I have been exposed to asbestos on several occasions, but hopefully will not have any residual affects to this minor exposure. My first exposure that I am aware of, was when I was stationed in Germany in the Army, the barracks that I lived in had asbestos around the heating and cooling pipes that were located in the basement of the barracks were we had our storage rooms. The commo or communications storage room had exposed asbestos fabric, but it was not degraded so that it was floating in the air. While I was living there, I believe they actually started to renovate the barracks. Removal of the asbestos was one of the tasks that was expected to make it a costly and lengthy project.
The second exposure was when we were remodeling the farm house that my ex and I purchased and remodeled. The turn of the century PA dutch farmhouse that was covered in green asbestos shingles, which we took off, and put into a dumpster to be hauled away. I don’t think that either of these situations could be classified as extended exposure hopefully…I guess time will tell.
I probably have family that has had more exposure than I. My father was in the navy and stationed on Submarines, that I am sure must have used asbestos in one way or another. Many of my relatives from Maine work or worked in the shipyards for many years. My long departed grandfather worked and retired from the GM plant outside of Cleveland which could have been a excellent place for exposure.
Currently, my brother lives in the town of Ambler, PA which had an Asbestos factory at one time. Saw some nice pictures of the Asbestos Factory on Flickr, some one commented that the pictures took her breath away. Anyway according to Wikipedia, “In 1881, The Keasbey and Mattison Company, whose business included the manufacture of asbestos moved to Ambler from Philadelphia. The company invested heavily in the town. However, the Great Depression took its toll on the company, and it was sold to an Englishconcern, Turner & Newhall in 1934. Newhall operated the factory until it closed in 1962. Federal-Mogul, an American automotive supplier, purchased the assets of Turner & Newhall, and is itself in Chapter 11 bankruptcy due to asbestos liability. Contamination remains an issue in Ambler. One area was declared a Superfundsite and remediated by the United States EPA. Another remains unremediated. The derelict factory and smokestack remain as a symbols of asbestos’ legacy. Local government has made redevelopment of the sites a priority. One proposal, for a 17-story condominium tower, was withdrawn after community opposition to the project.” I remember when they were trying to get that condo built, I was living with my brother and some concerned citizens were walking around getting people to sign petitions to object to the project. Kudos concerned citizen, a job well done.
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