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@logicalduck
Funny, the government website says it was 117 last year (with most of the cases confined to over 75s) but even if it were 2,000, in the grand scale of things considering how much asbestos is out there and for the amount of time it's been in use that really is quite a miniscule number.
The actual risks depends on the specific type of asbestos too, there are varying levels of danger depending on the type. Its one of those things though, a bit like smoking...There are people who worked round it all their lives and have no ill effects, then there are people who only did a few jobs and have come down with asbestosis.
Still a great product for what it was designed for though, but obviously you have to take the right precautions...i wonder if we would have 2,000 cases if employers hadn't been cutting corners on the safety gear back in the day to save themselves a few quid? I know my grandad was scrubbing asbestos tanks in the shipyards by hand and they were given nothing but a rag to cover their faces with. He did wind up with lung problems from it, but as he always said something is always going to get you one way or another.
Be interesting to see how many cases of asbestosis style illness cases there will be in the workforces of these carbon nanotube producing factories in china in 30-50 years time, something tells me that safety for the workers can hardly be top of the agenda if they are knocking out frames at less than 220 dollars a piece.
Anyway if you are considering cutting down any carbonfibre parts, it's handy to know that there is a link to asbestosis so you can take the necessary precautions to keep the dust down and wear appropriate gear.
Back on topic, my friend has just ordered a few carbonfibre bits including a seat,seatpost and handlebars from one of the ebay sellers so i shall get to have a closer looksie soon! in the mean time i am saving up the pennies.