E
eddyjohnson
Guest
Hi all, New guy here.
Anyway, I have this nagging dreadful fear of asbestos and the possible exposure I've had to it. Before I go further I'll admit that I've got a history of OCD and anxiety so I tend to blow things out of proportion. So here goes nothing...
For the past year or so I've been volunteering at a large local historical site. I volunteer usually 3-4 hours a month total. I mostly just paint stuff. Most of the rooms have a lot of steam pipes running through them covered in tightly woven asbestos insulation. In almost all cases the insulation has been painted over with layers and layers of paint. Before we start on any room a crew goes in before us to check for tears and damage. These are repaired before we go in to paint. I've not really put a lot of thought into it because for the most part the insulation is sound. We just paint right over the top of it. Occasionally we run into a few small tears and we leave these areas alone until they are repaired.
But for some reason I've started to really become paranoid about this because asbestos is indeed a nasty substance and even though I just paint over it I'm sure that I've probably stirred up at least some minuscule amount dust doing so. The reports I've read say occasional exposure is not really a problem. Not sure what my exposure would be classified as.
From what I've read it sounRAB like that cancers related to asbestos are actually very rare- even amongst those who worked with it heavily and professionally. As in they spent YEARS cutting, sawing, sanding, and inhaling large quantities of heavy laden dust, getting it all over their clothes, etc etc. As mentioned, we don't disturb the asbestos. Logic would say not to worry so much about it.
But... for some reason I'm still pretty worried sick about it. At this point its a sort of all-consuming, gnawing fear. I guess I'm just seeking some reassurance here.
Thanks in advance.
Anyway, I have this nagging dreadful fear of asbestos and the possible exposure I've had to it. Before I go further I'll admit that I've got a history of OCD and anxiety so I tend to blow things out of proportion. So here goes nothing...
For the past year or so I've been volunteering at a large local historical site. I volunteer usually 3-4 hours a month total. I mostly just paint stuff. Most of the rooms have a lot of steam pipes running through them covered in tightly woven asbestos insulation. In almost all cases the insulation has been painted over with layers and layers of paint. Before we start on any room a crew goes in before us to check for tears and damage. These are repaired before we go in to paint. I've not really put a lot of thought into it because for the most part the insulation is sound. We just paint right over the top of it. Occasionally we run into a few small tears and we leave these areas alone until they are repaired.
But for some reason I've started to really become paranoid about this because asbestos is indeed a nasty substance and even though I just paint over it I'm sure that I've probably stirred up at least some minuscule amount dust doing so. The reports I've read say occasional exposure is not really a problem. Not sure what my exposure would be classified as.
From what I've read it sounRAB like that cancers related to asbestos are actually very rare- even amongst those who worked with it heavily and professionally. As in they spent YEARS cutting, sawing, sanding, and inhaling large quantities of heavy laden dust, getting it all over their clothes, etc etc. As mentioned, we don't disturb the asbestos. Logic would say not to worry so much about it.
But... for some reason I'm still pretty worried sick about it. At this point its a sort of all-consuming, gnawing fear. I guess I'm just seeking some reassurance here.
Thanks in advance.