Steel Boxcar
Signs of Asbestos in Our Homes and Jobs
Asbestos is a common building material used for applications like insulation, fireproofing and brake linings. Its relatively high resistance to acid and fire make it ideally suited for such tasks and explains why, despite the hazard it poses to humans, signs of asbestos useage is still found in manufacturing and construction even today.
At its simplest, asbestos is a fiber made of strands of magnesium silicate. Asbestos’s incredible strength even in the face of high force comes from its ability to split into smaller and smaller fibers. But this durability is also what makes it so dangerous. The fibers can become so small that they remain airborne for long periods of time and pass into the lungs unhindered by dust-filtering mechanisms.
Asbestos comes in two forms: serpentine and amphibole. The difference between the two comes down to shape. Serpentine asbestos fibers are curly while amphibole are needle-like and resist any bending or curling. Serpentine asbestos comes in one type: chrysotile, which is currently the commercially used asbestos. Amphibole can be classified as amosite, used for insulation, or crocidolite, used for cement.
Asbestos has been around for centuries, but it was not until the 1900s that people began to note the harmful effects and try to limit its use. As early as the 1800s, however, railroads and shipyards started making commercial use of asbestos. Railroads were able to harness the material as lining for refrigeration units, in boxcars, and for insulation. Shipyards used asbestos even more frequently; those who worked aboard ships or in shipyards are still among the most commonly affected sufferers of asbestos-related diseases. Workers in mines, power plants, oil refiners, steel mills, auto repair shops, and construction sites are also at risk.
Regarded as a miraculous material able to withstand a wide array of uses, asbestos found its way into a plethora of products up until about 1980. Things like felt, gloves, and even weatherproof jackets may have contained asbestos. Often it appeared in products used in construction, such as firebrick, cooling towers, roofing, masonry fill, and turbines. Today, asbestos may still be present in homes and workplaces in the form of drywall, insulation, and certain household products, if they were produced before the 1970s.
A key difficulty in protecting against asbestos exposure is that it is not visible when airborne. The best defense is understanding the types of products where asbestos may still be present. Some products are known to have included asbestos, such as roofing and shingles made with asbestos cement, and oil and coal furnaces. Homes built between 1930 and 1950 are at particular risk, as many contain asbestos insulation, as well as hot water and steam pipes that may be affected.
In the workplace, federal agencies have set limits on how much asbestos workers can be exposed to, but employees are also required to monitor their own exposure. Unlike in the past, today businesses must strictly limit the amount of asbestos their employees could potentially inhale. They’re also required to provide safe, unexposed eating areas and place signs in any area where work involving asbestos is being conducted.
Despite warnings and improvements, more than 3,000 modern day products still contain asbestos. Building materials in particular remain a hazard to those who handle or come in contact with them. But signs that a product contains asbestos may be difficult or even impossible to notice. The best defense therefore is awareness of which products are likely to contain asbestos.
About the Author
Adam Bradley is a book publisher. While doing research on asbestos; http://asbestoscancerresources.com/asbestos-signs/: he was shocked by the amount of poor information. His research team compiled a directory of agencies, medical centers and groups that provide real help to the victims and families. He offers a free 15 part Mini-Course to help as many as possible: http://asbestoscancerresources.com
Train,with 18 steel boxcars
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Wallmonkeys Peel and Stick Wall Decals – Kupplung – Removable Graphic WallMonkeys wall graphics are printed on the highest quality re-positionable, self-adhesive fabric paper. Each order is printed in-house and on-demand. WallMonkeys uses premium materials & state-of-the-art production technologies. Our white fabric material is superior to vinyl decals. You can literally see and feel the difference. Our wall graphics apply in minutes and won’t damage your paint or l… |
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Black Diamond Axiom 40 Internal Frame Backpack – In Your Choice of Styles $149.95 218019 Features: Move effortlessly via the reACTIV suspension system to active frame technology designed to move with you by incorporating floating shoulder straps, a free-flexing hipbelt and a flexible aluminum frame Maintain an even, balanced load across both shoulders with SwingArm Shoulder Straps that move in sync with your stride Just enough support for your lighter loads and fast-and-light p… |
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Atlas Roscoe Snyder and Pacific #32 40′ Steel Rebuilt Boxcar N Scale Freight Car $22.99 N RTR USRA Steel Box, Roscoe, Snyder & Pacific #32… |
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Accurail HO Gauge Atlantic Coast Line 40′ Double Door Steel Boxcar #53450 $34.99 Accurail HO Gauge Atlantic Coast Line 40′ Double Door Steel Boxcar #53450. Accurail HO Gauge model train cars were produced from the 1960′s thru the 1980′s. They are crafted with very accurate detailing. Most have working doors, bays, etc…. |
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Accurail HO Gauge Southern Railways AAR 40′ Steel Boxcar #507230 $34.99 Accurail HO Gauge Southern Railways AAR 40′ Steel Boxcar #507230. Accurail HO Gauge model train cars were produced from the 1960′s thru the 1980′s. They are crafted with very accurate detailing. Most have working doors, bays, etc…. |
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The American Railroad Freight Car: From the Wood-Car Era to the Coming of Steel $49.95 From the former Curator of Transportation at the Smithsonian Institution Illustrated with 530 photographs, drawings, and engravings Includes plans, diagrams, and detailed specifications for model-builders 665 oversized pages in a handsomely jacketed hardcover or specially priced paperback editionIn this sequel to his best-selling American Railroad Passenger Car, John White forever chan… |
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Pullman-Standard Freight Cars, 1900-1960 $64.95 192 pages, 8.5″ x 11″; 418 photographs (59 color), graphics, index, cloth with dust jacket. “Pullman-Standard was for some years the largest freight car builder in North America, though the Pullman name is perhaps more famous for passenger cars. Kaminski’s long-overdue book fills a gap in builder history and provides an overview showing a selection of the many cars built over a 60-year span. “Th… |
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The Mystery of the Stolen Boxcar $3.89 The Boxcar Children are fixing up their boxcar for a parade. There's just one problem. Someone has stolen the boxcar…with their dog, Watch, in it! If they can only find the missing boxcar it will lead them to Watch. |
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The Boxcar Children $4.31 Henry, Jessie, Violet and Benny are orphans. Determined to make it on their own, they set out to find a safe place to live. They discover an old, red boxcar that provides shelter from a storm. Against all odds, they make it into their home–and become the Boxcar Children! |
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Boxcar Willie – Boxcar Country $4.74 Track Listing:King Of The RoadWabash CannonballYou Are My SunshineBoxcar BluesYour Cheatin' HeartI Saw The LightMule TrainHey Good Lookin'Kaw-LigaSan Antonio Rose |
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The Mystery of the Haunted Boxcar (Paperback) $4.31 The Aldens` boxcar is the perfect place for games, picnics, sleepovers, and fun, but when strange things start happening there, Benny is convinced that the boxcar is haunted. |
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The Boxcar Children (Hardcover) $12.3 The first four books in the classic, much-loved Boxcar Children series are gathered together in this paperback box set. Orphans Benny, Henry, Jessie, and Violet Alden made it on their own in a red boxcar before being taken in by their wealthy grandfather. Mysteries follow them everywhere they go, whether they`re on an island or a ranch. The titles included are THE BOXCAR CHILDREN, SURPRISE ISLAND, THE YELLOW HOUSE MYSTERY, and MYSTERY RANCH. |
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The Boxcar Children Summer Special $7.3 Just in time for vacation, Boxcar fans can dive into summer reading with three warm-weather adventures about the Aldens, together in one volume. In The Mystery at the Ball Park, the baseball season is in jeopardy when someone steals a special bat and Jessie`s glove. Then the team almost doesn`t make it to their first game! In The Mystery of the Hidden Beach, the Aldens try to find the terrible secret that the beach holds. And in The Summer Camp Mystery, the children investigate why someone is sabotaging the annual Olympic competition at Camp Seagull. Boxcar Children Mysteries, always just right for summer reading, are now three times better with the The Boxcar Children Summer Special. |
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The Mystery Of The Haunted Boxcar $11.25 Henry, Jessie, Violet and Benny have discovered a mystery close to home-their beloved boxcar home, that is! The old train car where they once lived is now a playhouse in their back yard. |
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The Boxcar Children (Reinforced Hardcover) $18.71 Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden are brothers and sisters?and they`re orphans. The only way they can stay together is to make it on their own. One night, during a storm, the children find an old red boxcar that keeps them warm and safe. They decide to make it their home. This is just the beginning of their graphic novel adventure as The Boxcar Children! Graphic Planet is an imprint of Magic Wagon, a division of ABDO Group. Grades 4-8. |
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Boxcar Racer – Boxcar Racer [PA] $9.87 Disc 1:I Feel SoAll Systems GoWatch the WorldTiny VoicesCat Like ThiefAnd ILetters to GodMy First Punk SongSorrowThere IsEnd With You, TheElevatorInstrumental |
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Boxcar Children Graphic Novel Series (Paperback) $17.09 Presents the first six adventures of the boxcar children, four orphaned brothers and sisters who lived in a boxcar after the deaths of their parents and who now live with their grandfather and solve mysteries together. |
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The Boxcar Children Graphic Novels 1 (Paperback) $6.04 Four orphans take shelter in an old boxcar during a storm, and, determined to make it their own, they turn it into a safe, cozy home. |
