Thread: Hare and Forbes Asbestos warning

I have already stated what we are doing with regards to the brakes in some detail so wont do it again.
As I have previously said, there is a phone number in the warning letter to call, if you would like replacement brakes please call and we will get them for you. If you would like us to replace them, please ask us to do so. We have the brakes in stock, as Grahame said we turned up to replace them so we must have them.
We made it public, to those who have a machine/s that may have the issue. We are changing all machines in stock before despatch and have done so since we found out, and are specifying all future orders have different brake material. We also check new shipments to be sure it is done. If it isnt, we change them.
I have to also comment, I do not think this problem will not be limited to just Hare and Forbes machines. I would think a lot of machines of Chinese or Taiwanese origin out there in the world would have brake matrerial with the same composition as the type we have been affected by. We have a lot of different models, which share a few different brake mechanism types.
That leads me to think, common brake parts are possibly shared across many manufacturers in that region.

And I forgot to mention in response to a couple of posts.
Nobody should have to "push" for replacements, just call and ask, you should be supplied with them, we could fit them, it may not be immediately as in the very next day but we could do it.
When replacements are sent or we do the replacement, it is at our cost, the owner doesnt pay for it.
Grahames school will not be invoiced for the work we did there on the machines to change the brakes, and Grahame is in Mackay, the tech that was there lives in Brisbane, the cost goes beyond just a set of shoes, the tech has to eat, sleep somewhere, and put fuel in his van to get there, at our cost. For those who are not QLD based, Mackay would be a 10-12 hour drive from Brisbane. If he doesnt drive there, he flies up and hires a car, either way, it costs money and we dont recover the cost.

Somebody said we could just have ignored it, we didnt, we notified everybody and are now spending the money to fix it. It is a huge task, it will take time to get it all done.
Little compensation to many I know, and some will say that I am full of poop, I can accept that.

Originally Posted by Graziano

I'd read somewhere that the average human being has around 200 000 naturally occurring asbestos fibres per cubic cm of lung tissue. It seems that over time you'll pick up fibres from breathing air.

Yes that is correct, Asbestos occurs naturally in the air..

In reality there is a lot of scaremongering over asbestos especially when it comes to schools... I know a person who works in the government's building department that repairs schools, hospitals etc..

When they go around cleaning up asbestos at schools they have to place monitoring devices around the area they would be working... Anyway this one job they started work and placed the monitoring devices and they started going off before work commenced... Turns out the devices were placed next to where all the parents pull up to drop their kids off... It was all the old asbestos brakes that had sent the devices off..

Originally Posted by .RC.

Asbestos occurs naturally in the air..

In reality there is a lot of scaremongering over asbestos especially when it comes to schools... I know a person who works in the government's building department that repairs schools, hospitals etc..

it happens with legionella (legionaires disease) also
25% of the population have the antibodies for legionella which indicates past infection......do you have them...you may have just thought it was the flu.....
As I work in the aircon industry I'd say I have them.....hence the reason why I dont get it...or could it be that the legionella cant live in my alcohol filled blood stream

This thread is getting drawn out over what people imagine and perceive to be a risk.
To my mind H & F have acted correctly.
I don't feel at risk from the brake band issue.

Risk factor stats are built around the degree of harm and frequency of exposure.

Taking them one by one consider:

Degree of harm
Where is the brake on your lathe located usually in a closed cupboard -no exposure out in the air-there no nasty fibre floating around.
Frequency of exposure
How often do you use your lathe.

Personally I would be much more concerned if your were a smoker.That alone would magnify your susseptability to asbestos problems, manyfold.

As for the asbestos in schools theres lots I can't say,but if you are a parent with kids that do man arts in older school,take an opportunity to go there and check the internal walls out.These suffer cherub damage on a high frequency .

Sure ! there a flurry of activity when some kid kicks one in,but is there a programme for prevention to physically prevent this,nope!

The program to replace or cover them seems to be on the back burner. As a parent I'd be asking why.

Grahame
Speaking as a member of the QTU

Originally Posted by Grahame Collins

As a parent I'd be asking why.

Simple, cost...