Karl, I think that your statement is accurate. A small risk of mesothelioma is associated with exposure to any amount of asbestos, no matter how small. But the risk is very small. We have all been exposed to asbestos, and still are. About 1,000 people will die from mesothelioma this year (and every year), and their exposure tends to be more than just incidental and background.
I am not trying to deny the importance of asbestos in causing mesothelioma, but as people interested in stamping out ignorance, we need to understand that an association is not the same thing as a causation, which is often complicated. Most mass media reports on health issues discuss association without explaining that causation is different.
Most likely not. I spent 2 summers as an asbestos abatement worker (the cleanup guys in the spacesuits) while in college. Paid GREAT ($22/hr 11 years ago) for a college student. Anyway, water is what we used to clean the air. When the air got a little dusty, we’d mist it with a power sprayer to knock all the fibers down. Also, we’d wet any stuff before we’d remove it. As mentioned previously, the dust is what’s dangerous.
I would agree with ** DPWhite**in that the danger of asbestos left alone is almost nothing. We removed a lot of stuff that was still in fine shape and was not a threat to anyone. Of course, most of it was in schools and people are understandably nervous when it comes to their kids.
I always felt the people realy at risk in schools, however, were the teachers and especially the custodians.
A final note about risk analysis. Recall a few years ago when schools in NYC were delayed a few weeks because of asbestos? I remmber reading a comment by an epidemiologist that the kids were in greater danger having a couple of extra weeks of summer vacation than they were from asbestos.