Asbestos warning.

[RichardT10829]

Good morning all, just a quick post to highlight an asbestos risk on the universal carrier (which I had previously not known)

I have been stripping the armoured sheathes off of the original harness to re purpose onto the new cables (so aesthetically it looks correct)

- whilst stripping the sheath back I noticed what initially I thought was a canvas wrap on the cable which lies between the metal armoured outer and the rubber insulated inner.

I thought this weird as it seemed to serve no purpose until I looked closer.

It is asbestos wrapping. And the purpose it serves is to protect against heat in engine bays etc and to protect against fire.

Found on AFV’s from 1920’s up to mid 80’s

Luckily I had maybe stripped two metres worth when I noticed it. But still….

I have had the wrapping tested locally and it is confirmed to be asbestos.

So, going forwards I was advised that if the work. HAD to be done on the cables for the sheath removal, to soak the wires thoroughly before work and to work outside and masked.

Or…..just get shot of the cables and buy modern wrap
Stay safe out there folks.

[rob love]

I recently quit my work over this very subject. The engine bays on the Chevs have asbestos insulation, and on a couple of the trucks the stuff was just raining as it was extremely degraded. Working on them in the sunlight, you could see small pieces floating by with just a light breez. I brought it up to the boss, and the base initially said they would not test as it was expensive and trying to get a contract for that would take a long time. I was just to treat it as asbestos, which meant wearing a mask for hours, not to mention the decontamination. So we took samples ourselves and sent them in. Sure enough, 30% asbestos. Long story short, it was going to be $5K a truck to decontaminate. In the meantime, I asked for a proper HEPA vacuum, both for decontamination and for when I was doing brakes and clutches. I was instead ordered to use a spritzer bottle of damp water and for decontamination to use damp rags and pat myself down as well as to wet mop the area.

That was on a friday....I quit on the Monday. It was the culmination of years of debating with the supervisor, but now it was a matter of my longterm health, and the health of my coworkers.

They now have 2 of the worst trucks on display in the main museum for all to appreciate.

As an aside,we tested the insulation in the engine covers of the mk2 universal carrier. It did not contain asbestos, which was surprising. But I'm pretty sure the engine covers on the mk1, as well as the insulation on the hull near the mufflers on the mk1 and over the tailpipe on mk1 and 2 will be asbestos.