I was washing my car today, and instead of using a wheel brush to clean the brake dust off my wheels (which were absolutely black with dust), I decided to try using the same sheepskin wash mitt I use on the rest of the car.
It worked very well. But once I finished, I looked in the bucket of water I used to rinse the mitt, and saw that it had turned absolutely black. I pulled my hand out of the mitt, and saw that it was also completely black with dust. I rinsed it off, and didn’t really think much of it at the time - only an hour later, when I had finished with some other tasks and was washing my hands.
Brake dust is basically a bunch of carbon and metal particles, right? That stuff can’t be good for your hands, even if it’s not asbestos like it used to be. Should I be concerned? When I was washing my hands, I swear I could feel the little metal particles grinding away in my fingers, but I’m sure I was just imagining it.
Nevertheless, should I be concerned? That stuff can’t, say, enter the bloodstream and give you brain damage, can it?
I know, I’m a ridiculous hypochondriac. I don’t care about germs, but I’m paranoid about man-made substances.
It’s possible that something has damaged your brain to get you this worked up over “liquid brake dust” but the liquid brake dust exposure you have endured is benign.
Of course, this is impossible to avoid if you spend much time driving America’s highways.
Brake dust is everywhere, and people are not dropping like flies.
While I was not really serious about the “brain damage” bit, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask if there are any health risks to plunging your hand containing a bucket with a suspension of microscopic metal particles.
You are not going to die.
Even if the brakes contained asbestos, you are not going to die from getting it on your hands. I should point out that mechanics get brake dust on their hands every day in their work. I should also point out that the reason a lot of technicians wear gloves is not for better health, but it makes keeping you hands clean so much easier.
Your lungs are what you need to be concerned about. You do not want this stuff in your lungs.
One of the ways to prevent flying dust is to wet the brake dust down, which is what you were doing with the soap and a hose.
I think the primary danger from any finely divided solid is breathing it in. The hazard from a once in 5 years exposure to brake pad dust is insignificant compared to the stuff we breath in every day.
Now if you worked on brakes regularly it would be advisable to wear a mask, but the stuff immersed in water is pretty safe.
