removing (possible) asbestos cover from exhaust

sarabande

sarabande

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I am (after 7 years !) starting to refurbish my late father's 24ft People's Boat.

It has a Stuart Turner with a DynaStart, and the (dry) exhaust leads through the cockpit lockers to the transom.

The exhaust appears to be wrapped in a cloth which MIGHT be asbestos. What is the most practical way of removing the cloth without allowing the fibres to float merrily around my immediate atmosphere, please ?

P7170120.jpg


I have been told that painting it in PVA glue will bind the fibres together. Is this the best way ?
 
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I can't help with advice on how best to reduce the risk but my previous boat also had a Stuart Turner engine and I also thought that the cladding around the exhaust was probably asbestos.

When I had to remove asbestos sheeting from the garage ceiling I was told that individuals could remove white asbestos themselves but brown asbestos and blue asbestos had to be removed by contractors. My sheeting had brown asbestos in it so I had to employ contractors at vast expense. :eek:

A lot of local authorities have advice on their web sites regarding asbestos removal and disposal which I found quite informative at the time. Worth Googling for it.
 
Spray water and keep damp. wear throw away coverall .Ditto gloves I would suggest. after being deep sea and seen the stuff in the air when steam joints blow out its quite frightening especially in the 60/70`s and no protective gear supplied,get the job done and get steam up, was the attitude.
 
The official line would be get the proffessionals in, but at some cost. I suspect that a lot of people would do it them selves. The wearing of disposable boiler suits, gloves and a HIGH quality dust mask should reduce the risk to the person doing the work. The use of a water spray would possibly keep the dust down as well. A vacum cleaner with at least 2 filters would also assist. At the end of a working session bin all the suits, etc as well as the filters/dust bag by double bagging as a minimum. Which wate disposal site will take th stuff is another matter. You would also possibly require the use of a shower for the person who did the work as it could well be in their hair. This is only my view as a private individual. Others may have different ideas !!!
 
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Yes wet is the way to do it. You should wear a mask too.

Thoroughly clean up the area when the removal is done.

Disposal though? I believe you should be able to dispose of it via a local tip but not all will have the facility and it will probably have to be done by arrangement at a tip that does.

Not difficult to confirm that it is asbestos if you have access to a low power microscope. Although polarised light techniques or even x-ray crystallography are needed to be 100% sure. Asbestos monitoring and identification used to be a small part of my job at one time!
 
VicS said:
Asbestos monitoring and identification used to be a small part of my job at one time!
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Although the OP does not say why he needs to remove it, my first thought was, is it a problem.

From what I understand asbestosis (wow my spell-check let that through first time) is prevalent in people who worked day-in-day-out with the stuff... and it is most dangerous when in a fibre form, either manufacture or cutting etc.

It is an excellent material for the application described and there is so little of it in what looks an open environment (the boat is open yes?) surely, surely it would be far more risk inducing to remove it than leave it alone to carry on the job it has done for the last what 30 years?

Is it illegal to leave it in situ?

Just to confirm after reading this again, I was actually posing questions and I see this looks more alike personal opinion, it isn't. I would really like to know if the amounts in the photo and the application do actually pose a risk worth worrying about.
 
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Sarabande:

Our much maligned HSE (never thought I would write that!) produce some very good guidance which is relevant to what you want to do.

I don't think that the "Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006" applies to boats (I haven't read it for a few years), but in any case, provided that you are aware of the hazards of asbestos, and that the work is of 'short duration' it doesn't need to be licensed.

There is prescriptive guidance at http://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/essentials/index.htm for this sort of unlicensed work.

In brief (and not intended to substitute for researching the above yourself):

Make sure that you understand asbestos;
Prevent contamination of your clothes by wearing (hooded) disposable overalls and boots without laces (e.g. wellies) and a properly fitted FFP3 dust mask - EM6;
Prevent contamination of the surrounding area by covering with polythene / duct tape if surfaces aren't wipeable - EM3;
Spray the asbestos with 'wetting agent' - proprietary or 'liquid detergent' + water 1:8 before and during removal - EM5;
>Personal opinion: cut the wrapping away from the exhaust and try to get it in a bag in one piece<
After the suspect material has been removed and bagged, clean the area with clean, damp rags - EM7;
Decontaminate yourself - EM8.

(The EM numbers refer to Methods at the HSE site above).

Task sheets A19 and A25 may be similar to what you want to do.

Our local tip has a skip for (free) disposal of asbestos - your local authority should be able to advise if you have similar.

I wouldn't use a vacuum cleaner unless you had access to a type H one. Otherwise, you're just going to spread any fibres.

>Another personal opinion: I think that I would be as safe as houses following the above procedure, YMMV.<

Disclaimer: Make your own mind(s) up as to what is possible / sensible / legal

Andy
 
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DogWatch said:
From what I understand asbestosis (wow my spell-check let that through first time) is prevalent in people who worked day-in-day-out with the stuff... and it is most dangerous when in a fibre form, either manufacture or cutting etc.
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The hazard is breathing in airborne fibres - from the HSE site:

"a key factor in the risk of developing an asbestos-related disease is the total number of fibres breathed in. Working on or near damaged asbestos-containing materials or breathing in high levels of asbestos fibres, which may be many hundreds of times that of environmental levels could increase your chances of getting an asbestos-related disease.

When these fibres are inhaled they can cause serious diseases which are responsible for around 4000 deaths a year. There are four main diseases caused by asbestos: mesothelioma (which is always fatal), lung cancer (almost always fatal), asbestosis (not always fatal, but it can be very debilitating) and diffuse pleural thickening (not fatal). "

Smoking in combination with asbestos fibre exposure greatly increases the risk of developing these diseases.

It is an excellent material for the application described and there is so little of it in what looks an open environment (the boat is open yes?) surely, surely it would be far more risk inducing to remove it than leave it alone to carry on the job it has done for the last what 30 years?
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In principle, a reasonable argument. In this specific case, the material is clearly friable, and likely to shed fibres easily (through contact, air movement, vibration, etc.) This is a problem whether or not it is in an 'open' area, which I doubt would be the case in the engine compartment of a leisure boat.

Is it illegal to leave it in situ?
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I don't know what regulations this would come under, but if it was asbestos (I have my doubts), and it was in 'premises', (or boats come under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006) then the duty is to manage it. This could be removal, encapsulation, or shutting the door, marking it with a cross (OK, an asbestos warning) and throwing away the key.

Oh, and welcome to the forums, b.t.w. :D

Andy
 
A few years ago a friend asked if I would take down his asbestos garage and take it to the local tip, where it had been arranged with the Local Council to be properly disposed of.
We arrive at the tip with the garage, the operator loaded it into the bucket of his JCB and tipped it on top of the existing pile of rubbish, so much for specialist disposal.
 
My first boat had a twin cylinder 2 stroke engine with Dynastart, and a long lagged 35mm copper exhaust which had to be replaced. With exactly the same problems we had the insulation tested, and it turned out to be glass, not asbestos. Looking at your picture I have to say the lagging on the left on the exhaust pipe looks like glass........ but if you adopt a worse case scenario and assume it is asbestos, and take suitable precautions, then all will be well
 
As another poster has asked - do you need to remove it? Why not coat it in gun-gum exhaust paste or fire cement to prevent any fibres escaping
 
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