1. my mum removed old vinyl flooring that had been covered with our tiles to put down new tiles in the kitchen. we didn't really know about asbestos till after and this is an old house (built in the 50s). I walked around in the room for a day and even prepared a meal in there, before we found out and had the floor sealed and wiped all the surfaces down. we phoned the enviromental health people and they said those tiles may have had a very low level of asbestos, but I'm worried about the adhesive that was used too.
2. I was asked to scrape some old sticky-tape off a wall at work in a cleaning cupboard. I noticed the wall next to it (a corner support) had an asbestos warning sticker on it so I told my boss. He said it was just the wall with the sticker and i had nothing to worry about, so I carried on scraping, bits of paint flaking off as I went. It was only when I got home I read that the type likely used on structural supports is the spray coating (most dangerous) and that it has often splashed onto surrounding walls during construction. I am now kind of terrified. It was just the paint that was flaking off, and I know that the room had been painted many times since the 80's, but I think there's still a risk.
I'm a worry-merchant by nature and I'm scared I'll spend the rest of my life worried about these two events. am I likely to get an asbestos related disease like cancer?
you & your mother can meet with a pulmonologist to discuss the amount of lung damage you each have. take your list of questions and have them answered BEFORE you leave the office.
I wouldn't worry about it. I went to school in classrooms with asbestos-filled ceiling tiles until i was in high school. not only is it unlikely you will develop a condition after minimal exposure, there's no use in worrying for the rest of your life about something you can't change. obviously if you become unusually sick or suspect you may have developed a condition, get it checked out. Other than that, I would try to forget about it.
Two short-term incidents of asbestos exposure, is my risk high?
Posted in 
