Posted By A Hayden I would appreciate some advice from the forum. In one of our shops we have a Combat 20 heater. The manager who has worked there for approx 25 years estimates the heater to be about 30 years old. He has today informed me that he has a persistent cough which his doctor cannot find any cause for. He has read an article in the paper today that has worried him as it describes his symptoms and suggests that he may have asbestosis or similar. He has seen this heater's innards and says that there is asbestos in it. He has asked me to confirm this,(I have emailed the manufacturer and I am still waiting for a response) If the heater has asbestos does this automatically mean it is unsafe and if so who should I contact for its safe disposal. There are obviously a lot more implications but I will wait until I have more information regarding the safety of this heater.

Posted By A Hayden Thanks, this is very helpful.

Posted By Bob Shillabeer My God, why are you adding to this man's worries by going off half cocked and getting all these test done on the equipment? Make sure he is traeted properly, if necessary by getting him to a specialist or at least by contact wioth his own doctor to reassure him he is not suffering with cancert. It may be that that is the actual outcome but don't put tghe fear of God into him yet. Get him examined by a properly competent medic at no cost to him and hope it is not what he now thinks is wrong with him. Reasure him first. Then look at getting the old equipment tested and replaced, even if it is working. Its so old it must cost a fortune to operate it anyway. But have all the evidence to hand, just in case.

Posted By Robert K Lewis Bob As long as the heater is unknown then the anxiety will continue at elevated levels. Yes the problem is likely to be something else but why ignore a very real fear on the part of the employee? Bob

Posted By Adrian Watson Dear All, If he has asbestosis; there is no way that he got if from this heater. There is little or no risk of asbestosis with less than 40 fibre years of exposure to chrysotile. The presence of asbestos does not mean the presence of risk. If you wish to assess the level of risk you need to identify the type of asbestos, the level, duration and frequency of exposure. Regards Adrian Watson.

Posted By John Richards HSE Press Release E010:02 - 5 February 2002 HSE confirms white asbestos remains a threat HSE has today confirmed that white asbestos (chrysotile) is a major health hazard. All asbestos can cause cancer and the vast bulk of scientific evidence in the UK and abroad regards the risk from white asbestos as proven. There is evidence that the risks from this substance are less than more potent carcinogens such as blue and brown asbestos, known as crocidolite and amosite. But it still carries a risk and for that reason white asbestos will be included in the new rules due to come into force later this year. These require those responsible for commercial buildings to manage any asbestos in the premises. HSE estimates that up to 4,000 lives could be lost over future years unless steps are taken now to manage the risks from the asbestos present in commercial buildings. Not only would any exemption given to white asbestos would be unjustifiable scientifically, it would also make the challenging task of assessing and managing the risks from asbestos almost impossible. Many building products contain a mixture of the three different types of asbestos. For this reason the existing regulations for asbestos in the workplace require that where the type of fibre cannot be identified, it must be assumed that the more hazardous forms of asbestos are present. Further advice on asbestos in buildings is contained in the free HSE leaflet 'Managing Asbestos in Premises'. If white asbestos is so harmless, why don't you shovel a few tonnes about and see what happens in 20/30/40 years.

Posted By Adrian Watson John, By all means quote out of context. Shovelling tons of the material started the problem. However, this is a diffent scale from being in a room with a heater containing asbestos. Regards Adrian Watson

Posted By Alan Woodage I am no expert but I am struggling to see how suitable quantities of particulate (if it is asbestos) could become airborne at any one time to pose a significant risk. Unless this guy has been cleaning out or maintaining this heater. I am always amazed at the panic the A word produces. if the heater is thirty years old then the premises must be older so there may well be Asbestos in many other areas. Most of us who are over thirty were surrounded by asbestos in our earlier lives and there is no evidence of long term health effects. Yes the people working in board plants and mining, pipe laggers etc who used to work in great clouds of dust and have snowball fights with the stuff are the asbestosis cases of today. As a naturally occurring mineral there are constant background levels in the air we all breathe. This guy needs re-assurance and maybe a trip to the OH dept or company doctor. Replace the heater if it is faulty or dangerous or get it checked out and if it has ACM's get it identified. A survey and / or some advice from a reputable Licensed asbestos contractor would be a good way forward.

Posted By John Richards "The widow of the youngest mesothelioma sufferer, a 32-year-old man who died after inhaling asbestos on his stepfather’s work clothing as a child has succeeded in her legal battle for compensation. Claire Welch from Braunstone in Leicester continued the legal action originally launched by her husband Barry after he was diagnosed with mesothelioma in May 2004. Mr Welch died on 27th April 2005, after an 11-month battle against the illness" "A Failsworth, Lancashire woman is the youngest recorded sufferer of a rare asbestos-related cancer. Leigh Carlisle has baffled doctors by catching the fatal disease mesothelioma – a form of lung cancer normally contracted by breathing in asbestos. And the 27-year-old believes she may have caught it on her walk to school as a child by passing a factory yard where asbestos sheets were cut up. Leigh said: "I used to take a short cut across a yard in Failsworth on my way to primary school. "I know that men working there cut asbestos sheets and handled asbestos materials in the yard, but I had no idea that by walking through the yard I could have inadvertently got cancer." Leigh, who was diagnosed with mesothelioma at the age of 26 after suffering from severe abdominal pains, said: "It took several years for doctors to diagnose me with mesothelioma. I was passed from pillar to post between various hospitals until they realised what was wrong with me." Now she wants to raise the profile of the condition, which attacks a thin membrane coating the lungs and abdomen and is one of the most aggressive forms of cancer. In the majority of cases the cancer takes between 20 and 50 years to develop after exposure to asbestos. Once diagnosed, patients usually survive for only up to 12 months. Leigh has welcomed an announcement by the Department of Health that they intend to organise better NHS services for mesothelioma sufferers. Adrian Budgen, from law firm Irwin Mitchell, which represents Leigh, said: "Mesothelioma is a very cruel disease, for which there is no cure. Ms Carlisle’s case shows that mesothelioma cannot be regarded as an ‘old person’s disease’ any longer. "We are aware of a growing number of people who have developed mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos dust on their loved one’s work clothes." It is estimated there are about 2,000 deaths a year from mesothelioma in Britain. This number has doubled since 1992 and is predicted to rise further. Despite the use of asbestos being banned in Britain, past exposure to the mineral fibre means this number has not yet reached its peak. Professor Julian Peto, of Cancer Research UK, has called the use of asbestos in Britain an "extraordinary industrial error". He believes 90,000 more people will die from mesothelioma in Britain and a further 90,000 from other lung diseases related to asbestos exposure. He claims mesothelioma has already killed twice as many people as cervical cancer and those at risk are people born in the 1940s who worked as carpenters, laggers, shipyard workers, metal workers, electricians and in other areas of construction" I could go on. I could even go on about the employers deliberately exposing their workers to asbestos, to save money. I think that on this form, it would be of no use.

Posted By Adrian Watson Dear Karen, The statesment that "... the youngest known sufferer of Mesothelioms is 27 years of age" if factually incorrect. Mesothelioma has occurred in all groups from neonatals (albeit rarely) to over 70's. Regards Adrian Watson

Posted By Robert K Lewis I think we have to remember that all of the time periods for the onset of asbestos diseases lie within a bell curve. The most likely periods lie within the central area but there are longer and shorter latency periods recorded. Again the question of dose is a major issue. The fibre levels we use are set on the basis of the identifiable effects. They do not mean that below this there is no effect - it is simply not readily measured because of the "noise" of other illnesses. Only a doctor can diagnose your manager but in the meantime you need to ensure that you are aware of acms or make presumption of their presence. Thus without sampling this heater contains, to all intents and purposes, asbestos material and further this must be presumed to be crocidolite. Bob