You're viewing a single thread.
I had to reinsulate my attic a few years ago and I found about five different types of insulation up there (I have an old house) ... I had to do a bunch of research on this stuff and figure out what I had ... thankfully I was ok but I found this in my search online
Oh my god. Blue asbestos is the worst kind, or best if mesothelioma is your thing. Every single one of the people in that picture died from pulmonary issues.
My grandparents old farm had an asbestos carpet under their current carpet. I'm very very happy I was around to spot that, and for having audited a lot of abatement companies.
It also had asbestos roofing, but at least we weren't about to rip that up by hand
But like, why asbestos?
Why can't they shovel sand or dirt or something?
To make people believe it was safe. They knew it wasn't, so they manipulated public opinion with marketing stunts.
"Of course it's safe! Look how safe it is! It's fun for the whole family! What do you think we are, monsters?"
When in fact yes ... yes they were monsters ... and there are monsters still around us today
Wittenoom was an asbestos mining town, it was the whole reason for the towns existence. They believed at the time that not only was asbestos safe but they would spread blue asbestos out on the ground around their houses and paths on purpose (for some reason, i forget why exactly, might have been as an insect deterrent or something).
So this wouldnt be that weird for them, like a coal mining town digging buckets of coal.
Our house is about 150 years old and we dug down to the dirt floor in one of the downstairs rooms. We found suspicious white bits, and had to send a sample off. Luckily it came back clear. It was unlikely anyway, as asbestos wasn't in widespread use here in the 19th century.
However, we do have corrugated asbestos roofing on our "scullery" but it's in one piece so can be left until we renovate that part, then disposed of safely. It's pretty common to find it on sheds and outbuildings here.