Asbestos hazard in older caravans.

[griffin]

The latest issue of Open Road, Jan/Feb 2016, has an article about the hazard of asbestos in old caravans. An issue probably most Forum users are aware of.

For some reason I can't post the article as I seem to be stuck on a 'Poll' page!??

So I'll quote a couple of bits from the article written by Brendan Batty, Caravan and RV editor.

"Since anything with greater than 0.1 per cent of the substance is deemed 'hazardous', the large amount present in the flooring is worrying... you have to assume than many caravans built after World War II might contain asbestos. Likely areas include the vinyl flooring, brake pads, insulation of fridges or stoves, and most sealants. For your own safety, if you are working on an older caravan, be sure to get it checked out. Google 'asbestos check' to find a NATA lab where you can take a suspicious sample before doing any work."

Our old vans might see a 'HAZMAT' crew attending a fire or a crash in which they are involved it would seem.

I'm a bit laid back about it myself, having probably been exposed to it many times a kid and didn't know. Then I had lead based paint on my lead toy soldiers and ships, started my apprenticeship cutting up sheets of asbestos in the electrical trade and using asbestos tape, blew the dust out of the brakes of the car when I got one etc. Hopefully I'll still make my 70th in a couple of years.

That's not to make light of the potential hazard, so heed the warning, I just figure it's probably too late for myself.

George

[Richard]

Hi George.
There is some advice there that need to be headed when working on older vans. I actually wrote an article on this for Vintage Caravan Magazine a couple of years ago (cant remember which issue tho) so if your a renovator of caravans or even old homes track down a copy.
On a side issue it seems as though Vintage Caravan Magazine has stopped printing due to health issues, I wonder if it will ever get up and running again?