Breaker Braker...
With all this talk of beating on brake drums to remove them, I feel I must
comment on a major health problem associated with brake work.
ASBESTOS
Asbestos is not something to be fooled with nor laughed at. When beating on
that drum, all that "dust" coming out of the bottom is asbestos. Minimal
exposure to asbestos can cause an acute case of death. There are documented
cases of single exposures causing death. There are additional cases of wives
who washed their brake working husband's clothes dying of that exposure.
Remeber Steve McQueen ? Macho man extreme, died of asbestos after 3 months
exposure in a shipyard. Think about it.
A little forethought can help the problem.
Buying a good air mask that states that it will exclude asbestos fibers is
certainly a good step, but you still have to stop it from getting all over
you, and most importantly, into the air.
When you need to "beat " on a brake drom, put a plastic garbage bag over the
whole thing and beat away. This will trap a vast majority of the fibers. Once
the drum is off, the first thing that I do is to use a hand sprayer with a
mild soap and water solution to keep everything wet. Keep spraying as you
work on the job and things dry out. DO NOT use any spray can materials as the
pressure in the can is so high that when you cut loose with a stream of
whatever, it knocks lots of the asbestos fibers into the air. When you have
finished the job, put everything involved into a plastic bag and seal it NOW
so that you can dispose of it properly.
The major concern is to keep the amount of free fibers in the air, as low as
possible.
Think about clutches, gaskets, exhaust shields and etc. Awareness of the
problem is half the battle.
Not a Subject I Deal With Lightly
Nick in Nor Cal
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