Asbestos Concern

[MildredHubble]

Automobile brake parts are made from asbestos.

I'm sure this was true until the 80s/90s but I'm fairly sure that other materials are used now for clutches/brake pads? There's a warning in the Haynes manual for my car but in a later revision, (that unfortunately I don't own a copy of any more) the warning was amended. The new version added that only older parts were likely to be made from asbestos but it was advised not to breathe the dust regardless. I only have a couple of copies of the first edition not the later one so I can't confirm it.

EDIT: I did a quick search and I found that in the UK the use of asbestos began to be phased out in the 80s but it may still be used in the US and some other places. Older cars (like mine) may still have clutches from the 80s or dust from old clutches in the transmission casing so its still best to be careful.

 

[Yeshuasdaughter]

I wouldn't worry so much about three boards of possible asbestos.

When I was in school, there were pipes with asbestos warnings along the ceilings. Some of the more delinquent boys would jump up in the air with a pencil, and poke holes in the insulation, making the asbestos powder snow down on people walking behind them in line.

Also I grew up rurally with very little to do as a child. There was a crack in the siding on kitchen wall and when no one was looking, I would sit and pull out little bits of 1960s era insulation through the crack.

I later learned when grandpa resealed the wall that the insulation contained asbestos. He had to put up plastic sheets in the kitchen to minimize exposure.

And I had been playing with it for years. Slowly pulling the little fluffs out like strings of cotton candy.

So, if I'm okay, you'll be okay.

You know, my dad worked at a nuclear power plant back in the 60s, pushing around carts of nuclear waste in his jeans and tee shirt, back before anyone knew the dangers. And he lived to be a good old age.

A lot of what we worry about never comes to pass.

But if you're really worried, you could call in an inspector, but personally I'd rather keep the money it would take to hire one.