Just out of academic interest, what is the likelihood that this old
scoop has
asbestos insulated wires? It's part of an abatement project anyway so it will be treated as
asbestos regardless. Probably some more photos from this film studio to come later. Thanks,
Likely. There was another heat
wire available that wasn't
asbestos at the time available but I'm not aware of it ever catching on. In other words, likely. There was also different types of
asbestos heat
wire on the market, some less fuzzy in flaking than others - hard to tell from the photo.
(If student you cannot be doing the below or the other advice.)
Instead of transporting the
fixture, I would clip it's
whip &
plug and bag it where it hangs. Wear a mask, and brush your hair well before you de-mask or leave the area, change your clothes and
wash up well before you get too far afterwards. Bag your clothes for immediate washing (see below in why.) To say the least in more options yet such as a HEPA suite I belive it's called. As a concet, don't try to move about too rapidly while doing so as any dust that's already fallen off would than get stirred up especially in a
catwalk the above is important for especially.
Plug is not worth your time or movement of the
whip in saving. Literally un-plug, put
whip in a plastic bag and cut the
whip at the
strain relief. Move onto the next
fixture. Tag the bag once sealed for proper disposal. I pay for such a proper disposal company, given it's a school, they no doubt have resources or given the
asbestos abatement can
throw the bags in with the service
call if assuming you did it instead of what they do. Your
fixture is now safe for transport to storage/abatement/trash/rewiring. Once the
whip is gone it isn't much dangerous any longer at least to moving the
fixture about over what dust is already in the area. The
fixture is now more safe than the area it was in if
catwalk or fine if in a fairly clean
stage - as safe as the
stage is itself.
This as opposed to moving the entire
fixture which will stir up the dust and bring flakes from the
whip about to where ever that closet might be as you move it about. If ambitious remove the
lamp cap while hanging and clip whiring between
strain relief and
base and just about all of it is now gone. This would be my next step in removing as much as possible. Lamp
base area is now free of it unless it has an asbesos pad under the
base that normally would have to be scraped off, and the limited amount in the
strain relief if there is one instead of a knot and bushings. If knot and bushings, all
asbestos except perhaps the
lampholder insulator is now gone. Otherwise what's inside the cap is not moved about and is not an immediate concern in moving the
fixture as needed.
At that
point when the
whip is removed, those doing
asbestos rebatement might not just trash the entire
fixture as likely to do in now having to buy new lights. (Or if wanting to save the lights, this
clipping of the
whip and opening of the
lamp cap to remove the rest could be requested - less dumpster fill also for a
bit more in labor.) Otherwise if not touching nutting as fair enough,
send the lights say into the abestos abatement people for them to remove, vaccume,
wash and clean what's left of the heat
wire inside of the
fixture or some lighting shops can do this, than have a lighting shop rewire the
scoop for you. I would think it would be much less expensive to do this.
Lampholder no doubt either needs replacement or resurfacing anyway at this
point, no doubt you would need a
strain relief and
ground installed
etc... sending the
fixture to a lighting shop so you are not liable for it would probably be cost effective as opposed to buying new.
Overall the surface area of a
wire has less
asbestos than an
insulation duct or water pipe, on the other
hand it is moved more. A concern not as much by way of volume but because of its flexibility. Larger problem I think than the actual
whip is the entire theater especially where if
catwalk it was hung or them cornes of the theater not as well claned. Floor pockets,
footlights etc and elsewhere where dust collects as not as easy to sweep and clean. Have a
sprung floor... them grooves under the origional floor boards under such a
dance floor has
asbestos that in theory needs to be cleaned out as a concept. That much extent of it's going to be everywhere in the theater as a concept beyond tiles, duct, dust and in general in the glide rails of a
desk in the
stage manager's office. Some places less important to clean than others but still it's a concept that the entire teater has
asbestos dust anywhere in it and all it takes is one micron you breathe in perhaps in making it's way to your cancer. Not like radiation or mercury where it's exposure, more like smoking in ticking time bomb that will or won't go off and last year or ten surviving doing mean this year you won't as opposed to a virus either. Such places by way of
asbestos abatement I would be more concerned about after the whips are clipped and even if you have to store and sit on the fixtures a while not have to replace them completely. After the
Asbestos people are done perhaps have ServiceMaster or some cleaning company further clean the place as a thought so as to ensure it's all gone as much possible.
For me mostly it's the dust in the air after the
fixture problem is solved that I have problems with. The fixtures have little added to for
effect given their size, verses say the last 40 or 100 years of fallen off dust in the air in general as a concept. Changing the whips without cleaning the areas where the lighting gear was changed - this and past beyond it gear in dust deposits already small enough to get stirred up in the air is much more troublesome for me than a
fixture whip.
That dust from past generations of use is over any
cord whip still there what I would be most concerned about and it's going to be all over the theater. Sweep the floor and it's raised up again, this verses a
whip that's easily clipped and
fixture no longer unsafe. Past generations of these fixtures and others in use with all the
asbestos that has flaked off all about the theater... have fun going to work in the morning given that thought. Someone brings in an
asbestos whipped old
fixture to me and contract or not in re-wiring it, that
whip gets cut and bagged. I don't need further exposure given in the past like 94' I at one
point didn't know any better and found an entire spool of
asbestos heat
wire about the theater and proceeded to rewire fixtures with it - this beyond past exposure with using such gear in the industry. So far lucky and think past the time I might get cancer from a lot of exposure in the past. A lot of it in noting the
haze in the air with them little reflective spakles to it. So far lucky and hopefully past my years later it might have been sufficient exposure and I might have been succeptable to it from the exposure.
If interested, I believe a few years ago I posted a reply from Dr.Doom from Stagecraft on this question about
asbestos abatement and the dangers. Do a search. My own practices have changed some over the years based on it.
Used to work in a theater with an
asbestos fire curtain that was painted and all kinds of pipe work throughout it covered with the stuff. Sit down on the toilet and people moving about on
stage above you, you can just see the little silver / reflective flakes falling off the pipe above you. Or in other places with catwalks where the more you moved about, the more you would get that reflective cloud stirred up about you.