So the neighbor removed asbestos tainted air condition ducts from the attic w/o a permit.

[Baitball Blogger]

A few months back the neighbor's lawn was covered in air condition ducts. When I met him I asked him about it and he said that the old ducts were part of an asbestos lawsuit. This is a guy who has construction experience and has a lawyer for a relative.

Later I discovered that the city cited him for the removal of the air ducts without a permit. That has to mean that we were all exposed.

This guy is connected to an individual in the neighborhood who has been the source of a lot of conflict in the community. Because of his city connections, no one can touch him.

So, just how much danger were we in for this latest good ole boy shenanigan?

[PoliticAverse]

1. When his lawn was 'covered in ducts' what condition were they in ?

Were they basically intact or smashed into bits or ?

[Baitball Blogger]

2. Intact.

[intaglio]

3. If intact believe you should be pretty safe

except ... check your own ducts and it might be an idea to have a word with the city about how you test for environmental asbestos. Over here you can take sticky patches to a testing agency who examine for traces.

[Baitball Blogger]

4. I have had had regular maintenance on our ducts and no one has ever

said anything. One group even replaced on duct. They did everything on the level, including getting a city permit.

I'll call them to see what their records say.

[PoliticAverse]

5. I wouldn't worry about it (but I'd stay out of your neighbor's house where the ducts were).

I have asbestos-cement shingles on my house and when I was a kid I used to smash up damaged
shingles with a hammer also when I was in college in chemistry lab we used to handle asbestos
pads frequently (so I've had reason to read up on the matter a bit).

The asbestos scare seems to have been a bit overblown - most people getting cancer or experiencing
other health issues from asbestos exposure appear to have worked with large quantities of asbestos or
smaller quantities over long periods (it can take 30-50 years for cancer related asbestos exposure to
appear though).

For more info:

For more on asbestos and cancer see:
http://www.cancer.gov/images/Documents/67e63bef-d6e0-4c0f-9c7a-e8aa56ed969c/fs6_36.pdf
(note there are apparently less than 2,000 cases of asbestos-related cancer diagnosed each year).

EPA on asbestos:
http://www.epa.gov/asbestos/

Background on Asbestos:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asbestos

[Baitball Blogger]

7. Interesting.

We did get a walk-through the house, but my big concern is for the one guy that the owner claimed had performed all the work in the house. He was Latino or Mexican descent.

The owner has spent a great deal of time working in the house as well. I just don't understand people around here. I really don't.

[PoliticAverse]

9. I hope at least any of those doing the work wore masks with a filter rated for asbestos and

protective coveralls that were properly handled.

[JoeyT]

10. That or smoked.

Smoking increases your chances of being harmed by asbestos dramatically.

[OffWithTheirHeads]

6. Relax! Your exposure, if any, was minimal to the point of non-existant.

The people who were most affected were shipyard workers who were literally bathed in it every day. In my fourty three years in the sheetmetal industry I have had to deal with a LOT of Asbestos covered ductwork. Trust me, you were exposed to nothing. Chill

[Baitball Blogger]

8. I'm chilling. I'm chilling.

Thanks, you guys. Appreciate it.

[nebenaube]

11. besides...

They put asbestos back in brake pads and your garage is full of the dust anyway.

[Warpy]

12. Unless he generated a lot of dust by throwing them down into a dumpster when he was upwind

and you were out in the yard at exactly that moment, your exposure has been minimal. Unless he was wearing a respirator mask, he's the one who's possibly had a significant exposure.

[Baitball Blogger]

13. Thank you for the information.

That goes for everyone. It has been reassuring.