Alliance Environmental Blog

Dashing Through the Asbestos?!

When I was writing about finding asbestos in your attic, I came across a lot of ironic advertising for products which contained asbestos, some of which can still be found in use!  Amazing!

The first product was decorative snow for under your tree or around your Christmas Village or new train set.  Get down in there kids! 
And it’s fireproof!  Yuck!

How about these dish towels?  Would you dry your dishes with asbestos? 

Super absorbent because the cotton is blended with asbestos!  Will dry faster and polish your dishes better than ordinary towels!  I always wanted to dry my dishes with ROCKS!

Construction projects used a lot of asbestos—what an amazing product!  Shingles:

Pipe insulation—easy to apply!

and more!.

Asbestos was even used in the filters of cigarettes—just to make sure you inhaled your recommended daily dose, I guess!

Since I am a spinner and work with fiber every day, this kit was fasctinating and frightening to me:

I cannot imagine spinning asbestos on my spinning wheel today, but somebody did for that kit!  I sure hope none of the fibers we use now will end up being found to be carcinogenic in the future!

It is a terrible shame that the dangers of asbestos took so long to discover, but today you can avoid exposure to asbestos and there are strict workplace rules for companies that still work with it.  If asbestos turns up in your home, in stored holiday decorations, insulation, floor coverings or pipe insulation, it needs to be removed. 

If you need asbestos abatement for your home or commercial building in California, contact Alliance Environmental Group for assistance.  We can remove all asbestos-containing materials safely, quickly, and thoroughly.  Our technicians are based in offices all over California, including our new office in Anaheim for our Orange County customers.  Give us a call or contact us via our website!

And if you need decorative snow for your holiday display, use the plastic kind, not that old stuff from Grandma’s attic!

Wendy Stackhouse is the Online Community Manager for Alliance Environmental Group and AirTek Indoor Air Solutions.  She welcomes your comments!  For more news and tips or to ask questions of our experts, Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!  For updates on indoor air challenges, Like us at AirTek on Facebook!