Posted By Alan Haynes
Did as 'google'and found the following;-

Anthrax in Plaster/

Plaster usually contains horsehair and, before controls were introduced in 1895, could contain anthrax spores. Although there are no recorded cases of infections from this source, when removing plaster you should take reasonable precautions.

English Heritage recommend that you should:

cover all cuts, abrasions and other wounds with waterproof dressings to prevent infection

keep hands and fingernails clean and avoid hand-to-mouth contact during work

wear protective clothing (such as disposable gloves, overalls, eye protection, dust masks) appropriate to the task in hand.

Dust masks should provide protection against infectious agents (FFP3 type, European Standard EN 149).

not eat or drink in work areas and wash hands thoroughly before handling food

keep first aid kits well-maintained and to hand, and ensure they contain waterproof dressings

if removing old plaster, ensure that it is disposed of in accordance with local and statutory national controls, and that the generation of dust is minimised (e.g. by vacuum cleaning using a high-efficiency filter instead of dry-brush cleaning).

keep surrounding areas clean and dust-free
ensure that personal are informed of the risk and risk management strategy.


Hope this helps

Posted By Adrian Watson
Dear Ian,

This is a theoretical risk! Whilst you can get the odd anthrax spores from lime plaster to multiply, there have been no cases of anthrax in plasters working on old plaster.

Plasterers using horse hair did suffer from anthrax. However, the anthrax was a viable organism. Furthermore the infectious load with anthrax is high (>10^3 CFU). The typical method of dealing with animals with anthrax was to bury them in lime. So using lime plaster is a pretty good method of inactivating the organism.

Regardless of the theoritical risk of anthrax, persons removing lime plaster should be wearing respiratory protection because of the exposure to irritant dusts.

Regards Adrian Watson

Posted By Konstanty Budkiewicz
Ian,

Mid -last year I was working on the removal of plaster in Barnes, London as part of a DIY renovation. I noticed that whilst undertaking the work that my eyes were becoming sore. I spoke to contractors working in an adjacent property and they informed me that they had encountered the same issue during major refits.
Upon seeking medical advice from a local doctor they were advised, that in the Victorian era it was practice in the area to use furnace ash as a filling agent. This ash contained acidic byproducts; hence, when the plaster was disturbed it became airborne and the contractors suffered both sore throats and eyes. Once the wore appropriate PPE the health effects were brought under control.
You may want to roll this aspect into your safety plan, if sore eyes become an issue.

Regards

Kon

Posted By Chas
Try and get hold of the HSE publication HSG174 Anthrax - Safe Working and Prevention of Infection. (It could be out of print). Whilst it is geared towards people working with animals and higher risk situations it does give some guidance on controls and risk assessment.

Posted By Tom100
"there are no recorded cases of infections from this source"

Human infection is also extremely rare from any source. Buy a lottery ticket - a lot more people have become lottery millionaires in the last 15 years than have contracted anthrax.

The dust is at best unpleasant, and has been said could be an irritant, so definitely avoid breathing it, and protect your eyes and skin. But please don't fret about being stricken down by a scary disease.