Asbestos exposure from ironing board

casper_gutman

Belenus said:

I doubt if you have anything to worry about as the risk is low but perhaps seek professional advice or talk to your GP.

I've a family member who's a GP, so can I just say: please don't contact your GP about this. The UK's primary care system is underfunded and understaffed, and it's already swamped trying to deal with people who are actually already ill.

You are not ill, and there is no reason to think you have been exposed to asbestos fibres at a significantly greater level than anyone else who has an old ironing board, spent time in a school chemistry lab full of asbestos mats or has a garage or shed with an asbestos cement roof.

GPs don't have special knowledge of asbestos exposure levels or of how to explain risk. You can find the same information online just as well as they can - but be selective about where you look!

The HSE page on asbestos would be a reasonable place to start:
https://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/index.htm

If you want to find out more about the diseases it can cause, and the symptoms to look out for, you could try looking at the patientline or NHS pages:
https://patient.info/chest-lungs/asbestos-related-diseases-leaflet
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/asbestosis/

The US National Cancer Institute wouldn't be a bad place to look, either:
https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/substances/asbestos

Woolsery

It's identical to the one Mother in law gave us after using it herself for about 30 or 40 years. She's 86 now and still in fair health.

I'm ashamed to say I didn't spot it for a few years, but then ironing isn't in my job description. When I did, it was easy to remove and I replaced it with a piece of modern cement board cut to size, as the ironing board's better made than modern equivalents.

If you don't like handling bare asbestos, paint it with some PVA glue first, but dealing with something like that in reasonable condition out of doors is probably much less hazardous that driving to the local supermarket.

Woolsery

Section62 said:

DRP said:

clarissa12 said:

Hi, I’ve just found out that my husband and I have unknowingly been using an ironing board with an asbestos cement plate for the last 13 years. I have contacted a specialist company to dispose of the board but I’m concerned about our exposure to asbestos for such a long period of time. The board had loose fitting covers as we inherited it from a family member. 

Picture of board is attached. 

Any advice would be gratefully received. 

Thank you in advance

Our local recycling centre takes this sort of thing, so you may not need to pay anyone. From their website:

Asbestos (cement bonded asbestos only - maximum of 3 unbroken sheets, drainpipe/guttering (max size 6ft x 3ft) double wrapped and sealed. You must call us 24 hours in advance to book your visit

Removing the panel risks causing damage to it, and the release of fibres, so isn't something people should attempt to do themselves.

Although if one studies the aerial part of Google Earth it's often possible to spot areas of dilapidated commercial buildings where the asbestos roofs are in a poor state and sometimes even falling in, presumably with the release of fibres local residents don't even know about.

Silvertabby

Sandtree said:

Belenus said:

clarissa12 said:

Hi, I’ve just found out that my husband and I have unknowingly been using an ironing board with an asbestos cement plate for the last 13 years. 

That is shocking........................................Your husband has been ironing.

He's clearly not going to be risking doing that again!

The ironing has always been Mr S's job.  One of the advantages of marrying a serviceman!

Section62

Woolsery said:

Section62 said:

Removing the panel risks causing damage to it, and the release of fibres, so isn't something people should attempt to do themselves.

Although if one studies the aerial part of Google Earth it's often possible to spot areas of dilapidated commercial buildings where the asbestos roofs are in a poor state and sometimes even falling in, presumably with the release of fibres local residents don't even know about.

Whataboutery.  There's a significant difference between the possibility of fibres being released outdoors from a building roof some distance away, and working on an asbestos-containing material of unknown type in close proximity to yourself.

Also worth noting that those who have said in this thread that they would work on it themselves, or opined on the risk of working on it being low, haven't actually questioned the assumption the material is asbestos cement (rather than another material) and haven't asked the OP whether it has been tested to establish what kind of fibres are present.  Both of which are necessary before deciding to 'DIY' asbestos work.

The OP is already concerned about possible health risks from using the ironing board. Whilst there is nothing they can do about past exposure, and the risk level from normal use may well have been low, the question is whether it is sensible to offer advice to them to now undertake a much higher risk activity without certainty that they know what they are dealing with? I think not.

The OP has already contacted a specialist company to deal with this - I don't see any reason why people would offer advice which is contrary to that.  Unfortunately there is a lot of misplaced bravado when it comes to dealing with asbestos - and it is killing people.

DRP

I'd agree if this was an internal asbestos ceiling. 

However, if the plate can be unclipped (without breaking it up) and bagged (outside, PPE, common sense etc) there is zero risk.

That isn't bravado, it is cautious and proportional to the risk.

Section62

DRP said:

However, if the plate can be unclipped (without breaking it up) and bagged (outside, PPE, common sense etc) there is zero risk.

Again, that depends entirely on the material.

And the 'if' in that sentence is a big one.  Without knowing how the fixing works it is impossible to predict whether it can be removed without causing damage to the (assumed) asbestos-containing material.

People who know what they are doing could do this with minimal (never 'zero') risk - my point is about the wisdom of advising someone who has already expressed concerns about the health risks of asbestos to attempt a 'DIY' solution when there are so many unknowns, and when they have already made an arrangement with a professional service.

I think the OP should let the professionals deal with it, if nothing else than for their own peace of mind.

stuart45

A friend of mine used to work in asbestos removal, but got out of it to become an asbestos surveyor. He reckoned that working on the removal side some of the fibres would still get through to your lungs, even with all the PPE, mobile showers etc. He said that even taking a screw out of a sheet could release fibres. Said there's about a thousand to the thickness of a human hair.
Bit different to not that long ago. We once had to smash down the asbestos back wall of a factory from the bottom up and replace with a 13inch wall while people were working inside. The reason was the insurance company were worried about the ease of a break in.

twopenny

It was normal to have an asbestos plate for irons for decades. 
In circuit boards, all sorts. It's compressed and sealed, sides and edges.
There have been no recorded cases of anyone suffering from being near them.
It's the fibres from working, cutting, etc that causes problems.
Usually easy to remove by undoing the wingnuts that hold it and dispose at the tip. There maybe a small charge.

Woolsery

Section62 said:

Woolsery said:

Section62 said:

Removing the panel risks causing damage to it, and the release of fibres, so isn't something people should attempt to do themselves.

Although if one studies the aerial part of Google Earth it's often possible to spot areas of dilapidated commercial buildings where the asbestos roofs are in a poor state and sometimes even falling in, presumably with the release of fibres local residents don't even know about.

Whataboutery.  There's a significant difference between the possibility of fibres being released outdoors from a building roof some distance away, and working on an asbestos-containing material of unknown type in close proximity to yourself.

The OP has already contacted a specialist company to deal with this - I don't see any reason why people would offer advice which is contrary to that.  Unfortunately there is a lot of misplaced bravado when it comes to dealing with asbestos - and it is killing people.

That's a much better username than I have!

I'm not telling the OP what to do, but they're not the only person who will read this thread and have a similar problem; I had it too not that long ago. This is also a money saving site.

I'm not sure of the current policy, but until about 2 or 3 years ago the HSE gave guidance on their web site for dealing with small, low risk pieces of asbestos in a domestic situation. At my local recycling centre it's also possible to drop off double bagged asbestos, so presumably they expect a proportion of people to DIY with care. Good job too, or else somre people would just bury it or worse.

I disagree that deteriorating roofs aren't a big deal and they're all around us, on private garages too, though the rotting 30s cinema at the end of my daughter's garden in Birmingham was huge and rather special. Now fixed.