Date: Fri, 21 Apr 95 18:18:45 PDT
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: David.Kao@Eng.Sun.COM (David Kao)
Subject: Re: VERY IMPORTANT TO ME!!!
>>
>>
>> Removed the nasty, moldy haedline on my bus, found some kind of fibrous
>>material inside....friend says it looks like asbestos!!!!
>>
>>does anyone know?...please post an answer, i'm not gonna be comfortable
>>driving the beast til I know.
>>
>>thanx
>>
>>
I know how you feel. When I was fresh out of college I worked on a job of
repairing analytical instruments, called GC (Gas Chromatography). They have
one large and at least 2 small ovens in the temp range from room temp up
to 500 deg C. The ovens are all insulated by asbestos materials. I don't
remember how many times I had opened up the insulation materials to repair
the ovens. I wish I could forget my memory of that part of my life.
I saw that kind of material on a VW bus in a junkyard just a few weeks ago.
It wrapped around some kind of heater thing which I am not familiar and
not sure what it was. I did recognize that it was the same stuff on the
oven I worked on. I think it was asbestos.
I think I am OK today (just had a lung Xray a year ago). I try to think of
the good part of the job I did. I think I probably saved a life on the job.
One type of GC had radio active material in one of the oven. That particular
GC was used to examine water quality to detect pesticide residue and to
determin if the water is safe for human being.
One of such GC site had a problem and I noticed that the operator was sleepy
everyday during the day. I consulted with a friend who majored in nuclear
engineering. I was told if a person got over exposed to radioactive materials
the first sympton is to become very sleepy. I immediately notified my employer
and had the GC's oven replaced (by me). A few weeks later the operator
recovered and no longer sleepy any more. I quit the job a few months later.
Anyway, I believe what I saw in the junkyard was asbestos on a VW bus.
Not trying to scare you. I suggest that have your bus examined to determine
if it is asbestos as soon as you can.
David Kao
dkao@eng.sun.com