Anyone Wonder Abt Mechanics And The Brake Dust We Inhaled

[63SIERRA]

I believe that the old trucks we worked on, like the duece and a half, 5 ton, HET , ect, had asbestos brake linings. I worked on ALOT of breaks im my 5.5 years in the army. we never were issued any breathing appratus, never hosed the pads down before working on them, no precautions really. I wonder how many soldiers have asbestos in thier lungs, that will turn cancerous in thier lives. (asbestos particles stay trapped in the lungs, and u get asbestosis).

[63SIERRA]

Thanks, so is chrysotile harmful or not?

[jbasser]

All asbestos is harmful.

Brake shoes stop a 3000 lb plus car so the friction is enormous. This friction grinding into a rotor causes the brakes to accumulate dust. The Chrysotile is part of that dust.

J

[free_spirit_etc]

M21-1MR, Part IV, Subpart ii, Chapter 2, Section C

Notes: The biological actions of the various fibers differ in some respects, in that

chrysotile products

have their initial effects on the small airways of the lung

cause asbestosis more slowly, and

result in lung cancer more often, and

crocidolite and amosite

have more initial effects on the small blood vessels of the lung, alveolar walls, and pleura, and

result more often in mesothelioma.

[bobz]

I remember in the 90's seeing brake shoes for the m35 series trucks marked "contains asbestos." Our environmental folks came in bagged them and removed them. Makes you wonder about the last 20 years.

[Chuck75]

A couple of points to remember. Asbestos in a state where it is in pipe insulation, as long as it was covered and painted is rendered harmless. The African Amosite asbestos was covered by a lagging sheet made out of Chrysotile asbestos. The Chrysotile asbestos was used because it had fiber strands and could be woven into sheets like a roll. The amosite on the other hand was not as fiberous anbd could be worked into the inside of the pipes. Once the outer cover was tore open then the amosite would easily become airborne. This was the big worry with amosite as it is the most deadly as the fibers are small and are ingested into the lungs. African Amosite was the worst. When we ripped it out of ships and subs, we had to wear full body suits with opositive air pressure masks and we used a lot of water to keep it wet.

Some of the uses I have personally ripped out are :

Steam Piping.

Hot machinery covering.

Soundproofing wall material

Deck insulation above engine and fire rooms.

Some examples of ripping the outer layer of pipe insulation:

Riggers moving machinery would often bump the insulatiuon and rip it open.

Nit Pickers who didnt like the way it looked. They were the worst. I got a few in hot water for it,.

Many many sailors who like their clothes nice and neat who would poke holes into the insulation with coat hangers.

Once it got into the ventilation system it was sucked out of the compartment and then went through the entire ship. The filters could catch some but not all.

Finally, asbestos used in brake pads is chrysotile.

Jbasser

Filters ? What filters The ships I rode were WWII/Korean War vintage, and had only air intakes designed to separate sea water from the intake air.

That aside, constant vibration from engines and other sources could easily break down the asbestos fibers. About all we could do was to paint the lagging,

and hopefully seal things in. In 1967-68, both ships went into overhaul. The insulation was changed to fiberglass insulation throughout most of the compartments.

The yard birds had protective gear, and we did not.

[jbasser]

Chuck this was SOP in the late 70's and early 80's. You older guys had no freakin idea that asbestos was hazardous until it was basically too late.

I know guys who did rip outs for the ship yards and after they did the job, they would inhale black pepper to make them sneeze over and over again.

What gets me is the fact that once you are exposed to asbestos and you breath it in your lungs, It is most likely still there. There is a biopsy that can be done to extract asbestos fibers from the lungs for testing. It is done under a HRCT.