Science Memes

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Magic Mineral (mander.xyz)

submitted 2 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 21 points 2 months ago (1 children)

That helps somewhat, but if the house gets demolished with a bulldozer that's still a lot of asbestos floating around again. The point is, you don't know what will happen to it in the future, and it's just not safe to have semi hazardous material lying around everywhere.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago (1 children)

It's pretty unlikely the homeowner is bulldozing the house themselves. So likely it's handled by professionals.

Epoxied asbestos is approximately as dangerous as epoxied fibreglass -- add some dust suppression and have at it.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

What if there's an earthquake, or a tornado, or a flood?

Entire neighborhoods of carcinogens would be released into the environment.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Unless said hurricane, tornado, or flood grinds the material into a fine powder then you go around the neighbourhood snorting it -- then if bound properly, it is just as safe (or dangerous) as fibreglass insulation.

I'm not saying fill everyone's attics with powdered asbestos or something.

We use dangerous products all the time. For example, mercury in florescent lighting. But we regulate and generally speaking things are quite safe. But for whatever reason, as soon as anyone hears the word asbestos they freak out and no amount of explanations regarding safe handling will suffice.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Well, hurricanes and tornadoes and floods DO grind materials into dust, which can then turn aerosol.

So maybe we just, ya know, don't use it in construction at all.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago

Show my a neighbourhood pulverized into fine dust by any of the above -- even the concrete. The physics doesn't make any sense. The closest thing we have to this is wartime bombing, and then asbestos is likely your least worry. Anyway, you're entrenched.