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Approximately ten thousand people have lost their lives each year of asbestos-related illnesses like gastrointestinal cancer, lung cancer, and mesothelioma.  The danger of asbestos is in its size.  It breaks down into particles that are so small that they can be inhaled.  This hazardous material enters the body this way and causes damage over time, especially if exposure is excessive.

Although it is widely believed that asbestos hasn’t been an issue for years, it is still a threat today.  It has been banned from buildings, and great strides have been made to prevent exposure.  The problem is that there is a place other than buildings that poses the risk of asbestos exposure:  automobiles.

This information was included in a current Kansas worker safety alert and the details state that older model cars and trucks contain asbestos.  The clutches and brakes are the parts in particular that carry the hazardous material, and this poses a threat to those in the automobile repair industry.  Newer vehicles have brakes and clutches that tend not to contain the material, so it is in fact the older models that pose most of the threat. 

Asbestos is not large enough for the human eye to detect, so you can’t just look at your brakes or clutches and see the asbestos.  The safest idea is for everyone who needs repairs on their brakes or clutches to bring the car or truck to the mechanic’s shop.  This might be a let down for ‘Mr. or Mrs. Fix-it’ but, it is only a suggested safety precaution that is well worth listening to.  A trained professional should be allowed to handle this hazardous material.  The long term effects of asbestos exposure are not worth doing it yourself.

Every mechanics shop should have special written procedures for handling brakes and clutches as if they all contain asbestos. 

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