Asbestos exposure.

Hello,

I am an electrician and I work in a lot of schools. At work today me and my colleague tested a caretakers outside office. In this office he had a fuse board. The main cable coming into the the fuse board passed through what looked to be an AIB (asbestos insulation board). It had a sample number on it but no clear sign that it was definitely asbestos.

However, assuming it was an asbestosis board. Should I be worried? Obviously I had to touch the cable that passed through the board. Im worried that I have now been exposed due to particles being on the cable? I need help. I can not stop thinking about it.

  • Hi Kylek.  You won't be too surprised to learn that this question pops up quite regularly here. You aren't the first to be worried about accidental asbestos exposure and you won't be the last.

    We all get exposed to asbestos from time to time so the occasional exposure is unlikely to do any harm. For instance, when I was a student in the early 1970s I worked my vacations in a factory which later on it transpired had played fast-and-loose with asbestos. From my own recollection I believe I was exposed a few times. I told my GP and then had a chest X ray, which was clear. Phew!

    Obviously, you don't want to come into deliberate contact with the stuff, but the occasional accidental exposure can't be helped and it happens to us all.  Most people who get asbestos diseases are exposed to it over long periods, and often they're smokers. Tobacco and asbestos are a lethal combination. 

    Unfortunately, I don't have a clear understanding of the regulations around asbestos, but maybe this is something where you should get yourself more informed.  Your employer has a duty to protect you from danger at work, and asbestos is (unfortunately) always a possibility in an old building.  Could you maybe ask for some training courses on asbestos awareness?