Discuss Asbestos cables????? Rewire periodic inspection in the Periodic Inspection Reporting & Certification area at ElectriciansForums.net

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Scary... is that much risk of fibre release? Obviously yes from the frayed ends, but the main body of the cable?

I'm trying to think back to when I was tinkering with stage lights at school, we had a collection of old (I would say 70's) lights and a very old rheostat (I think) dimmer bank and I vaguely remember some of the cables looking quite a lot like that.
 
Sure, they would have been ACMs. On the professional stage, multiple circuits used heavy flexible multicores (generically called 'tripe' after the appearance of the rubber covered variety). Others were asbestos-sheathed; As you dragged them across the stage, if they caught on things, little bits would get shaved off the asbestos braid, which would then get swept up with the general debris. I've sat with long asbestos socks on my lap, threading the cores through. I've wired asbestos resistance banks in dimmers up with asbestos cable, then put the asbestos lined covers back on. Everything that got hot, got asbestos!

E2A, I think the fibre blend varied from maker to maker, but crocidolite was certainly used in some cable insulations.

Perhaps we should stop talking about asbestos in this thread in case it scares casual readers later. To repeat: the cables the OP was asking about look like regular VIR which is not an ACM and not dangerous to handle.
 
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The subject does beg the question though.
If you have a bucket of cable that you know has asbestos.... why the heck are you still holding onto it?


OP. I think your safe with what you have
 
I think to go back to the original question the op has a professional duty to inform the customer ideally in writing that it needs attention from the dno, but unless there are exposed live parts or other hazard i don't think they need to go panic stations and get it replaced before starting work.
 
The subject does beg the question though.
If you have a bucket of cable that you know has asbestos.... why the heck are you still holding onto it?

OP. I think your safe with what you have

He's either a hoarder (and having a significant portion of hoarder DNA myself... you just never know when you might need it) or they are keeping it safe and for disposal (getting rid of asbestos waste can be costly - everyone I spoke with about it charged by the bag + a fixed fee so if you only get small amounts it's cheaper to keep it safe and get rid of it in one go) or because at some point it may be useful (maybe in the museum for example).
 
I think to go back to the original question the op has a professional duty to inform the customer ideally in writing that it needs attention from the dno, but unless there are exposed live parts or other hazard i don't think they need to go panic stations and get it replaced before starting work.

I'm not sure I'd be in such a panic over them. Yes they are old, but they look to be in reasonable condition.
 
He's either a hoarder (and having a significant portion of hoarder DNA myself... you just never know when you might need it) or they are keeping it safe and for disposal (getting rid of asbestos waste can be costly - everyone I spoke with about it charged by the bag + a fixed fee so if you only get small amounts it's cheaper to keep it safe and get rid of it in one go) or because at some point it may be useful (maybe in the museum for example).

He runs an electrical museum, and collects old and weird items for display.
 
That pic was taken years ago during an overhaul of some lighting equipment including fitting new flexes. We saved the best example of each type of cable for the museum.

Now here's some proper heat-resisting stuff from 1932....
Asbestos cables????? Rewire periodic inspection 15403072607621254404650632054985 - EletriciansForums.net
 
VIR ( vulcanised india rubber) was common up until the 1960's , its simply a rubber insulation with a cotton braid and shouldn't contain any asbestos as far as I know. it would make sense to renew the tails as rubber perishes with age thus the insulation breaks down.
 
My wife's father worked at Turner's Asbestos in Bulawayo Zimbabwe, and driving past the factory you saw clouds of asbestos dust.

He brought home loads of cut off large bore asbestos pipe which was used as flower pots and even roofed my wife's childhood Wendy house with Asbestos cloth.

In the kitchen they had a sheet of asbestos which was used as a working surface and stand for hot pots and pans.

He lived until the age of 73 when he died of a heart attack brought on by a lifetime of heavy smoking and drinking . None of the family ever suffered from asbestosis so what's the fuss about?
 

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