Construction Curiosities #11
The Asbestos Secrets your Attorney Doesn't Want you to Know
Hey! Happy Friday! Matt here. Welcome to the Construction Curiosities newsletter. Especially to the New Subscribers. We continue to grow each week! Thank you to everyone who has shared with another warm body. If you haven’t shared it yet. We are no longer Friends!
This weekly Newsletter explores my Curiosities in the Construction Industry. It's meant to make you think, smile, and become a better, more well-informed Construction Professional.
Summary
This week we will look at:
One Curiosity: Asbestos Fuss
One Video: The Real Story of Asbestos
One Article: Robots Triple in Size
One Quote: It’s Not the Beauty
One Meme: 2020 Meme Throwback
One Curiosity:
Is asbestos bad? Absolutely.
Will it mess you up over time over long exposure? Yes.
Should you wear appropriate PPE when working with asbestos? 💯
Will it jump out of the walls and floors and grab you? No
Is it one of the most misunderstood things in the construction industry? 💯
Attorneys really took advantage of the situation in the 70s-90s. Commercials ran during every TV commercial break. In an effort to educate (and make the attorneys a ton of money) it absolutely terrorized people.
Asbestos became the Boogie Man ready to jump out and kill you in your sleep. I’ve seen office workers in today’s day and age learn there is Asbestos in their building and refuse to go back in.
Online time and time again I see younger tradesmen and professionals in such a panic and crippling anxiety because they may have been exposed without PPE.
The truth is Asbestos will do you no harm whatsoever unless it becomes airborne and you breathe it in. Even then OSHA allows for a Permissible Exposure Limit.
Even then it has to be long-term exposure at Concentrated levels for Mesothelioma and other Asbestos sicknesses to develop. It’s the guys who spent years upon years working in the dusty conditions of asbestos mines, factories, and construction sites without any sort of respiratory protection.
EVEN THEN it takes 20-50 years to develop. IF it ever does.
Can anything happen in the world? Absolutely. Could you develop Mesothelioma from a one-time accidental exposure? In theory, I’m sure it’s possible. However, given the fact that Asbestos is naturally occurring in the air we breathe every day already, I wouldn't worry myself about it.
I’m no doctor but I’m sure you are statistically more likely to worry yourself to death than to develop any health conditions from a one-off short exposure.
Leave a comment and let me know what you think.
One Video
For a great video about Asbestos and to fill in all the blanks I skimmed over check out this short video.
One Article
Global construction robot market value to triple by 2030
The global construction robotics market is poised to reach $164 million by 2030, according to market research firm Straits Research. The U.S. and Europe will be the largest geographic areas for adoption.
One Quote
From the Great Construction and Life Philosopher, David Allan Coe:
One Meme
Perhaps my favorite 2020 COVID-era memes.
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Let me know in the comments or send me an email (matt@constructionyeti.com) about what you liked, didn’t like, want to see more of in the future, or have suggestions! Look forward to hearing from you.
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