Browse Forums Flooring & Floor Covering 1 Aug 25, 2009 9:52 am just read this online this morning Carpet underlay linked to cancer August 25, 2009 12:01am HOMEOWNERS have been warned to treat their carpet with care or risk getting cancer. Respiratory physician Bill Musk is concerned that hessian bags used to transport deadly asbestos products were later reused as carpet underlay. Anyone who gets exposed to the underlay risks contracting mesothelioma, an incurable cancer, he says. "So carpet underfelt from these bags is definitely potentially dangerous," Prof Musk told the ABC's 7.30 Report. He told the program of people who had contracted mesothelioma or experienced lung problems, where the cause appeared to be related to carpet. The program interviewed several people who believed some mesothelioma victims had been exposed to asbestos fibres from carpet. A spokesman for Western Australia's Health Department, which has looked into the problem, urged home renovators to take care with their carpet. "The main thing is to not disturb it and try and get some advice as to whether there is any dust in their house," he told the program. He said people should hire professionals to rip up carpet underlay and to thoroughly clean the house afterwards. The program said the bags were used in carpet underlay until the 1970s, and while it was not known how many homes were affected, it could be in the tens of thousands. Journalist Matt Peacock, who filed the story for The 7.30 Report, has written a new book on asbestos waste, called Killer Company: James Hardie Exposed. Re: Renovators beware !! old carpet removal dangers. 4Aug 25, 2009 2:07 pm I just read the story on the ABC site. I hope you don't mind me adding this link. viewtopic.php?f=1&t=22406 This is the earlier story. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009 ... 663509.htm "An extract from the book Killer Company, by ABC journalist Matt Peacock, claims that up until the 1970s, asbestos was a very popular substitute for concrete. He says it was common practice for James Hardie employees to be encouraged to help themselves to asbestos waste to build domestic driveways, paths and garage floors. In the book, a former engineer with the company alleges thousands of driveways would have been built in this way." (Good idea to include "Renovators beware" in the title to attract the attention of the people who need to know.) Re: Renovators beware !! old carpet removal dangers. 5Aug 25, 2009 9:03 pm Thanks but too late for me too I have removed few things with asbestos even with bare hands perhaps in here starting with under benchtop heating insulation and may die of something else. I don't know Re: Renovators beware !! old carpet removal dangers. 6Aug 26, 2009 5:10 pm I am gobsmacked that JH's reply is that they knew of this danger & there should be enough in the fund!! I don't want %^$#! compensation. I want them to alert the public when they KNOW of the danger so that we could have taken action to avert the danger. We have ripped up old carpet in multiple properties in the last 10 years. Why did we not know about this sooner? Surely they can be prosecuted now for lack of duty of care by not informing the public. Re: Renovators beware !! old carpet removal dangers. 7Aug 27, 2009 3:43 pm Beat me to it! I was going to post about this, as this forum has a lot of home renovators who should know of some of these risks... buts lets not get too alarmist unnecessarily! Yes it would seem that the ignorance that prevailed in the 50's 60's & 70's meant that asbestos products and by-products have been used in all sorts of things. This includes (among other things) insulation materials and the old hairfelt underlay that used to be common, but is mostly a thing of the past. Older houses with carpets say 30 years old or more may have that sort of underlay, and the occasional carpet that is not so old. Underlays that are rubber or foam are unlikely to have any such issues to worry about. What I would be concerned about (mostly) is the DIY home renovator who dives into all sorts of tasks without proper care or understanding of all sorts of potential risks! As many of you are aware, I have been a strong advocate on this forum, for people getting sound information from qualified professionals before doing anything, and generally, I recommend using professional services rather than DIY. Why? For many reasons! Too often folk go off half cocked, without proper understanding or equipment trying to do all sorts of things, often with outcomes that are less than ideal, and sometimes downright dangerous! Now this issue about asbestos is a perfect example. Folk dive into tasks with gay abandon (can I say that?) without proper safeguards or awareness of potential risks. A qualified tradie however is supposed to be trained and aware of any such risks, and goes about the job in such a way that everyone's health and safety is protected. Now I'm not saying all tradies are on the ball, but there is legislation in place that requires every tradie to act responsibly in this regard. Worksafe law is becoming more and more enforced and tradies cannot argue ignorance. They ARE RESPONSIBLE for OH&S issues wherever they are working. On the other hand, the average home renovator is happily tackling all sorts of tasks around their home with little knowledge (in many cases) of the risks they are exposing themselves to! I have heard it quoted that around 25% of all reported cases of mesothelioma are DIY/home handymen. Food for thought! Ash. Re: Renovators beware !! old carpet removal dangers. 8Aug 27, 2009 4:09 pm ... to add to that... It should be mentioned that some of the bigger and more common risks that renovators often expose themselves to without proper care are risks associated with BIOHAZARDS. I'm talking about mouldy materials, floorcoverings, timber, etc. The sort of workplace safe practices that govern handling asbestos materials are very similar to those pertaining to mould. And people tend to be far more apathetic about mould than they are about asbestos, yet similar risks are involved! Ash. Re: Renovators beware !! old carpet removal dangers. 9Aug 30, 2009 7:55 pm This puts things into perspective somewhat.... http://www.health.wa.gov.au/press/view_press.cfm?id=604 Ash. Were struck with: Colorbond Ironstone Grey roof and cream windows. What color should we render and paint the garage door to tone down the cream windows? Farm House, will… 0 26569 DIY, Home Maintenance & Repair At a bit of a loss on this one - we're thinking the original owners never removed the protective laminate covers from their kitchen cabinets after installation and in the… 0 6330 Hi, planning on using the attached stone pieces in my bathroom. I want to remove stains and gloss seal. Can I get some advice on best way to remove stains and best… 0 6709 |