11 replies to this topic

[OllyD]

Is it true that the drum brakes on my 84 mini city will produce asbestos dust? I'm looking to strip the subframes down, but am now quite worried that i'll end up unwittingly breathing whole heap of asbestos. Surely anything that would produce asbestos would be outlawed?

What can i do to avoid absolutely any chance of breathing this stuff in? Will a regular bog-standard dusk mask do the job? These dusty conditions don't exactly help, so how can I identfy it?

[clarks.2006]

I doubt they should be anymore unless your car has really low milage and comes with early set of shoes. Newer shoes come without aspestos in so i doubt it.

[OllyD]

It's done 120k, i reckon it's probably had new shoes!

Dusk mask just to be safe?

[clarks.2006]

Nah lol im sure they have been changed more than once so youll be ok. Get them converted to disks! But if you really are parranoid then yea wear a mask! lol

[The Matt]

Though it is highly likely that your shoes are asbestos free, it never hurts to wear a simple dust mask when removing drums. Alot of people never bother wearing any kind of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) when working on their cars at home. I've ignored common sense meself a few times when working on my car too.

If you have a dust mask, it won't hurt at all to wear it whilst removing the drums, it is probably way over cautious, but it's better than getting a mouth full or lung full of brake dust (whether it's asbestos free or not).

[Dan]

Not that a regular dust mask will filter out asbestos anyway, it's too fine which is why it's so dangerous. They don't 'produce' asbestos, they contain it so it gets released in the dust. Nothing can 'produce' asbestos, it's a natural mineral which has to be dug out of the ground. You'd be very surprised at how recently all asbestos finally was outlawed, certainly early 90's Minis had asbestos warning labels on the slam panel. Canada still mines asbestos to this day and actively campaigns for the use of the white variety, claiming it to be virtually harmless. It is certainly less harfull since your body can break it down but it's by no means harmless.

Yes absestos is very dangerous and toxic but it's like any other carcinogen in that it takes a certain level of exposure to make you sick. A single particle in your lungs is not going to kill you. There's always a bit of it in the air. The whole world's exposure to asbestos was massively increased when the World Trade Centre collapsed since it was a 60's office block and riddled with the stuff.

If you're worried then definitely use a mask, use a drop cloth to catch the debris falling off the car and soak the whole affair in brake cleaner before and after the drum comes off (asbestos is absorbant and once it soaks something up it's too heavy to blow about). Work outside and try to do it on a windless day.

As has been said though the shoes on it by now are probably asbestos free but assuming that to be the case would be foolish when the precautions are so simple.

Edited by Dan, 17 June 2006 - 05:17 PM.

[pikey7]

If they had been that dangerous over the last 20-ish years, I'd be dead by now the amount of pads and discs I've changed.........

And no precautions either!

[OllyD]

Thanks for the replies guys!

Now if i only i could get the bloody wheels off!

[biggav]

if in doubt, damp it down first. wet dust isn't dust.

[minivanman]

i'm a fourth generation lagger, and my grandads generation really suffered from asbestosis - many died by 50, and one of my grandads lungs is 1/3 full of the stuff. my other grandad was a mechanic and he was taught to use an air line to blow all the brake dust out of the drums! then people realised just how nasty asbestos was. just follow the advice thats been given and you'll be fine

[Sprocket]

If they had been that dangerous over the last 20-ish years, I'd be dead by now the amount of pads and discs I've changed.........

And no precautions either!

Nah, just wait another twenty years when your lungs start to fail

[pikey7]

lol. That'll be the marlboro, not the EBC......