How concerned should I be ?

[james_stan]

Recently picked up and old-ish 2 burner camping stove (Waller Engineering Ltd.) for use in the awning/outside. Works a treat but since the burner caps were a bit rusty I thought I would dismantle them and paint with bbq spray paint , so far so good.

When I get it apart I noticed that at the bottom the sealing gaskets 'looks' like they're made of asbestos type material.

Is this a problem given that it will only get infrequent use and it's not really been disturbed ? I think I also have the same looking stuff in the gas burners in the van (Lytham Pathfinder) that's been in their for 15+ years ?

Any views ?

BR

JS

 

[matt-me]

It would be difficult to advise if it was asbestos as it's use was only formally banned in 1999 (yes really) in the uk, although its use was in the main phased out long before this date. It can be tested, but you'll need to break a bit off (see below) and send it to a laboratory.

Secondly, asbestos is low risk if it is intact and hasn't been damaged. It's when the damage occurs and the fibres go airborne that the risk of inhalling them occurs, and the risk of the fibres sitting on your lungs leading to ... You could seal it with something like PVA to minimise any fibre rubbage but really it is your call.

There are many things that contain asbestos that you wouldn't believe but again it's all about damage and air borne fibres. If the bits you are talking about aren't that old then it will probably be a cement based product that looks like asbestos. My knowledge is me being a manager in the construction industry and having done some pretty detailed H&S courses as a result.

Al

 

[james_stan]

Hi Al

Sealing the edges that are open to air with PVA was one thought I had. Replacing it with an alternative or even breaking off a test piece might aggravate the situation..

If I hadn't bother taking it apart I would never have noticed and been in blissful ignorance I guess. I did read somewhere that the average person has thousands of asbestos fibres in them from ambiant air anyway and that damage is from cumulative/constant contact with the stuff.

Cheers

JS

 

[Mr Brightside]

and that damage is from cumulative/constant contact with the stuff.

Not quite, prolonged exposure exacerbates the problem, but the damage is caused by the fibres become lodged in the small air sacs (alveoli) in the lungs, every time you breathe, the scratch/irritate the surface of the alveoli, this eventually cases scarring & then the ability to absorb oxygen is reduced, eventually the obvious outcome is reached. Thats why its referred to as a silent killer, by the time you realise, its too late, in theory if you had a large enough dose over a short period of time you could have a problem. The only solution is to prevent exposure in the first place.

However, I would not expect that to be asbestos, there are many similar cemented based products (as has been said already), sealing it will certainly help (even if it is psychological), I would start to worry if it starts to fall apart.

Who said my IOSH was a wate of time ?