According to Plan

coal miners do risk black lung disease, but with asbestos anyone in regular contact with it can end up with mesothelioma.

And before they discovered asbestos I couldn't even spell mesothelioma!

Is that a real word??? It's not in my spell checker!

its real alright, i knew someone who died of it, very ugly end. his widow still gets settlment payments although she'd prefer his company.

it seems to me that if we left it alone we we'd be better off. i'd think the attempts to remove it from exsisting buildings cause more exposure to the dust or particles (whatever) that cause cancer when breathed in. not that it shouldn't be removed if it is damaged and already posing a risk, but if intact wouldn't it be better left alone then torn out, which certainly must release particles into the air.

btw, hi dumbfounded how are you sweetie? 💋

Some asbestos siding was mixed with fillers and could create dangerous particles if broken up. This was true of shingles with asbestos in them, and may have been true of the concrete-asbestos seen here.

Most of the siding materials, however, were made of fused asbestos. (Fused as in heated really hot and pressed really hard so that it can never create those dangerous little hook-shaped fibers that stick to your lungs so well.) So most of the siding materials were and continue to be safe.

Sadly, our Environmental Protection Agency is more mental than environmental, and they don't distinguish the safe stuff from the dangerous. They just scare little old ladies into paying someone $55,000+ to remove their siding and put up an inferior, non-fire-resistant replacement.