Lungs

[jesster64]

Hello,
Been gone for a while, probably about a year. medical issues and other stuff. Just wanted to thank my good friend The Badger for dragging me out last week for some digging. My back hurt, but for the first time in over a year,but it felt good. Needless to say, I am ready to get back in the trenches. One question though. We were digging in some nasty stuff, old ash. I was coughing for a good couple of days afterwards which got me wondering, should I be worried about asbestos or ash while digging in enclosed areas? By enclosed areas, I mean about a 5 foot hole.
Anyone else get coughing fits afterwards or am I just out of shape?

 

[bottle109]

Hi Tom ,
welcome back to digging!!!!
As you know ash is very light and can be airborne by digging and especially in a confined space.
I know it can s---- but a 10pk of dust masks would help greatly to cut down the ash and anything else that is emitting from the ground ,you sweat a little more but it would save on coughing day's afterwards. good luck!!!

 

[old.s.bottles]

Yeah I learned the hard way. I was in a crawl space with a bunch of ash and I was coughing up blackness afterwards[]...no good...i dont THINK there was any asbestos tho

 

[Grampy Green Jeans]

This may be 1 of the downfalls to the hobby. There are many carcinogens in the ash, even in some older sites. My partner and I had to call it good on a dig recently after he dug near some old batteries of some sort. he was wearing good leather gloves, but the wetness and battery acid got through, onto his fingers. When he said it was bothering him, I knew it was, because he is tough and not much stops him!
A childhood friend of mine ,had been a collector since grade school. I had no interest and only scratched around an old site w him once, as kids. He loved anything antique, had restored a Model "A" complete and running by the time he was 15. His room was like walking into the past w more quality antiques than some dealer's shops.
When he was 19 ( appeared healthy) he mentioned he was not feeling well. To the point he went to the hospital. In 2 days he had passed away... the doctors could do nothing as his organs shut down, one by one. The docs were stumped as to cause, but end result was some type of systemic infection. Only theory as to what he got into. What caused it, was not clear. Docs suggested w/ his hobby, he could have been exposed to dried mouse urine. They had little else to say.
Neither do I so... wear a, mask, wash hands and clothing apart from other items... B smart! All this doom and gloom still does not stop me from enjoying digging up the past!

 

[old.s.bottles]

I'm sad to hear that...

 

[TJSJHART]

sorry to hear about the passin of your friend. you never know what and when will happen . but memories of your times with them are a treasure that never leaves or gets knocked over by a cat or a dust rag. stay strong...

 

[CazDigger]

Ash will not likely have asbestos, but you may run into it in old crawl spaces from pipe insulation. Dumps and privies with ash will have relatively high levels of heavy metals, (lead, mercury) to worry about. A dust mask is always a good idea, esp. if it is dry, fluffy and airborne. The problem with asbestos is that you won't necessarily notice it when you breath it and the health effects usually take 10-30 years to cause health problems-lung cancer and mesothelioma, (it is called the latency period). The asbestos fibers get into your lungs and can't get out, they basically fester there for 20 years and eventually cause cancer or emphysema. A simple dust mask is useless with asbesos. Newer dumps, 20s and later can have all kinds of nasty chemicals, PCBs, coal tar and who knows what.

 

[RedGinger]

That's a good idea about the masks. I guess it could be hard to blend in while wearing one, but it would give me piece of mind. I always worried about that when digging privies. I thought of it again when we were digging the Bakedbean dump this past fall. Tom (Penndigger), dug up a bottle of Mrs. Dr. Broad's Pain Killer, don't quote me on the exact name of the medicine. Anyway, he poured out the remaining contents, thinking it was water, and the smell was very strong. The medicine was still in there and his wife could still smell it on him the next day. And this was a bottle that had been sitting there since the 1870-80's.

I'm sorry about your friend's unfortunate passing. My Grandfather designed gas masks for the Army. In fact, many used today were designed by him. He never let anyone test them out with dangerous chemicals unless he was wearing one too and doing the tests with them. He was a wonderful man. He died from Mesothelioma from exposure at his work during that time. It took about 30 or so years to develop. It was terrible. I miss him so much, but I will always remember him teaching me about history and pretty much anything you can think of. He always had fascinating facts and stories and understood my interest in archaeology, etc. when I was just a kid.

 

[Oldtimer]

Glad you are back at it, digging is good for the soul if not the back!

I just met a relative of my half brother. He was in the Navy, 2 tours during the 'Nam conflict. He told me he used to get absolutely covered in asbestos dust, his bunk would be covered with it too. The pipes were insulated with it, and when they would leak the crew would rip and tear the stuff off, creating clouds of it. He slept 8" away from the covered pipes. He smokes 2 packs a day as well...he's still here, still breathing..just had a bad-bad accident in fact. Docs told his wife and kids he might not recover from the coma and brain swelling, and he'd never walk again if he did wake up with his mind intact. The man is walking and has a very slight long term memory deficit. One tough bastage.

 

[808 50th State]

Hey Tom,
Glad to hear that you are back digging...I always use a back brace when I dig, my back ain't as good as it use to be...The most important thing I use is a 3-M charcoal dusk mask, the kind they use for spraying cars, it's inexpensive and has a changeable cartridge filter, believe me it works really well...No more breathing any harmful dusts or smelling toxic fumes, I am presently digging at a pretty nasty site and I have no lung or any congestion problems after I dig...just a sore back LOL... Uncomfortable at first but you will get use to it...Might looks stupid to some but you never catch me with out it....DIG SAFE!!! Hope this helps...