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To be quite frank, having worked recently, more closely with plasters, chippys and just general building work the amount of dust and crap that is breathed in is phenomenal. Glass fibre from loft insulation is horrible and I’m surprised that it is allowed to be used.
 
To be quite frank, having worked recently, more closely with plasters, chippys and just general building work the amount of dust and crap that is breathed in is phenomenal. Glass fibre from loft insulation is horrible and I’m surprised that it is allowed to be used.

100% agree. That old green coloured stuff is evil. The rest of it is not much better,
The daddy of them all is the old pug lime mixed with soot it is a real combination of misery .
One of the worst things I ever worked with was powdered carbon for the making of anodes.
 
In my opinion this asbestos awareness should be included in electrical apprenticeships.
It would only take a day to educate people on the potential risks, people who are about to embark on an lifetime of drilling chasing etc would be a good starting point, half of the industry is clueless.

A lad at work who has just finished his college hasn’t got a clue about it but they did cover radicalisation!?


My Wife has just had to do a radicalisation course at work

She works in an Operating theatre and her clients are always unconscious!

Agree 100% with the idea of including training as part of an apprenticeship and also I think Any Installation/ Maintenance course
 
In my opinion this asbestos awareness should be included in electrical apprenticeships.

I think it should be part of any trade apprenticeship, every trade can be exposed to it. Sometimes it could be tailored to suit the specific trades, such as a mechanics main issue being old brakes and clutches, but everyone should get the training.
 
No, it’s Silica dust.
Its both, but depends on what is in trend at the current time. Anything that is "potentially" carcinogenic low or high risk is being targeted. A company I do work for are spending a fortune on reducing sillica dust and have banned the use of mdf. Now they are looking at the thermal insulating materials, such as glass fibre and similar. The thermal insulation upgrade is looking at being implemented next year and this is just one example.

One of the problems this causes is that if people are not educated properly about these things then they often react dependent on what they hear, either scare mongering or ignorance, neither which is any use in tackling the issues appropriately.

Asbestos for example is only dangerous if the fibres are released and breathed in. So in the majority of cases (dependent on the condition and severity) it can be managed and even worked with. Yet because of the scare mongering some people worry they might die if they even come in to contact with it. On the flip side others show their ignorance and are happy to just drill or break material containing asbestos (often without realising) releasing the fibres into the environment potentially subjecting themselves and others to breathing them in.

The thing is, it can take up to 20+ for the symptoms of asbestosis and other related carcinogenic diseases to emerge from breathing in materials the body can't rid. Much like smoking related problems each person reacts differently. Some people will develop cancer from asbestos others won't, even if they have been exposed to similar amounts of fibre inhalant.

I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes mandatory in the near future for trades people to have some sort of awareness training.

But I will reiterate to you good folks, if you haven't done the course I strongly advise you do! It's worth every penny and may potentially save your life and/or those working with you.
 
Silica has been a big thing for ages. Even when I started in the quarries silicosis, the causes and problems were well documented.

When I did my apprenticeship in a Quarry in the late 80's the company bought every member of Staff a pint of milk each day,
No one mentioned Silicosis, just that it helped with the dust
Rarely saw masks being worn and quite often had to dig motors out the dust was piled up and hardly ever cleared.

Returned to the industry briefly a couple of years ago and things had changed a lot,
A lot of emphasis was made on the dangers and the quarries were keeping the dust under control.

Oh yeah and no free milk anymore!
 

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