bs

so last night i was checking the wire to my oil level sensor to see if it had been damaged inside its sheath. i cut open the outer plastic layer and found a white fibery layer underneath. after laying underneath and cutting at that with a utility knife for several minutes, it occured to me that it could be asbestos...

does anyone know what material porsche used to sheild wire bundles against heat?

Peckster

Even if it was, which I doubt, it won't kill you. It was probably some kind of glass fibre. Asbestos is usually grey and flaky, it crumbles.

Let us know if you're starting a class action suit against Porsche!!

IceShark

Yeah, I doubt it too. Asbestos doesn't stand up too good to flexing. I've got an ancient roll of asbestos tape - it falls apart pretty easy

You can still find some old brake pads that had it mixed in the compound so a good idea to be careful what you do cleaning off brake dust with unknown pads.

You are probably cutting fiberglass sleeve. Not exactly the greatest stuff to inhale either.

bs

[quote]Originally posted by Peckster:
<strong>Even if it was, which I doubt, it won't kill you. </strong><hr></blockquote>

thanks for the re-assurance guys... i've never really seen asbestos so i wasn't sure what it looks like.

yeah, it might not kill me but lets just say i've got enough risk factors for cancer in my life already.

Perry 951

I will say that the sound barrier under the heat shields on the headers is a combination of asbestos and fiberglass. When you get the hair in *** to cut them off, be sure to have a mask and gloves on. Wear some clothes you do not mind tossing out. Asbestos fibres stick in clothes, and even after washing, they remain and you can disturb them back into the air.

Not a good thing to inhale on a Monday morning. Well, not that the model glue in your pocket is is either.

Peckster

Well, you know, the town in Quebec where they mine asbestos, called Asbestos strangely enough, says there's nothing the matter with this fine building material, and I understand the government of Quebec backs them up on this too.

One of the mines is called Thetford, and I believe there's an LMPS car sponsored by them, if it's the same Thetford. Wonder what they use to wrap the headers.

And there's no proof that cigarettes cause cancer either.

But I exaggerate. They may now admit asbestos is bad for you.

Hans

[quote] ...be sure to have a mask... <hr></blockquote>
Wont work.
The fibers that realy hurts you are 2 micron thick, 4 micron long. That shape is required to deform the cell in your lungs.
The normal commercially available masks let them pass through.
Stay away from asbestos, dont break/scrape/dust it and discard the complete component in one go in a safe manner.
The trash can is NOT a safe manner.
Up to my knowlege Porsches are "asbestos free" with exeption of older brake pads and clutch disks. Dont know when the swap was made to totally free stuff though, but this must have been at least 20 years ago
TakeCare

Manning

I am bored at work. Get ready for a semi-rant.

There is some much in our environment that is bad for us. Asbestos is a natural mineral, dug out of the ground and used for years as a flame retardant. So why is it so harmful to simply dispose of it by putting it back in the ground (yeah, I know about how in microscopic dust form when airborne it can cause lung disease). I mean when you think about it, there are more harmful substances going into landfills every day. Think about all of the lead, mercury, cadmium, etc. from products used in every home that are dumped without concern by the general ignorant population.

Legally you are not supposed to chuck a flourescent bulb in the trash because of the mercury content. And batteries contain all kinds of nasty stuff, especially NiCads. And house paint and cleaning solutions and on and on and on. Does average Joe give a **** about that stuff?

There is a town in Maryland where the water has high levels of aluminum, not from indusrty, but from a vein of aluminum that runs through the aquifer. And there is a town in Georgia with high level of lithium in their ground water.

I am not really sure what my point is or where this is headed, so don't bother to read on if you don't want to.

Anyway...

Someone brought up cigarettes. Well if you are a smoker and you started after the early 1950s then tough **** if you get cancer or some other smoking related illness. The Surgeon General has been warning of the dangers of smoking since at least the fifties (my grandfather quit back then when he first heard the warnings). I don't care if the tobacco companies say it will make you live forever, if the Surgeon General says it will kill me, well by golly it might just kill me. Duh! Quit clogging up the legal system with law suites because you are to weak or stupid to quit smoking. Hell, I smoked on and off since I was 14 and managed to quit cold turkey 4 years ago (after several years of 1.5 packs a day smoking, kind of ironic for an ex-aspiring competitive cyclist).

(Sorry, that was a semi-off topic full on rant)

So what was I talking about? Oh yeah, asbestos. So why is it that it is so bad to simply chuck it in a landfill and re-bury it anyway?

Hans

Hi manning
You are right, it isnt.
As long as it does not become airborne there is no danger.
The only thing is that you can not guarantee it wont, either now or in some far future.
That is why there is so much fuzz about it.
Lets be honest, some guys make a lot of $$ removing the stuff here in a very imposing manner: special clothing, special breething masks, special cabines, the complete area fenced and red taped, and what have you.
Cost a small fortune if you have the stuff at home and want to have it removed.
Once it is on the truck it is covered with an flimsy peace of plastic foil and when dumped from the truc you better be a few miles away, but that is done out of sight of the bystander so who cares...


PS: Refineries down here nowadays have to check their coolant water disposal on the prescence of organic carbons.
They sometimes also check at the intake (this is not mandatory) and often find that they return the water cleaner than they got it.
Still have to pay for the TOC value dumped though.
Could it be that the hysteria as you describe above is mainly just money related?
TakeCare