Zonolite story

[mridgeelk]

This is AOL news this morning:

http://www.aolnews.com/killer-in-the-at ... n/19731468

[Jim Morrison]

I'm no doctor, but that piece was pretty sensationalistic. I've said this here before, but I'll say it again: Asbestos is lethal. So are bacon double-cheeseburgers in sufficient quantities. It depends on exposure. Drinking too much water can also kill you.

My grandfather worked at the Charlestown Navy Yard for most of his adult life, breathing in asbestos by the lungful every working day. He died of mesothelioma in his mid 70's.

I don't think crawling through an attic with zonolite a few times a year really compares with that.

Still, I'll be interested to see how this story plays out since we see a fair amount of zonolite in the Boston area.

Jimmy

[Marc]

My wife just signed a lease on an office condo in which the owner said that the structural brick walls consisted of two separate walls with zonolite between them. They open into the attic space which is too shallow to enter. Is she in any danger?

Marc

[Jim Morrison]

She's in danger every time she leaves the house. I'd advise against that, except that more injuries occur at home than anywhere else.

It's all relative and sooner or later we all die from something. If my exposure to asbestos gets me at 70, is that really any more alarming than clogged arteries from eating too much BBQ?

I don't really think so.

Most of the rest of the world laughs at us when we get our panties in a wad about these things. Only a handful of countries can afford to worry about 'Silent Killers' like residential exposure to zonolite insulation.

Life is good.

[Tom Raymond]

Jimmy,

I'm stealing the double cheeseburger thing.

[randynavarro]

When folks ask if asbestos in the home or lead paint or other such items are dangerous, I promptly respond, "Have you ever eaten at McDonalds?"

Most of the time they get it.

[hausdok]

Yeah, I'm with Jimmy. I won't go into my usual rant about asbestos. You've all heard me wax on about it here before.

Want to see sensationalistic reporting about Zonolite? Google Seattle P-I, Zonolite and Vermiculite and download their whole "investigative series." They way they've carried on over the years you'd think that every one of us in the Seattle region is going to keel over at any second. Funny thing though - they've made lots of noise about the vermiculite insulation, which is usually on the other side of a ceiling/wall membrane, but they've not said much at all about the vermiculite sitting there in all of those many thousands of open masonry fireplaces with the ceramic gas logs in this region and the little piles of crushed lava rock mixed with vermiculite piled beneath the logs and open to the interior of the house for decades.

I'm pretty sure that my two or three or four pots of coffee a day will probably kill me too, but tain't no way I'm giving up my java. When I kick, they can put a full mug in my hand - cream and two sugars - before they sink the box.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[Jim Katen]

I'm no doctor, but that piece was pretty sensationalistic. I've said this here before, but I'll say it again: Asbestos is lethal. So are bacon double-cheeseburgers in sufficient quantities. It depends on exposure. Drinking too much water can also kill you.

The two aren't comparable. Cancer can be caused by a single asbestos fiber lodged in the body. The vast majority of fibers won't cause cancer, but it only takes one. The fewer fibers you breathe, the better. Cheeseburgers aren't like that. You can choose whether or not you eat them and feed them to your kids. You should be able to choose whether or not you want to live in a house that contains friable asbestos.

The article is sensationalistic, but so is the subject. Past political administrations have actively suppressed information about asbestos risk in Zonolite insulation. That's sensational.

My grandfather worked at the Charlestown Navy Yard for most of his adult life, breathing in asbestos by the lungful every working day. He died of mesothelioma in his mid 70's.

I don't think crawling through an attic with zonolite a few times a year really compares with that.

No, but everyone is different. I had a client whose daughter died of Mesothelioma when she was 35. The less asbestos you're exposed to in a lifetime, the better. I think that people should have the information they need to make informed choices. If they choose to limit their asbestos exposure, then it's not something we should be mocking.

- Jim Katen, Oregon

[Jim Katen]

. . . It's all relative and sooner or later we all die from something. If my exposure to asbestos gets me at 70, is that really any more alarming than clogged arteries from eating too much BBQ?. . .

Yes, huge difference. I would have chosen the BBQ and I would have enjoyed it.

[randynavarro]

I agree with Jim's posts so I'll add another comment I give when asked about health hazards in homes.

"Did you drive on the freeway today? How much particulate and exhaust were you exposed to?"

This might be a more apropos response than the McDonalds or BBQ analogy. Yes, we have choices about what we eat. We don't have choices about the air we breathe while simply driving.

[gtblum]

Jimmy,

I'm stealing the double cheeseburger thing.

It's not a Joke, Tom. I just heard there's a new study on the health hazards from exposure to second hand bacon cheeseburgers.

They have the same of proof as they have about second hand smoke. None. But, it doesn't matter because they said so.

[Tom Raymond]

I quit smoking mid July so I know first hand just how dangerous the cheeseburgers are. I'm up 24 pounds so far.

[Jim Morrison]

Brother Jim,

They are most definitely comparable. Perhaps not medically, probably not as insulation choices, and certainly not as menu choices; but I'd guess that if someone were to run the numbers, they'd find that the practical health risks of living in a house with Zonolite and eating the occassional Baconator are both pretty danged tiny when measured against the countless risks we all face each day.

I'm not saying Zonolite isn't bad for us, I'm sure it is. it's just that I don't think the facts justify the hype in the Silent Killer piece.

I also agree that more information is better than less. I'd even go one step further and submit that good information is better than skewed information.

Jimmy

[gtblum]

I quit smoking mid July so I know first hand just how dangerous the cheeseburgers are. I'm up 24 pounds so far.

I hope you have enough good sense to only eat flame broiled burgers.

It wasn't all that long ago they claimed fried hamburgers were tied to cancer. Remember?

On the other hand, the word Lycopene was proudly displayed on ketchup bottles for a while, with a discription of how it was an antioxidant that could lower the risk of heart disease and cancer. ketchup may be the only thing that can save you. Make sure you use lots of it on your burgers, and keep the burgers away from granite counter tops.