Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

When Asbestos Was a Gift Fit for a King

daily.jstor.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

51–60 of 104 posts

Re: When Asbestos Was a Gift Fit for a King

#51

Post by dylan604 »

dekhn wrote: post #34
liability wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's sadly ironic that a fireproofing material meant to save lives has killed so many (a great deal more than it plausibly ever saved.)

I don't know what the actual rates of lived saved by asbestos vs lives taken in. It's one of the classic risk evaluation problems: fires are big, scary and dramatic, people know who died in them, and so a tool that prevents it is welcome. On the other hand, asbestos being dangerous really only came into being after people noticed a pattern of increased early death in asbestos mining towns. We just don't process the r…

I like being able to stop my car when I hit the brake pedal. https://www.brakepartsinc.com/raybestos.html

Re: When Asbestos Was a Gift Fit for a King

#52

Post by throwaway0a5e »

liability wrote: post #20
sandworm101 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Navy. It was used to insulate pipes and stop fires from spreading. Ships are basically one giant confined space full of pipes and fire barriers.

It's sadly ironic that a fireproofing material meant to save lives has killed so many (a great deal more than it plausibly ever saved.)

Citation please.

Re: When Asbestos Was a Gift Fit for a King

#53

Post by Gibbon1 »

reyoz wrote: post #49

For a short backstory on Wittenoom, an former asbestos mining town in remote Western Australia see this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3LDoI7H1Gc I once worked with an environmental engineer who had a grandfather that worked at Wittenoom. He passed away due to mesothelioma, but her father who grew up there has not been affected, which is quite amazing given the circumstances. I have seen footage from Wittenoo…

> seems to be a bit like Russian roulette

One of my dads friends had a business installing asbestos siding in the 1960's. He's in his 80's and seems fine. On the other hand his wife died of mesothelioma 20 years ago.

Re: When Asbestos Was a Gift Fit for a King

#54

Post by purple_ferret »

PHGamer wrote: post #5

is asbestos really that bad? or is it the long term affects. if charlemagne just used it a show off thing in the diner would it have really mattered?

All it takes to give you cancer is one asbestos fiber. Just has to punch through a lung cell and alter the DNA in just the right way.

That said, the probability is low for any given fiber. There is asbestos in aftermarket break pads, meaning if you live in a major city, you probably breath in small amounts regularly.

Re: When Asbestos Was a Gift Fit for a King

#55

Post by Fezzik »

leptoniscool wrote: post #18
ermir wrote: post #16

For those that are unaware, if you or a loved one was diagnosed with Mesothelioma you may be entitled to financial compensation.

who's paying out?

At this point: almost no one. The super majority of manufacturers and distributers of asbestos products have gone bankrupt. Kaiser Gypsum was one of the last solvent companies involved in a lot of asbestos litigation and they filed for bankruptcy a few years ago. Bankrupted companies of this kind generally establish trust funds for claims related to asbestos products, but those funds pay out paltry amounts. There are a few other large solvent companies though, so it depends on what caused the likely exposure. If, like many people, a person got asbestosis or mesothelioma while in the armed services, they are SOL because the VA pays squat.

Re: When Asbestos Was a Gift Fit for a King

#56

Post by FriedPickles »

Did we overreact in banning asbestos from everything? In many applications it seems well contained. Maybe we can use it if we're careful about its manufacture and disposal?

UPDATE: Apparently it's not outright banned in the US, but it is in many other countries. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asbestos#United_States

Re: When Asbestos Was a Gift Fit for a King

#57

Post by mypalmike »

leptoniscool wrote: post #18
ermir wrote: post #16

For those that are unaware, if you or a loved one was diagnosed with Mesothelioma you may be entitled to financial compensation.

who's paying out?

I believe the parent post is sarcastically referring to the pervasive mesothelioma lawsuit commercials on US television.

Re: When Asbestos Was a Gift Fit for a King

#58

Post by verelo »

Gibbon1 wrote: post #53
reyoz wrote: post #49

For a short backstory on Wittenoom, an former asbestos mining town in remote Western Australia see this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3LDoI7H1Gc I once worked with an environmental engineer who had a grandfather that worked at Wittenoom. He passed away due to mesothelioma, but her father who grew up there has not been affected, which is quite amazing given the circumstances. I have seen footage from Wittenoo…

> seems to be a bit like Russian roulette One of my dads friends had a business installing asbestos siding in the 1960's. He's in his 80's and seems fine. On the other hand his wife died of mesothelioma 20 years ago.

My father worked delivering asbestos, every one of his co-workers that did front line deliveries are dead, mostly lung health related issues seemingly related to asbestos. My dad is in his 60's and fine so far.

Re: When Asbestos Was a Gift Fit for a King

#59

Post by Gibbon1 »

flancian wrote: post #19
mullingitover wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The crazy thing is that Pliny and Strabo were writing about the effects asbestos had on the slaves that processed it, ~2000 years ago.

This sounded interesting so I looked it up; it seems it might be a popular misconception? > The term asbestos is traceable to Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder's manuscript Natural History and his use of the term asbestinon, meaning "unquenchable". While Pliny or his nephew Pliny the Younger is popularly credited with recognising the detrimental effects of asbestos on human beings, examination of the primary sources r…

De re Metallica 1500's on the other hand mentions dangers to workers and environmental harm that mining caused. I've also seen references to the Romans banning lead smelting in Italy. Better to force slaves to do that work at the fringes of the empire than give up productive farmland close to Rome.

Re: When Asbestos Was a Gift Fit for a King

#60

Post by dodobirdlord »

FriedPickles wrote: post #56

Did we overreact in banning asbestos from everything? In many applications it seems well contained. Maybe we can use it if we're careful about its manufacture and disposal? UPDATE: Apparently it's not outright banned in the US, but it is in many other countries. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asbestos#United_States

It’s dangerous in a way that’s hard to monitor. If asbestos consumer products were being used hazardously or disposed of improperly, it could go unnoticed for a long time and linger in the environment. Compare to something like lithium ion batteries, which are pretty dangerous if mishandled, but very obviously so and only for short periods of time.
Post reply on HN