What does it look like? There was an old oven in the basement that my parents gave to my grandparents many years ago. My sister and I were taking it apart so we could carry it outside to get rid of it. And there was a bunch of white cottony looking insulation in it. I am worried it might be asbestos and my sister and I and our pets breathed around it. Does anyone know if they used to put asbestos in ovens?
Jason
Favorite Answer
1) Yes, that is asbestos. If you didn't pull at it, tear it, handle it excessively, then it doesn't really create any particles to inhale. If, however, you handled it a lot, tore it up, or otherwise disturbed it a lot then yes, you would have inhaled some. It's all but impossible not to doing something like that.
Far too many people cause their own problems with asbestos. They see a patch of it and freak out and get to tearing at it to try and get rid of it. Ironically, it was fine the way it was had they left it alone. It's the pulling it apart that makes the small aerosol particles that get into your lungs. So as long as you left that insulation intact, you're fine. If it's not intact; e.g. made dust then you inhaled some.
2) You have to have a fairly significant degree of exposure to be at risk.
3) Any way you look at it, the consequences of asbestosis don't appear for many years. Once it's in there it's in there for good. There is no treatment to remove it or anything. One small exposure isn't likely to cause you a problem but there is no safe level of exposure to asbestos. All inhaled asbestos exposure is considered potentially pathological. That's why it's such a public health problem and why it requires special techniques to remove. But the risk is dose-dependent and at worst you had a very small dose.
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Hugo90
That is asbestos.
Diane A
Its not really recognizable and you have to breathe it for years essentially to have problems, and not even then does everyone get sick. You should be fine.