Asbestos ?

[grannyjanny]

Went to the lotty early this morning. The plot next to ours had a seat at the top & some corrugated sheets round it, a sort of creamy grey colour. One of the old chaps on site said last year that the corrugated sheets contained asbestos. When we arrived  today I noticed that the seat had been set on fire & the asbestos had also caught fire. Will it be safe to eat crops from that area. We have 5 very healthy cavalo nero only feet away from the ash.
Any advice would be appreciated.

[grannyjanny]

[goodlife]

the asbestos itself doesn't do anything to your crop..but being in soil and disturbed it is health hazard... :o
But was the seat painted/treated..now that could have some chemicals that I would be bothered..
It is not allowed by law to handle asbestos that way..it have to be specially disposed as it is so dangerous for the lungs..now I would give a call who ever is in charge of your site and report it...

[grannyjanny]

The seat was a rustic bench & bare wood so no worries there. I will speak to manager. Thanks.

[clackvalve]

There are 3 main types of asbestos. doesnt really matter which one it is because they are all extremely dangerous.it only takes one microscopic fibre to get in to your lungs system and you can never get it out.
If there was a lot of it that became airborne when the fire occurred then this could be a factor. wind and weather conditions also play an important part when asbestos becomes involved in fire.
What sort of size are we talking about?

[Vinlander]

the asbestos itself doesn't do anything to your crop..but being in soil and disturbed it is health hazard...

As far as I am aware (and somebody will certainly correct it otherwise) the major risk from asbestos - by a long chalk - is to your lungs.

The problem is the long sharp pointed fibres - they are what made it valuable as fireproof cloth, felt and even asbestos paper. These are fragile forms which release clouds of tiny sharp fibres as they flex and wear.

The fibres are small and sharp enough to penetrate the tender cells in your lungs, where they can interfere with the cells' activities without killing them - which is the precursor to cancer.

The cells in your digestive system can also be affected but much less readily - I'm not sure of the comparison but it's far less dangerous, maybe thousands of times less.

The dangers of asbestos distributed in soil are therefore small unless the soil dries out and becomes a dust cloud.

The dangers of asbestos in cement (such as most forms of asbestos sheeting) are even less - it's far more dangerous to break it or scrape it, interfere with it etc.

One thing you should never do is put it in fire - unless it is bone dry the damp in it will turn to steam, explode and fill the air with the potentially deadly dust.

If there's any sign of fibres around pitting or degradation from the fire you should call the council in.

Or at least keep the place damped down so it doesn't fly up.

[clackvalve]

could i just add that i would get the environmental health in and get it checked out. Asbestos is a nasty beast. it is ok if it is undisturbed but when involved in fire thats when it becomes a hazard.depending on wind strength,direction and the quantity will determine the level of contamination

[grannyjanny]

Sorry we don't know any details as we weren't there ATT. We think there were 3 3' x 3' pieces of the corrugated sheets. The piece that is next to our plot (about 3' away) has about 9" left at the bottom.