Is asbestos still using in old isaan house woods?

[Sandman77]

Hello!

In the 90's asbestos was banned in the eu maybe earlier but is it still in use in Thailand , in the wood or the color of old isaan house!?

The reason I ask, I have the dust allergy this year very strong the nose running all night, use half toilet paper role, eyes tearing, but it's only really the dust?

On daytime no problem, in the nighttime comes back, I got medicine for one week, now I stop because it makes tiered ?

What exactly is asbestos?

Also I read on the net , colors used in Thailand contains a lot of toxins , and other chemicals that are bannend in other country's?

Who knows more?

[hansnl]

You name it.......dust allergy.

I have the same problem, everyt year at the end of the cool season.

Running nose, stuffed nose, teary eyes.

Take some boiled water, mix in some salt, let it cool off.

Then put some of this concoction in the hollow of your hand, and sniff it up into your nose.

Helps better as any medicine.

Mind, it is not a funny feeling!

If you want to use medicines, use Otrivin 1%.

Can use this for around a fortnight, not more!

As far as I know, asbestos gives very much different complaints......................

[Briggsy]

Unless you are working with or exposed to asbestos dust, the risks are minimal.

[cdmtdm]

google Wittenoom Tragedy ...that will change your mind about asbestos , its deadly and a silent killer .......banned in oz for many years ..

[Briggsy]

google Wittenoom Tragedy ...that will change your mind about asbestos , its deadly and a silent killer .......banned in oz for many years ..

Precisely, working with the dust leading to untreatable lung damage and eventually death.

[GinBoy2]

I'm with hansnl on this, sounds like a typical dust allergy. As forasbestos, it's usually used an an insulating material. Now I'm trying to think if Thai's even have a word for insulation, not something I've typically encountered in Thai buildings!

[sirineou]

since you mention color on wood, I don't think you are thinking of asbestos, but of lead used in the paint, which is no longer used. Even if it was used it would not contribute significantly to your allergies.

You need a medication containing antihistamines,there two types of antihistamines,ask for the non drowsy type.

http://www.allergyactionplan.com/otc.html

[Sheppo]

Hi all! I am President of the Asbestos Diseases Society of South Australia. We deal with many hundreds of cases of Asbestos Related Diseases each year. All asbestos has been banned from use in Australia for many years. It is a KILLER!!!! ALL ASBESTOS IS DANGEROUS. The Canadian Government sent many hundreds of thousadns of US Dollars worth of asbestos products to Thailand after the tsunami. Thousands of poor Thai workers sawed, sanded and used these sheets of building materials, water pipes etc, without knowing the dangers. I visit Thailand twiice a year and still see asbestos laying around on building sites, even kids using the off cuts to play with like frisbees.

Check out this Website www.asbestosandyou.com.au It will answer most of your questions. The society I manage can be reaqched at www.adssa-inc.com.au If you wish to ask me questions (in English) write to me [email protected] I will be back there on 14th March if people wish to meet up with me in BKK or Chonburi until 30th March

[SOTIRIOS]

...you can smell it coming off of many tiles if you stand under any given roof...especially when the sun is shining...

[jackflash]

Asbestos is no longer being used, but it will still be present in many old houses and structures.

It's main use was in "fibro" sheeting which is still widespread in walls and also roof tiles.

It is likely that Asbestos dust is blowing around near any old house which is being torn down or repaired.

In particular you should never cut old concrete sheeting with a power saw.

P.S. The risk from Asbestos isn't allergies from the dust. The risk is sudden death many years later.

Edited February 18, 2014 by jackflash

[jackflash]

> ...you can smell it coming off of many tiles if you stand under any given roof...especially when the sun is shining...

I very much doubt that you can smell asbestos.

And it is fairly safe as long as the old tiles are not disturbed.

[Travel Dude]

I'm with hansnl on this, sounds like a typical dust allergy. As forasbestos, it's usually used an an insulating material. Now I'm trying to think if Thai's even have a word for insulation, not something I've typically encountered in Thai buildings!

Asbestos has been used for a multitude of applications and as it is a very strong material it can also be found in roof cover plates, The Grey Boards YOU Find On The Side Of Cheap Houses, Flooring And even Car brakes.

But the symptoms you describe make me think more of an allergy to dust mite (in your bed and pillow).

[Sheppo]

Asbestos has no odour!! One asbestos fibre is less than ..02 microns in size. 2000 would fit on to the width of a human hair

Asbestos related diseases can take 10 - 15 - 20 or more years to manifest themselves. Shortness of breath, chest pains, respitatory problems are 1st sign on it.

Asbestos is STILL USED everywhere in Thailand. Building sheets, roof tiles, water and sewer pipes to name just a few. I get to hear of well over 50 new cases each month here in Australia where we have strict building standards.. Doctors in Thailand are really not up with the asbestos related diseases. They need more training.

• Use of asbestos has been banned in 47 developed nations after exposure to the mineral, used widely in the construction industry, resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths.
• But the mineral is still legally in use by manufacturers and builders in Thailand.
• Pichaya Pakthongsuk, a medical lecturer at Prince of Songkla University, estimates up to 1,200 Thais with mesothelioma are likely to emerge every year .
• In Thailand, about 90% of the asbestos sold goes into roof tiles and cement pipes.
• Demolition or other forms of disturbance to buildings containing asbestos could spread the substance into the air, extending the risk to passers-by and residents as well.

[Sheppo]

iF YOU THINK IT MAY BE ASBESTOS THEN TREAT IT THAT IT IS ASBESTOS!!!! Most likely it will be

If you have to handle or work with asbestos it is important to remember:

• Do Not use power tools
• Do Not use abrasive cutting or sanding discs
• Do Not use compressed air
• Do Not use high-pressure hoses
• Do Not walk on corrugated asbestos cement roofs as you may run the risk of falling through the roof
• Do Not leave asbestos products around the garden where they may be broken or crushed
• Do get the material tested by a NATA-accredited laboratory if you are unsure if it contains asbestos
• Always work with asbestos in well-ventilated areas
• Ensure the material is thoroughly wet down and kept wet during work to minimise the release of fibres and dust

[ThaidDown]

Out of the 4 main Thai manufactures I believe that only SCG say that their roofing products are asbestos free.

[Sheppo]

I was watching a TV advert whilst in a bar at Pataya in June last year. An advert came up for roofing tiles. Bright red, they looked so good. 2 days later I saw same tiles outside a hardware store so I stopped and picked up a broken piece and brought back to Oz. ASBESTOS!!!! OMG! And your government still allows them to sell them. I gave manufacturer a phone call from Ausytralia. They admitted they had asbestos in them but it is only white asbestos!!! Only??? ALL ASBESTOS IS DEADLY!!!!

Here in Australia we have recently hosted groups of union type people from Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia who want asbestos banned completely in their countries.

I wish some group in Thailand were so interested in their people that they too can petition your government and train your workers and make them aware of the dangers of ASBESTOS! IT WILL KILL 1000's in THAILNANd IN NEXT YEAR OR TWO and EVERY year after!

[Sheppo]

I suggest all should read this reporting......

http://www.worldasbestosreport.org/articles/killing_future/Thailand_experience.php

[Sheppo]

http://www.worldasbestosreport.org/articles/killing_future/Thailand_experience.php

[helle]

=sometimes basic off longcanser !Very BAD STUFF "eterniet(asbest !) dust"

[strawpanda]

What exactly is asbestos?

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asbestos

[shaurene]

I doubt you would get it in Thai houses. It was used in ships to lag pipes to lessen the heat coming from them and also in homes in the colder countries to protect the water pipes from splitting/bursting from ice weather when the water pipes would freeze up. It was not known about the danger years ago. People who worked with it would be ok their breathing problems would come many years later when their breathing became a problem most of them diagnosed with aspesdosis gave them similar problems to emfasima.

The Australian company Hardys who made it and supplied it to Australasia where ordered to pay many millions of $ compensation to people,also the British government had to pay lots of compensation. It was also used mixed with paint to paint walls and ceilings to make it look like stipple but you had to use masks when stripping it of walls and ceilings.

[wazzi]

I doubt you would get it in Thai houses. It was used in ships to lag pipes to lessen the heat coming from them and also in homes in the colder countries to protect the water pipes from splitting/bursting from ice weather when the water pipes would freeze up. It was not known about the danger years ago. People who worked with it would be ok their breathing problems would come many years later when their breathing became a problem most of them diagnosed with aspesdosis gave them similar problems to emfasima.

It most definately was and still is used in Thai houses. I see it all the time there. As an employer? worker in the Australian construction industry I am well versed in asbestos and certainly know what I am looking at

[Sheppo]

Please do not get the idea that asbestos is not used in Thailand. Yes, asbestos lagging was used for pipes and to stop heat but thge main use is in building materials. I was in Suphan Buri 18 months ago. Just outsise Suphan there is a Catholic commune. New house are being built for the residents. ALL of the house have asbestos cement sheets as the walls. The roofs are asbestos cement tiles. The pipes for water drainage are asbestos cement. These people are erecting their opwn homes, cutting the materials with power saws, spreading the fibres all over the place. In 10 - 15 - 20 years time some of the children there will DIE of asbestos related diseases.

Please read the articles above. ASBESTOS IS A KILLER!!!

No, the water you drink from the rfoofs is ok Asbestos will be in the water but will flow straight through your body

I am only here to HELP YOU! Please take note! I adore Thai people (even if at the present time they are killing each other in BKK)

[Rorri]

cdmtdm, on 17 Feb 2014 - 16:12, said:cdmtdm, on 17 Feb 2014 - 16:12, said:

google Wittenoom Tragedy ...that will change your mind about asbestos , its deadly and a silent killer .......banned in oz for many years ..

What you say is very true, but what most do not know is that it is blue asbestos, that is dangerous, white asbestos is ok.

http://informahealthcare.com/doi/pdf/10.3109/10408444.2012.756454

Edited February 18, 2014 by Rorri

[Rorri]

GinBoy2, on 17 Feb 2014 - 20:04, said:

I'm with hansnl on this, sounds like a typical dust allergy. As for asbestos, it's usually used an an insulating material. Now I'm trying to think if Thai's even have a word for insulation, not something I've typically encountered in Thai buildings!

Actually Ginboy2, do some research, it was also used for fencing, wall panels, roof sheeting, pipes and I'm sure there's more.

[mick220675]

http://www.worldasbestosreport.org/articles/killing_future/Thailand_experience.php

Sheppo, thanks for this link it is very important we all know about asbestos in Thailand. I have worked in the UK and been exposed to asbestos. I know work mates who have died as a result, it is horrific. I will always have the worry of what the future holds.

[CTO]

Was still used in village houses as recent as 2 years ago

[Sheppo]

White Asbestos is as dangerous as any other asbestos. I wish you had seen a 44 yrear old man that died here just a few weeks ago. His only exposure was to white asbestos. He dies of Perotoneal Mesothelioma just 4 months after being diagnosed. He weighed 132kg on diagnosis. At autopsy he weighed 46 kg. A lingering painful death in front of his wife and children.

Some people in this world still believe white asbestos is not dangerous. These people are the manufactuers that use it to make money in their businesses. The Canadian Government up until a few months ago allowed the mining of white asbestos but under presuure of scientic evidence and the WHO the mine is thankfully closed and sealed.

ALL ASBESTOS IS DANGEROUS

[Khunangkaro]

Quote from Post #23 Sheppo writes:

...."Please read the articles above. ASBESTOS IS A KILLER!!!

No, the water you drink from the roofs is ok Asbestos will be in the water but will flow straight through your body"....

How come????

All over Thailand I see so many roofs of corrugated cement enforced with asbestos I suppose. These sheets erode through sun, wind and rain.

Many people drink from the run off rain water.

I wish you are right that this water does not harm us drinking from!!!???

[cdmtdm]

I doubt you would get it in Thai houses. It was used in ships to lag pipes to lessen the heat coming from them and also in homes in the colder countries to protect the water pipes from splitting/bursting from ice weather when the water pipes would freeze up. It was not known about the danger years ago. People who worked with it would be ok their breathing problems would come many years later when their breathing became a problem most of them diagnosed with aspesdosis gave them similar problems to emfasima.

The Australian company Hardys who made it and supplied it to Australasia where ordered to pay many millions of $ compensation to people,also the British government had to pay lots of compensation. It was also used mixed with paint to paint walls and ceilings to make it look like stipple but you had to use masks when stripping it of walls and ceilings.

what an ignorant statement , if you knew what to look for, it is all over Thailand !!!! if you are going to copy something from another source at least get the spelling correct .... in my village alone without looking hard i see 4 sites with asbestos ..... it does not matter what color white or blue it is deadly and a silent killer , until u witness someone dying from this ,only then will u realize how bad this stuff is ......