Asbestos and newborn

[Beccccs]

hello everyone, I’m looking for some advice, my grandparents house is opposite (ten metres) away from an old barn. Recently this barn was tested for asbestos as the current ownever wishes to convert it, the test came back positive. The barn has not been disturbed in terms of human breakage, it is however weather damaged from wind/ rain etc living in a rural area. Recently I took my newborn baby 8 weeks old to visit my grandparents. Their living room gets excessively warm and little one was unsettled so I took him outside in the shade to cool down, there was a slight breeze we were right by the house but worried being so close to the barn the breeze may have carried some of the fibres and he will have breathed these in. We were out there for around half an hour. Google is giving me conflicting answers as to how dangerous this could be but guessing as he is so little he is more susceptible. We also left his pram out the front of the house too so worried fibres will have settled in there, I know there is not much I can do regarding damage but if anyone has any simlar experiences or worries I would be grateful to bear them, thank you

A very dear friend of my family is dying from mesothelioma she contracted from particles on her father's clothing he wore home from work every day when she was a child. I wouldn't have my baby breathing in that air, no. Obviously, I don't know the actual risk, but I wouldn't be comfortable with it.

As far as I know, the risk comes from repeated or prolonged contact. I wouldn’t worry about what’s happened already but avoid it in future.

Exactly. I wouldn't worry about the very brief contact so far, just avoid in the future.

The risk will be quite literally zero.
Unless disturbed the fibres don’t become airborne.

As a previous poster has said, the risk is only present if fibres are disturbed, people live day to day with asbestos in their homes with no problems. The issue is when asbestos is drilled into/sawn/removed, because it generates dust which is harmful when inhaled. People with mesothelioma would have breathed in clouds of dust and/or been exposed to it repeatedly (e.g. dust on their work clothes which was inhaled in small amounts over months/years). You won't have exposed yourself to that amount of dust by just walking past a barn that was completely undisturbed (in fact, I'd be surprised if you found any fibres at all in the circumstances you describe).

In your situation I wouldn't be concerned at all. Your grandparents (and indeed, their neighbours) have presumably lived next to the barn for years without harm. You can't avoid being near asbestos at all times (many houses, public buildings, hospitals, etc. contain asbestos in varying states) and I wouldn't avoid your grandparents house due to this, as long as there isn't any work taking place at the time of your visit.

I would probably stay away from the site during any potential demolition work just in case, but there are very strict protocols in place (covering the building with plastic sheeting, extracting and pumping filtered air out of the site, etc) to ensure that no harm can be caused to anyone so this shouldn't be of significant concern.

How you are feeling in general? You sound rather anxious and your post reminds me of how I felt (and worried) when I had post natal anxiety/depression. It's normal to worry about things (babies are precious), but I'd say it's not usual to worry about this sort of thing to the extent that you're doing so...

I work in a hospital that has it in the fabric of the building and as long as it's not broken up/disturbed it's fine