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Tailing - does this mean what I think it means?


GruntPuppy

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I've seen reference in some of the old Strand brochures to asbestosite being present in the tailing and tailings of some lamps - Am I right in thinking that the tailing refers to the power cable? I plan on replacing the electrics end to end on the lamps I'm working on, I just want to know if I need to take any precautions with regards the handling and disposal of older leads?

 

Google has not been my friend on this one... Besides confirming that Asbestosite contains asbestos.

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If you do come across what you suspect to be asbestos containing materials, please remember that it is the dust that is harmful. Bending or any handling of asbestos insulated wiring will release hazardous dust. Other parts around the lamp such as washers, gaskets, padding around lenses can contain asbestos as well. Old asbestos-containing light fittings should be disposed intact and complete as asbestos containing waste.

 

At your own personal risk, if you do choose to get involved with old lamps potentially containing asbestos, I suggest you use a large container of water (no, not the kitchen sink!), submerge everything and remove all the potentially asbestos containing parts under water. Whilst the bits are still wet, double bag the waste in heavy duty plastic bags and dispose of it legally. The bits that you wish to keep (which probably will be metal,glass,ceramics and plastics only) and all the equipment used must be scrubbed clean (including gasket residues) and thoroughly rinsed several times with clean water. It is important that no residues or surface dust is left behind when everything dries.

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If you do come across what you suspect to be asbestos containing materials, please remember that it is the dust that is harmful. Bending or any handling of asbestos insulated wiring will release hazardous dust. Other parts around the lamp such as washers, gaskets, padding around lenses can contain asbestos as well. Old asbestos-containing light fittings should be disposed intact and complete as asbestos containing waste.

 

At your own personal risk, if you do choose to get involved with old lamps potentially containing asbestos, I suggest you use a large container of water (no, not the kitchen sink!), submerge everything and remove all the potentially asbestos containing parts under water. Whilst the bits are still wet, double bag the waste in heavy duty plastic bags and dispose of it legally. The bits that you wish to keep (which probably will be metal,glass,ceramics and plastics only) and all the equipment used must be scrubbed clean (including gasket residues) and thoroughly rinsed several times with clean water. It is important that no residues or surface dust is left behind when everything dries.

 

 

Wow. I shall be extremely careful. Now where did I leave my NBC suit...

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As well as the cable tails, some older Strand kit (mostly the bigger stuff, e.g. 243 and 252) contain asbestos insulating discs underneath the lampholder. We discovered this while stripping some old units down for spares a few years ago - here's a pic of the kit which ended up having to be taken apart by hazardous-waste professionals in a little sealed tent in our scene dock!!

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Wow. I shall be extremely careful. Now where did I leave my NBC suit...

 

I am not up to speed on current law but it used to be that you could remove and bag up asbestos inside your premises at your own risk but once you placed it outside your door that was transportation for which a licence is required.

 

As for the NBC suit .... we had a new heating system installed a few years back and they found a fireproof sheet of asbestos through which the flue passed. They hired in the experts who built a plastic tunnel from the flue, out of the closet, down the hall, through our flat door and out through the main entrance. They had 6 guys working on 32 flats for a month with sealed box trailers to take the waste and give them somewhere to change clothes and yes, they all wore double layered suits with the top flight respirator masks that are now all the rage. All for one square of asbestos sheet a foot square with a 6 inch hole in it in each flat.

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Doesn't seem that long ago that DIY stores sold little tins of asbestos fibre that you poured onto your hand, spat on (blowing dust everywhere), & rolled up to make wall-plugs. I'm sure a lot of my original shelves are held up by little plugs of asbestos. And as for DIY sheds & garages made from corrugated asbestos sheeting.........
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Back in Dec 2002, we had an incident after an all-day rock festival at my theatre. After all was done and dusted some of the last punters were leaving but came back in to say they could smell burning rubber in the small outer foyer. I investigated, and sure enough we traced it quickly to the main 400A x 3-ph incoming cable! We ventilated (after turning off all but essential stuff on that line, and made sure the rest of the building was evac'd. After a short period of watching and sniffing we were confident that it was just an overheat and the risk of hire was averted - we went home.

 

Following day, reported the problem to our elec supplier who sent out a couple of guys. They took one look at it and tutted at the incomer, but then said "we can't do anything with that as it is - that's an asbestos board the distro and meter is bolted to.

So - called in the local council (our landlords) and surprisingly quickly one of the building dept geezers came out (after the power guys had left). Took one look, and said "Nah - that's OK, it's just Asbestolux - a substitute. Just to be on the safe side I'll take a sample."

He took out his pocket knife, scraped some flakes off into a money bag he happened to have. Then asked if we had another one - "To double-bag it" he said with a sly grin. He said he'd have it tested and let us know.

We heard nothing more so made the assumption that he was right.

 

The gig was the last before Christmas, so we talked to a few contractors, and ended up deciding between us all that if we put in a sturdy mounting board the other side of that wall, they would happily bring a new incoming feed from a different direction and install a new distro and meter for us just after the festive period. That was all done and dusted for panto which was great.

 

Now - the interesting bit...

We'd already scheduled a full month's closure after panto starting at the end of Jan. We were replacing all the theatre side electrics and moving the control booth around. We also took out a whole wall full of old MEM cast iron breakers and bus-boxes and condensed it all into shiny new distro boards.

 

All went well, using volunteers with sparkie experience etc, and we opened again with a dance school show at the start of March. On the Tuesday after that I had a call from a company who said the council were doing a borough wide survey of all their properties and an asbestos inspection team of two would be on the doorstep the following morning.

 

So - I turned out to open up and show them around.

It wasn't long before the chap with the meter was frowning, and when checking the control booth he found a huge concentration of airborne fibres that made him exit PDQ and shut all doors behind him. Within 30 minutes of him making phone calls he basically said "That's it - sorry, but you're closed"

 

Asbestos wall dividing the booth from the auditorium, ceiling too, walls in the equipment room downstairs and much more.

 

Longer story short, we battled the council for 3 months, during which time they brought in a bigger team of men in paper suits and masks and we had a HUGE tunnel out from the booth to the tarmac behind the stage doors with 2 40ft closed skips.

Anything with a fan or a slider of a grille - in fact 90% of what we had there was condemned and skipped. 6 month old Strand 300 desk and screens - Soundcraft mixer, several amps and2 follow spots - everything.

 

But at the end, we finally convinced the PTB that it was their building, they had (in the 70s) insisted on the asbestos walls and fireproofing around the place so they were fully responsible to cover the replacement costs. I negotiated a £75k package to cover everything from tech kit to the 7 rows of auditorium seats they ripped out, and bar stock. So for another 3 months we took the catastrophe and turned it into an opportunity and spent wisely. We re-opened in September with an even fuller calendar than before and didn't look back :)

 

Obviously everyone who worked on the project - especially those who cut the new windows in the booth - had to be registered with the insurers and council. As far as I'm aware nobody on that list has exhibited any lung issues since (touch wood) but I still have the documents...

 

Oh - and at the END of March an envelope arrived with a sheaf of papers from the council advising us of what was needed for working with and around asbestos!!! As a result of that December 'sample'.....

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But at the end, we finally convinced the PTB that it was their building, they had (in the 70s) insisted on the asbestos walls and fireproofing around the place so they were fully responsible to cover the replacement costs. I negotiated a £75k package to cover everything from tech kit to the 7 rows of auditorium seats they ripped out, and bar stock. So for another 3 months we took the catastrophe and turned it into an opportunity and spent wisely. We re-opened in September with an even fuller calendar than before and didn't look back :)

 

It must have been 1994 or 5 when I attended a conference with HSE's Chief Inspector with responsibility for schools. This was just about five years after the 1988 Act had really begun to popularise Local Management of Schools and quite a number of heads and governing bodies had set off down that misguided route. I think 90% of the day was concerned with dealing with petrified LMS school managers' sometimes quite emotional pleas about how they were going to deal with the Asbestos they now found was throughout their buildings when the Local Authority made clear that in their view it was now the school's problem. If around you what seemed like a perfectly serviceable school has been in recent years knocked down and replaced you might not have to look too far for the reason. Between 1990 and 91 the one I worked in was 'refurbished' and it was obvious that 75% of the work was done during the hols by Asbestos Removal Contractors and we were told on no account to try to even enter the grounds.

Edited by Junior8
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Building we're currently doing an install at is undergoing a major refurbishment. At the start of the project a plan was sent out with the results of the asbestos survey. Every single room is marked as "asbestos confirmed" or "unable to access, asbestos presumed". Whole project was delayed by over a year while the situation was cleaned up.

 

1950s construction is amazing.

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Three years ago when the Opera Theatre at the Sydney Opera House was undergoing renovation, there were news headlines screaming about “asbestos found at the Sydney Opera House! Is this iconic building safe?!?!” This, of course, threw our players into a frenzy, thinking that they’d all been exposed to asbestos and so on. We were 99% sure that it was nothing to do with the pit and none of the players had been in any danger (and of course if it’s undisturbed it’s not usually a problem); to try and calm them down we ended up calling the staff member who was our liaison regarding the renos and of course it turned out to be fine. He said that they knew there was asbestos in the building, and that they’d undoubtedly find it during the renos, it was just that they didn’t know exactly where it was - the plans of the building are not very accurate, mostly due to the mid-construction changes that were made. Plans had of course been put in place before the first sledgehammer was swung, it got removed safely, statements were issued basically saying the media had made a mountain out of a molehill and we never heard any more about it. Interestingly enough the Concert Hall renos, which are now about nine months in, haven’t had the same headlines.

 

I do love how musicians overreact and go to DEFCON 5 at 1000 miles an hour though. The last fun one I had to explain was that a 5Ghz wifi router was not the same as a 5G mobile cell. There’s a router in the pit because audio use an iPad connected to the sound desk a lot and without a router in the pit they were having connection problems. Had to get my computer engineer husband to write a plain English explanation of the differences for me that time!

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If disposing of a small amount of asbestos.. (based on about 5 years ago)

I got rid of asbestos cement downpipes and offered to transport my 90 year old neighbour's ones as well.Double bagged in heavy black polythene and gaffertape in my version of a Soprano's body disposal.

The dump needed a phone booking for a time slot, checked that it was all from my house. As soon as I mentioned my neighbour, they insisted either I brought him along, or paid a pro disposal rate. I said I'd ring back and waited a couple of weeks before ringing again and saying it was all mine.

If you have a small amount, and are happy to lie a bit, carrying double bagged stuff in your vehicle (roof rack?) it's far easier to dispose of a small amount as a domestic client than the palaver of professional disposal

Our building is late 40's and riddled with asbestos. Every now and then they clear a bit using extreme measures and it's good to know they take it seriously but it's very disruptive.

A venue I worked at had a safety roller curtain and a senior usherette would often hand over a bunch of flowers on stage. She died of asbestosis, and legal proceedings ensued.

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