I am a natural worrier. However, when I was in my early teens, my uncle asked me to paint the exterior wall of my Grandma's house. The wall had paint on it, he said give it a light sand before painting. I must have been sanding for about 15-20 minutes on some step ladders. My Grandad came out and told me that the paint was car underbody paint and that it contained asbestos. I promptly stopped. I am now 34. I have always been chesty, I suffer from acid reflux quite often and this does often generate a heavy chest. However, I cannot help thinking that perhaps the exposure that I had to asbestos could be causing an underly chest complaint.
I did have some tests done a few years ago in which they thought that I had asthma but then a lung specialist said she suspected it was the reflux. Since dealing with the reflux my symptoms are better (except when I am stressed which causes reflux).
What are the forums thoughts on the exposure? The paint was a blue colour which makes me fear blue asbestos. The only saving grace was that this was outside and so well ventilated.
Best regards
Written by
Cadishead67
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Hiya 😊 you should definitely do some research about this question you have or talk with a doctor about this. I know that asbestos damage your lungs function, the dust is dangerous to breathe in. But to answer your question about car paint no clue.
Stay safe and take care 👍
I'd say contact your local authority about this. old car paint I believe can contain asbestos. Also chat with the BLF helpline about this for further guidance.
I imagine that even if the paint did have an element of asbestos in its makeup it would have been of minimal content and short of drinking the stuff or ingesting very large quantities of it's dust when dried you will have come to no harm.
Most asbestos related exposures creating lung damage do not appear for many years.long after the incident and generaly affect people who have had a considerable exposure for a long period of time,so unless you intend to worry for the next 30yrs i would crack on with the rest of your life as there are many more likely events to worry about than asbestos related lung disease.
This link may be of some reassurance to you,note the comments of long term exposure
My understanding is using paint containing asbestos would be very low risk. If the wall had already been painted with asbestos paint and you sanded it, then that would be riskier because it’s inhaling asbestos as a dust that is significantly problematic. As paint is wet, not dusty, the asbestos particles would be bound within the liquid and wouldn’t be free to travel through the air in the same way. You have to remember that asbestos was commonly found in household paint for many years, and if that was a source of asbestos related disease, then a lot more people would have problems. As it is, lung disease related to asbestos remains relatively rare, with around 2500 cases of an asbestos caused disease diagnosed a year, most of them occurring in those that worked in the building trades and were repeatedly exposed to dust containing asbestos pre 1990. As ski’s says, it’s the prolonged exposure that’s the main issue, so even if the wall you sanded gave off asbestos dust, it’s extremely, extremely unlikely to have done you any harm at all.
My garage door is integral to house and has an asbestos lining the door and possibly the ceiling . I have always regarded that as okay if not disturbed.
Hi I'm a mechanic of 40 years have never heard of asbestos under body paint I dealt with lots of asbestos on cars and lorries as it was in the brakes and clutches but never in paint there was cionide in some paint
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