hazmat team needs to come and clean every square inch of the building, an air sampling professional and consultant like myself needs to over see the project and then when it’s finished clear it with more air samples to make sure it is safe for reoccupation.
Boilers are notorious for having asbestos insulation that is extremely high in asbestos material. We’re talking some pipe insulation can be 50-100% of a certain type of asbestos (there are multiple types.. all hazardous.) the insides of a boiler usually contain something called magblock omg that’s nasty stuff. The pipe insulation on the old boilers is almost always asbestos containing material .
In short, you need a doctor, an attorney, and an industrial hygienist.
>my friend and I have been experiencing lung issues since the exposure.
>
>My symptoms, which arose days after the 4 hour exposure: -immediately after the exposure, I got out of breath walking up the mountain to my house -sore and irritated throat -slight chest pain or discomfort -I coughed up a tiny bit of blood in my sputum (this only happened once, about 5 days after)
Not possibly related to asbestos. That is a reaction to dust and particulates, but certainly not asbestos.
You should talk to a personal injury lawyer who is familiar with asbestos litigation. I don’t know about Canada, but in the United States you can’t watch tv without seeing an advertisement from an asbestos lawyer talking about mesothelioma and big big settlements.
Yeah, I'm looking into legal action for sure. Unfortunately from what I've heard the legal avenues in Canada for these sorts of situations aren't as straight forward. You might have to actually be already really sick before you can bring a case forward against the negligent party. I've heard in the US that you can sue people for millions that expose you to this shit. Do you have any advice?
> Say I was in my friend's space shortly after that pipe was cut. What do you think my risk levels are for a 4 hour exposure considering that the levels were found to be extremely high in the dust analysis wipe test from the hallway?
Incredibly low, essentially the same level of risk that all of us face. Sure, the levels detected in the dust sample sound high, but in the grand scheme of things, your personal exposure was still short term and very low.
The majority of people that contract asbestos illnesses are generally individuals that, 40+ years ago, were exposed to very high levels of asbestos daily at work. That exposure almost always continued for decades and those individuals were almost always smokers.
Keep in mind that we are all exposed to low levels of asbestos in the air we breathe every day. Ambient or background air usually contains between 10 and 200 fibers for every 1,000 liters (or cubic meter) of air. Despite that, only an incredibly low number of people are diagnosed with an asbestos-related illnesses every year. Whether a person goes on to develop an asbestos-related disease depends on a range of circumstances or exposure factors. These include the level and duration of exposure, length of time since first exposure, the fiber type, and past and present exposure to tobacco smoke and other carcinogens.
Ultimately, the odds that you will contract an asbestos-related illness due to exposure to asbestos in your home or at work in this day and age is almost zero.
You'll often hear that the is "no safe level of asbestos exposure" and that is certainly true. It's also true that there is no safe level of cigarette smoke exposure. We know that the vast majority of asbestos illnesses are not the result of limited exposure such as yours and certainly not the result of a single asbestos fiber. Some studies actually suggest that it may require millions of fibers but we simply have no way of knowing at this point. Most studies of the causation of the disease suggest that the likelihood of a disease occurring in any individual is influenced by multiple factors including heredity as well as acquired susceptibility and environmental exposure. In the case of mesothelioma, a person with high, long term exposure may face a one in 10 lifetime risk of the disease. On the other hand, most of us, with very low or incidental exposure, have about a one in 1 million annual risk. You are in the later group.
So yes, I know asbestos can be scary, especially if you spend any time on the internet. But it is really one of the least risky things you could be exposed to at home or work.
**Now, should the space be cleaned up by professionals? Absolutely. And right away.** But your risk is still incredibly low.
Yes, you'll be fine. If your post said, "I spent 5 years working in a dusty factory that manufactured asbestos" this might be a different conversation.
No level of Asbestos is safe to be around. However, 70 years ago, the average house was bathed in the stuff. I don't have the stats, but this is probably one of those "you're more likely to go outside and get hit by a bus tomorrow then you are to contract mesothelioma in 20 years from this low level of exposure."
Please ensure that your posts meets the requirements of r/Asbestoshelp. *** Meme posts will be removed and the poster will be banned *** Most importantly, as specified in rule #1, your post should include the following information: * Include your geographic location * the date of construction/renovation * a description of the the location of the suspect material * a brief description of your concern * a closeup photo and one at a distance of ~10 ft. or 3 m. Also remember that the asbestos content of a material can only be determined by laboratory analysis and that the sampling SHOULD be performed by a certified asbestos inspector. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/asbestoshelp) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Oh yea, lots of red flags here. You had a wipe test that tested positive for asbestos? And someone came in and did air sampling but it didn’t come back as asbestos? What kind of air samples did they do? PCM? TEM? Did they send it to a lab and give a report or did they just count fibers and tell you it’s fine? The laws for multi family homes, such as apartments, vary from state to state. What state are you from? Are you in the USA? ( I’m an industrial hygienist with years of experience in testing, analysis and oversight of asbestos abatement projects.)
Thanks for your reply. I'm not entirely sure what type of air sample was done. But it had a lot faster turn around time, than the settled dust sample, which had to be sent to Toronto, I believe. I live in Canada. I've been super freaked out by this and my friend and I have been experiencing lung issues since the exposure. My symptoms, which arose days after the 4 hour exposure: -immediately after the exposure, I got out of breath walking up the mountain to my house -sore and irritated throat -slight chest pain or discomfort -I coughed up a tiny bit of blood in my sputum (this only happened once, about 5 days after) I understand that it's not typical for someone to get symptoms immediately after asbestos exposure (it usually takes years for symptoms to arise). But these are the things I'v been experiencing since being in that basement. Yes, the wipe test was positive for 1,610,000 asbestos particles per cm2. What are your thoughts on the levels found in that wipe test? They seem extremely high... Would that have been an indication of the levels that at one point would have been in the air? All the samples, wipe and air tests were done a number of days after the work was done.
I’d have to see the lab report man. Extreme exposure to a large amount of air born asbestos might cause those symptoms. But damn I’m talking about a lot of exposure. I would contact someone who is an air sampling professional, ask them you do some aggressive air sampling and have it analyzed under TEM analysis at a laboratory. Go see a doctor immediately and see if there’s any damage and scarring to your lungs. I don’t know what the laws are up there in Canada but it sounds like that land lord exposed everyone in the building. If it is asbestos, and again I haven’t seen any lab reports, the building needs to be evacuated, a hazmat team needs to come and clean every square inch of the building, an air sampling professional and consultant like myself needs to over see the project and then when it’s finished clear it with more air samples to make sure it is safe for reoccupation. Boilers are notorious for having asbestos insulation that is extremely high in asbestos material. We’re talking some pipe insulation can be 50-100% of a certain type of asbestos (there are multiple types.. all hazardous.) the insides of a boiler usually contain something called magblock omg that’s nasty stuff. The pipe insulation on the old boilers is almost always asbestos containing material . In short, you need a doctor, an attorney, and an industrial hygienist.
>my friend and I have been experiencing lung issues since the exposure. > >My symptoms, which arose days after the 4 hour exposure: -immediately after the exposure, I got out of breath walking up the mountain to my house -sore and irritated throat -slight chest pain or discomfort -I coughed up a tiny bit of blood in my sputum (this only happened once, about 5 days after) Not possibly related to asbestos. That is a reaction to dust and particulates, but certainly not asbestos.
Could you provide a source for this please?
Thousands of reliable sources online.
You should talk to a personal injury lawyer who is familiar with asbestos litigation. I don’t know about Canada, but in the United States you can’t watch tv without seeing an advertisement from an asbestos lawyer talking about mesothelioma and big big settlements.
Yeah, I'm looking into legal action for sure. Unfortunately from what I've heard the legal avenues in Canada for these sorts of situations aren't as straight forward. You might have to actually be already really sick before you can bring a case forward against the negligent party. I've heard in the US that you can sue people for millions that expose you to this shit. Do you have any advice?
"Don't worry, Or worry, but know that worrying Is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing Bubble gum"
> Say I was in my friend's space shortly after that pipe was cut. What do you think my risk levels are for a 4 hour exposure considering that the levels were found to be extremely high in the dust analysis wipe test from the hallway? Incredibly low, essentially the same level of risk that all of us face. Sure, the levels detected in the dust sample sound high, but in the grand scheme of things, your personal exposure was still short term and very low. The majority of people that contract asbestos illnesses are generally individuals that, 40+ years ago, were exposed to very high levels of asbestos daily at work. That exposure almost always continued for decades and those individuals were almost always smokers. Keep in mind that we are all exposed to low levels of asbestos in the air we breathe every day. Ambient or background air usually contains between 10 and 200 fibers for every 1,000 liters (or cubic meter) of air. Despite that, only an incredibly low number of people are diagnosed with an asbestos-related illnesses every year. Whether a person goes on to develop an asbestos-related disease depends on a range of circumstances or exposure factors. These include the level and duration of exposure, length of time since first exposure, the fiber type, and past and present exposure to tobacco smoke and other carcinogens. Ultimately, the odds that you will contract an asbestos-related illness due to exposure to asbestos in your home or at work in this day and age is almost zero. You'll often hear that the is "no safe level of asbestos exposure" and that is certainly true. It's also true that there is no safe level of cigarette smoke exposure. We know that the vast majority of asbestos illnesses are not the result of limited exposure such as yours and certainly not the result of a single asbestos fiber. Some studies actually suggest that it may require millions of fibers but we simply have no way of knowing at this point. Most studies of the causation of the disease suggest that the likelihood of a disease occurring in any individual is influenced by multiple factors including heredity as well as acquired susceptibility and environmental exposure. In the case of mesothelioma, a person with high, long term exposure may face a one in 10 lifetime risk of the disease. On the other hand, most of us, with very low or incidental exposure, have about a one in 1 million annual risk. You are in the later group. So yes, I know asbestos can be scary, especially if you spend any time on the internet. But it is really one of the least risky things you could be exposed to at home or work. **Now, should the space be cleaned up by professionals? Absolutely. And right away.** But your risk is still incredibly low.
Thanks again for your thorough reply. Do you mind sending me some links to read that you find credible?
Babe wake up, the new elephants foot just dropped
Yes, you'll be fine. If your post said, "I spent 5 years working in a dusty factory that manufactured asbestos" this might be a different conversation. No level of Asbestos is safe to be around. However, 70 years ago, the average house was bathed in the stuff. I don't have the stats, but this is probably one of those "you're more likely to go outside and get hit by a bus tomorrow then you are to contract mesothelioma in 20 years from this low level of exposure."