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I'm surprised no one has mentioned asbestos yet. Asbestos is a mineral that is/was turned into fibers and fabrics [0]. My father even has a chunk of asbestos ro

I'm surprised no one has mentioned asbestos yet. Asbestos is a mineral that is/was turned into fibers and fabrics [0]. My father even has a chunk of asbestos rock somewhere. It is relatively safe when not processed. It is the detached fibers that are most harmful. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asbestos https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asbestos

JumpCrisscross 9y ago
> [Asbestos] is relatively safe when not processed The WHO says "all forms of asbestos are carcinogenic to humans" [1]. The CDC specifically addresses "naturally occurring asbestos," which it finds "is only a health problem if it is disturbed," e.g. via "surface soil disturbance" [2]. [1] http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs343/en/ http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs343/en/ [2] https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/noa/where_is_asbestos_found.html https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/noa/where_is_asbestos_found.html
- drharby 9y ago
  Carcinogenic isnt dangerous if it cant be breathed in, ya? In other news water makes you drown when sufficiently submerged
  - JumpCrisscross 9y ago
    > Carcinogenic isnt dangerous if it cant be breathed in OP said their father keeps a bulk of asbestos in their house. For it to get to the house, it had to be picked up and transported. Once there, there is a risk it jostles around or is impacted by something, e.g. due to objects falling on it or it falling on objects. Collecting and keeping asbestos in any form appears ill advised under WHO and CDC guidance.
    - blackguardx 9y ago
      I don't think a fingertip-sized chunk of asbestos in an old mason jar is going to be very dangerous. I also drink alcohol and use leaded solder FWIW.
- dmm 9y ago
  The asbestos fibers have to get into your body in order to cause cancer so the physical form of the asbestos is very important.
- exhilaration 9y ago
  Another data point: back in 1999 or 2000, my environmental geology professor in college mentioned a large exposed asbestos rock in a nearby playground that he considered a hazard to the children. He said he brought it up a city council meeting but could not convince them to move it.
Nomentatus 9y ago
My grade two class molded animals from water and asbestos fiber mixed together. Those were the days, eh. Didn't make really good animals, though.
- souprock 9y ago
  How about blowing it into the air? My father had a book that instructed kids to do that. It was some sort of project book, with a title roughly similar to "Projects for Boys" or "The Boy Engineer". I'd love to know the exact title and maybe find the text. The project in question was a volcano. It measured about 4 feet across and 2 feet tall. It was mostly made of chicken wire with paper mache. The crater was something like a large can containing a smaller can. I think the small can contained zinc and sulphur, which would burn to make suitably stinky smoke and fire. The other can contained loose powdered asbestos. A hose ran to it. You were supposed to blow into the hose, causing the asbestos to float up into the air like volcanic ash. At least one other project in that book involved asbestos. It was a model airplane with a pulsejet engine.

JumpCrisscross 9y ago

> [Asbestos] is relatively safe when not processed The WHO says "all forms of asbestos are carcinogenic to humans" [1]. The CDC specifically addresses "naturally occurring asbestos," which it finds "is only a health problem if it is disturbed," e.g. via "surface soil disturbance" [2]. [1] http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs343/en/ http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs343/en/ [2] https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/noa/where_is_asbestos_found.html https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/noa/where_is_asbestos_found.html

drharby 9y ago
Carcinogenic isnt dangerous if it cant be breathed in, ya? In other news water makes you drown when sufficiently submerged
- JumpCrisscross 9y ago
  > Carcinogenic isnt dangerous if it cant be breathed in OP said their father keeps a bulk of asbestos in their house. For it to get to the house, it had to be picked up and transported. Once there, there is a risk it jostles around or is impacted by something, e.g. due to objects falling on it or it falling on objects. Collecting and keeping asbestos in any form appears ill advised under WHO and CDC guidance.
  - blackguardx 9y ago
    I don't think a fingertip-sized chunk of asbestos in an old mason jar is going to be very dangerous. I also drink alcohol and use leaded solder FWIW.
dmm 9y ago
The asbestos fibers have to get into your body in order to cause cancer so the physical form of the asbestos is very important.
exhilaration 9y ago
Another data point: back in 1999 or 2000, my environmental geology professor in college mentioned a large exposed asbestos rock in a nearby playground that he considered a hazard to the children. He said he brought it up a city council meeting but could not convince them to move it.

Nomentatus 9y ago

My grade two class molded animals from water and asbestos fiber mixed together. Those were the days, eh. Didn't make really good animals, though.

souprock 9y ago
How about blowing it into the air? My father had a book that instructed kids to do that. It was some sort of project book, with a title roughly similar to "Projects for Boys" or "The Boy Engineer". I'd love to know the exact title and maybe find the text. The project in question was a volcano. It measured about 4 feet across and 2 feet tall. It was mostly made of chicken wire with paper mache. The crater was something like a large can containing a smaller can. I think the small can contained zinc and sulphur, which would burn to make suitably stinky smoke and fire. The other can contained loose powdered asbestos. A hose ran to it. You were supposed to blow into the hose, causing the asbestos to float up into the air like volcanic ash. At least one other project in that book involved asbestos. It was a model airplane with a pulsejet engine.