Anxiety and scared of new job Asbestos

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Wannabee

Member
Location
Orange County
Well, I don't know if you guys remember me. Well I was the guy about 5 weeks ago that was worried I wouldn't be able to get a job because of a DUI I had years ago. Well I got the job and have been really enjoying it for the last five weeks. I was on a really great jobsite with great people doing work on a new building at a University. Well that job ended and I have been sent to a new job site. It is a very large job. A government contract on a building. The work is expected to take a few more years.
I hope nobody from my company reads this. Well anyway I had to put up temporary lighting through the hallways and into some rooms today. Above me the ceiling has been torn out. The asbestos can be seen everywhere when you look up. It has been sprayed with what I was explained to as to be similiar to glue. It is blue and green. It supposedly sets the asbestos up there. There are all types of people running throughout the building with masks pulling hoses. Some demo work. I'm using tiewire to put up strans of lighting throughout the hallway. Tieing it to piping and struts, wherever I can put. There's dust and whatnot on top of the piping and struts. I can feel it when I'm tieing up the lights. I'm sure my fingers are disturbing the dust and stuff is floating. Oh, the walls are all covered in plastic. I had to go through some draping plastic to get into the halls.
This is a major renovation project. I really don't want to say the exact building but it is downtown Los Angeles and as I said it is government.

I was having the worst anxiety today at work as I tried to tough through it. My head tells me this is stupid. They say it is safe. I literally almost quit my job today. I am really pretty scared. It seems that all the other electricians have just accepted it.

I am a beginning apprentice and this is seriously making me wonder whether I will be able to continue with this trade.

I put on a dust mask but I know that a normal dust mask doesn't protect you against asbestos.

I am so bummed about this. I'm also worried for my family.

I had almost like a panic attack. If I knew I could have some other way to take care of my family I would have definately walked out.

Maybe I am overreacting though. I mean I know that all the supposed rules have been followed and the area has been declared safe but do you really trust this.

This sucks.
 
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LawnGuyLandSparky

Senior Member
Yea, they told us ground zero was safe too. Are you sure this place is contaminated with asbestos? Do you see little compressors (sampling stations) with filters on the end of clear plastic vials? Are there asbestos hazard signs everywhere? Often, any area being demo'd is encapsulated in plastic sheathing. A layer of dust is common in all existing building infrastructure, especially above a ceiling. A real contanimated area will have a shower where you enter and exit - and you must wear protective gear not to mention be certified.

Many people see white fluffy stuff and immediately come to the conclusion that it's asbestos.
 
W

Wannabee

Member
Location
Orange County
LawnGuyLandSparky said:
Are you sure this place is contaminated with asbestos? Do you see little compressors (sampling stations) with filters on the end of clear plastic vials? Are there asbestos hazard signs everywhere? Often, any area being demo'd is encapsulated in plastic sheathing. A layer of dust is common in all existing building infrastructure, especially above a ceiling. A real contanimated area will have a shower where you enter and exit - and you must wear protective gear not to mention be certified.

Many people see white fluffy stuff and immediately come to the conclusion that it's asbestos.
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Yes there are sampling stations with filters. Yes there are hazard signs. I spoke to another electrician that is certified and actually did what you speak of on this building. He and I were the ones stringing up the temp light.
It is supposedly now "safe". Am I sure it is contaminated? As I said as you look up you see all of the supposedly contained asbestos cover in the blue/green concealer.
The sampling station that I saw is actually just outside of the sheeted in areas that I was working in as if to test the air that is coming out of the hallway.
Even the certified guy to me seemed to not really believe that we were completely free from the possibility of exposure. I said to him, how do you do this, just walk around in here. He said he was acting just like me when he first started. He seemed to have just accepted it. He talked about how at the certification class they talked about how much asbestos there is just in our streets from car brakes.
 
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LawnGuyLandSparky

Senior Member
Not to mention subways. Breathing asbestos is not an automatic death sentence.

On these kinds of jobs, the sampling stations are there for OSHA and insurance against future litigation, and to the degree that asbestos is present and identified, the threat is considered minimized.

I wouldn't worry unless you see chunks of the stuff or loose, friable material crumbling.

Feel free to google and rersearch asbestos.
 
J

jim dungar

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Wisconsin
Occupation
PE (Retired) - Power Systems
Not all dust is asbestos
Not all asbestos is dangerous (just the friable/airborne stuff)
A common way to keep asbestos from becoming airborne is to glue it in palce.
The GC should have documentation available concerning all of the site hazards.

And these are the types of conditions where a call to OSHA may be the proper action. I hate to see government (hell, my) dollars wasted but there is no excuse for preventable injuries.
 
W

Wannabee

Member
Location
Orange County
LawnGuyLandSparky said:
Not to mention subways. Breathing asbestos is not an automatic death sentence.

On these kinds of jobs, the sampling stations are there for OSHA and insurance against future litigation, and to the degree that asbestos is present and identified, the threat is considered minimized.

I wouldn't worry unless you see chunks of the stuff or loose, friable material crumbling.

Feel free to google and rersearch asbestos.
Click to expand...

What is considered "minimized threat"

Isn't it floating dust that is the concern?
 
W

Wannabee

Member
Location
Orange County
No, I don't smoke. Never have.

Well I am up this morning and ready to go to work.I've been thinking about this all night. I am considering telling them that I won't go back in. I guess I may lose this job.

I feel like asking them why isn't the sampling station set up in the sections of the building where it seems to be the most obvious place where there could be a danger. I'm pretty sure I know the answer to that question though.
 
rick hart

rick hart

Senior Member
Location
Dallas Texas
If you are seeing the asbestos containing material -ACM- with a glue over it, it has been made safe as long as the ACM is left undisturbed. Long term exposure- navy boiler operators, insulators and people who smoke- are at greater risk for asbestosis than someone stringing light through an area. The dust you see probably has little, if if any, ACM content.

I do not want to sound like there is no danger with asbestos exposure, it can be a real health hazard if ignored. The fact that an IH is sampling the air says that the employer is being responsible in monitoring the air quality. The location of a government building makes the asbestos rules even more anal that what would be found in the private sector. I don't think you are at risk but this is only my thought.

If you insist on quitting the job because of something you do not understand- and need to get justification here- you really do need to find a place where you are more comfortable
 
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LawnGuyLandSparky

Senior Member
I just don't want to see you get spooked and make a big something over a little nothing, then have to restart your career. The precautions you see on the jobsite would be there even if the only asbestos containing material was floor tiles. Believe me, it is highly unlikely you're sitting on a powder keg but that is the reaction you're giving.
 
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muskiedog

Senior Member
Location
Minnesota
Just be cause it looks like asbestos it may not be.

Just be cause it looks like asbestos it may not be.

With out testing being perfomred on the material you will never know if it contains asbestos. I deal with aatement all the time and deal with employee concerns. It is amazing how many times the suspect material comes back negative. Now if you are actually going to be disturbing the asbestos that brings you into a whole other set of rulees and regualtions. Check out OSHA site on asbestos abatement.
 
tallguy

tallguy

Senior Member
Wannabee said:
Well I am up this morning and ready to go to work.I've been thinking about this all night. I am considering telling them that I won't go back in. I guess I may lose this job.
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First, congrats on getting your job. I remember your post and it was really cool to see the encouragement you rec'd from the members of this forum.

I sincerely hope you didn't quit your job today... I've dealt with asbestos three times (that I know of:smile:), in two instances it was left in place and covered over, and in the third it had to be removed.
Wannabee said:
I feel like asking them why isn't the sampling station set up in the sections of the building where it seems to be the most obvious place where there could be a danger. I'm pretty sure I know the answer to that question though.
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Don't be so sure. Everything you have described is in line with what one would expect of a conscientious operation. While questions like yours do sound odd, none of us here (I think) is an asbestos expert -- and certainly none of us is working in that building. The financial liability involved in dealing with asbestos in a cavalier fashion, however, is so incredibly high, it is almost impossible to fathom a job of this size and visibility being run in a sloppy fashion.

I think that it is overwhelmingly likely that you are safe. That said, it's disappointing and a bit odd that you were not given formal training regarding where the asbestos is, what it looks like in its encapsulated state, how to avoid disturbing it, who to tell and what to do if you inadvertently disturb it, and so on.

Another oddity is people running around in suits -- suits should be on in the contaminated areas, changed in/out of the suits within airlocks, and suits should be off outside of contaminated areas. At least with asbestos, it has to be that way. Maybe they are wearing suits for other reasons that allow them to move back and forth in and out of their work areas without changing?

I would suggest two things --

1) Ask questions. Not in a paranoid or mistrusting way, but in the context of "hey, I'm curious about all this stuff going on around us". I don't see a benefit to calling OSHA unless you know something is not on the up and up. Otherwise ask -- I'd start with the dudes in the suits. What are they doing?

2) Take your own sample. Don't know what others would think of the ethics & advisability of this, but it's not all that expensive to get testing. Get a small zip lock baggie, and scoop up some dust the next time you are in an area that you think is suspect. The double bag the baggie. You should be able to find a testing lab in the Yellow Pages, and it won't cost you but $50 or so -- results back in a few days.

I'd wager you will get a negative (i.e. no asbestos) result from your surreptitious test.
 
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muskiedog

Senior Member
Location
Minnesota
Do not sample your self. Job Sup needs to know what you have come across

Do not sample your self. Job Sup needs to know what you have come across

DO NOT SCOOP UP A SAMPLE.

I deal with this all the time. We do sampling of materials prior to the th start of the job. I have buildings built around the turn of the century. It is better to leave it in place then to disturb it if you do not have too. Ask to see the sampling report. It will tell you where the hot areas are. If you are going to do any work that may disturb it work stops. If you come across PACM stop and get clarification. If it has not been tested then it is up to the who every is running the show to do sampling and give the all clear or have it abated so that you can continue to do your work. WHen we do renovations there seems to always be something missed in the intial sampling or it was behind walls ceilings, etc.. We have properly trained individuals take the samples with the right protective equipment.
 
tallguy

tallguy

Senior Member
muskiedog said:
DO NOT SCOOP UP A SAMPLE.
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Just to explain... the suggestion to do so is based on one of two assumptions:

1) There is absolutely nothing in there.
2) If there is, he's already inhaled a ton of it anyway.

If it is #2, the reason it is there is due to willful negligence on the part of the contractors. The OP makes clear that he hasn't come across some aberration in his work area, this is pervasive in the environment he is working.
 
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mattsilkwood

Senior Member
Location
missouri
celtic said:
Oddly, the rate of asbestos caused illness is LOWER in smokers.
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i was just trying to make the point that the risk is virtually nonexistant on a jobsite these days.

but thats kinda interesting do you have a link to that info?

edit to add:a properly managed jobsite
 
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