Pipes with asbestos still used in new buildings

Unbelievable. I thought asbestos HAD been banned. How the hell did that slip through our cracks? Jayzus.. we're getting as bad as the friggin' Chinese.

Non-friable asbestos is less dangerous than regular fiberglass.

Think about that long and hard for a couple of minutes.

And the difference between friable asbestos and non-friable asbestos is power tools. All it takes is someone to cut these pipes (or tiles or plaster) with a diamond wheel and they become many times more dangerous than fiberglass.

And construction contractors aren't known for making all the smartest decisions, nor having all the relevant experience or knowledge in construction techniques.

Incorrect. Fiberglass is just as dangerous as asbestos with one minor difference, fiberglass is just as dangerous in all of its forms, where as asbestos must be friable.

Unlike asbestos, fiberglass fibers are sharp. They are carcinogenic with a bonus delivery system.


Wow...great synopsis...now, just for giggles, who specifies the products to be used? I will give you a hint, it isn't the incompetent contractor.

For anyone who thinks asbestos is bad just wait until you inhale some carbon nanotubes.

Asbestos is both sharp and carcinogenic. Like wee fishhooks that embed themselves in the lining of your lungs and kill you.

And since when is a fiberglass boat or car part friable?

^^ What he said. Buckyballs are looking to be the new Asbestos.

Wow... Just gives ya warm fuzzies thinking about the wonderful world we live it, doesn't it?

Asbestos is both sharp and carcinogenic. Like wee fishhooks that embed themselves in the lining of your lungs and kill you.

And since when is a fiberglass boat or car part friable?
How is asbestos mixed with cement friable?

Asbestos is both sharp and carcinogenic. Like wee fishhooks that embed themselves in the lining of your lungs and kill you.

And since when is a fiberglass boat or car part friable?
How is asbestos mixed with cement friable?

It's not, until you turn the cement into powder by cutting it with power tools. And not every worker who will be tasked with that will know to first have it tested for asbestos.

We really should take lessons from the past and just outright stop using products like these (asbestos, buckyballs, microplastics . . .) until we know what the long term effects are. And with asbestos we have no excuse, because we know the long term effects.

Asbestos only becomes like 'wee fishhooks' when it is friable. Fiberglass is an extremely strong spear from day of manufacture until...well, until forever, the 'spear' just gets shorter and shorter.

I'm not denying that asbestos is bad when friable, I am simply pointing out that the replacement is more deadly from the day it is manufactured. So, worrying about some asbestos embedded in a concrete tube is really moot, while you sit surrounded by fiberglass.

As for cars and boats, the vast majority of the time, only the exposed side is ful finished. What about the other side?

Asbestos only becomes like 'wee fishhooks' when it is friable. Fiberglass is an extremely strong spear from day of manufacture until...well, until forever, the 'spear' just gets shorter and shorter.

I'm not denying that asbestos is bad when friable, I am simply pointing out that the replacement is more deadly from the day it is manufactured. So, worrying about some asbestos embedded in a concrete tube is really moot, while you sit surrounded by fiberglass.

As for cars and boats, the vast majority of the time, only the exposed side is ful finished. What about the other side?

What about the other side? Both sides are embedded in resin. The resin is far more dangerous to the worker building it than the fiberglass is, because it doesn't penetrate breathing filters. Unlike the resin when it offgasses while curing.

The same with fiberglass insulation in the walls. It's in the walls, not in the living environment. Asbestos in tiles and plasters can be in the living environment. It should have been banned long ago.

Your description doesn't match a single fiberglass car part I have ever worked with. The exterior skin is fiberglass weave, fully embedded in resin, the interior is strengthened with a blown fibreglass/resin mix...with plenty of glass fibres open and exposed. Loose fibres also tend to accumulate at the bottom if you ever remove a fiberglass panel after a couple of miles.


What do you think replaced asbestos in most of those tiles and plasters? As for 'sealed walls'....lol, there is a reason that expanding foams are replacing batt+poly so quickly...because batt+poly (sandwiched between sheathing and DW) doesn't make a very good seal.

Your description doesn't match a single fiberglass car part I have ever worked with. The exterior skin is fiberglass weave, fully embedded in resin, the interior is strengthened with a blown fibreglass/resin mix...with plenty of glass fibres open and exposed. Loose fibres also tend to accumulate at the bottom if you ever remove a fiberglass panel after a couple of miles.

I've only worked with older Corvettes as far as cars go, and they don't match your description at all. No exposed glass, no accumulation in between panels.



Well, yea. Foam is a vapour barrier as well as an insulator. Roxall is also fireproof as well as non-carcinogenic.

All I know is that fiberglass does not have a WHIMIS sheet, and does not require varying hazmat levels to remove; where asbestos does.