From: Mike Lorrey (mlorrey@yahoo.com)
Date: Sun Nov 03 2002 - 12:35:51 MST
--- spike66 <spike66@attbi.com> wrote:
> Robert J. Bradbury wrote:
> >
> > Lee, like "Oh my ghod" [read Val-grrl accent], you actually know
> > how to "paint a door". What an extropic skill!!! That has
> > to be right up there with Spike's ability to rebuild brakes
> > (while attempting to shorten his lifespan)... :-) ?
So being mister do-it-yourself is now officially extropic? And here I'd
thought I was considered the ignorant redneck of the bunch all these
years...
>
> And water heaters. I studied up a bit on asbestos after
> my brake rebuilding episode and now I am pretty much
> convinced the whole asbestos danger was wildly exaggerated
> from the start. But something I have wondered about for a long
> time is fiberglass insulation. Seems to me this stuff is
> far worse than asbestos: long sharp fibers, which go airborn
> just from touching the material. If inhaled the body as
> no apparent way to ever get this stuff back out of the lungs
> or break it down. I hafta wonder if this fiberglass/asbestos
> thing isn't another TCA paradox*. I was handling a lot of
> fiberglass today as I replaced my water heater.
As I understand it, fiberglass fibers are much larger than asbestos
fibers, so they a) don't get lodged in as small spaces in the lungs as
asbestos does, and b) they are therefore more easily expunged from the
lungs as a result, resulting in less buildup and less long term damage.
Another factor I think is that fiberglass is made from silica, which is
biologically more benign than asbestos. Generally, when asbestos fibers
lodge in and penetrate lung cells, scar cysts build up around the
crystals, while fiberglass fibers will simply block lung passages.
Fibeglass fibers aren't pointy ended crystals like asbestos can be, so
they are less likely to penetrate cell walls. While silicosis is a real
danger, it takes I think far more exposure to harm the victim than
asbestos.
>
> *TCA paradox: the government saw fit to pass laws to
> protect workers from physically touching trichloroethane
> with their hands. Of course,they would let us *breath*
> the damn stuff all we wanted, we just couldn't touch it.
How much do you actually breath in, though? And how easily does it pass
through the osmotic barrier? TCA
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