Yup, no problem/worries there
I'm a industrial 'lectrician and have the proper respirators at my disposal here at home(when they issue new ones, they tell me to do whatever i want w/ the old,, pitch 'em/take them home whatever,,, i just make sure i use the new/updated/proper filter canisters here at home also.
Been around the mill long enuf to remember when we used asbestos "wrap" for the bigger wire cables, back in the early days.
If we/them only knew then what we know now
. As part of my time spent working at a coke plant (the coal type stuff , not the stuff inna bottle/can LOL) i still have to get regularly scheduled health check /screening= lung tests and chest x-rays, even tho i have been working in another different dept for the last 20+ yrs.Not a lot of long time workers from the Coke Plant @ our 25 yr service company picnic's table(I've got 32+ yrs service, so i've been a member of the 25 yr Club.for some 6-7 yrs) Luckily i only put in 6-7 yrs there, and was only on/near the coke batteries when a electrical call came in.
FYI/FWIW: i donned my respirator, turned the large man fans i have in the shop toward the open shop door, and did the blowout in that fashion(and assisted moving whatever was in the air outward toward the open shop door w/ my air blow gun.
And yes i did clean/lube contact points for the shoes too. (Something i learned back in my pre 'lectrician career ,when i was a GM trained dealership mechanic
)
Shoes looked in good/great shape, not much wear IMO(not like they get the wear/use time like for a "real" car
, and they appeared to be fairly new, so I'm thinking they had been replaced in recent times and prob/hopefully made of non asbestos material.
Tho I'm getting a late start in the shop playing around w/ my "new" toy, the plan is to take apart the brake pivot "bar"(prob just drop the lower half to get to the bushings) and lube them. (still have some GM lithium lube here
, good stuff) and start cleaning up the wiring under the cart (non battery stuff), like the lights and related smaller gauge wire, since i removed all the unneeded rat's nest of stuff prev owners messily put under there, the other day. Plans are to get some of that split loom cover material(looks like a black millipede i guess) to contain/cover the wires underneath, if anything to neat'n things up down there. Not a LOT of wires, but still want a cleaner look when I'm all done. Other than some well placed wire ties right now, I'll do the split loom thing later one when i have the body off for bodywork/paint, along with resto'ing the remaining parts, like the frame/battery holding framework(plans are to do the DIY rhino lining stuff in that area, just cuz)
Don't worry about the "sermon' , my Father in law was a mason in the mill, and had a lung removed some 14-15 yrs ago (black spot/mass located), he recovered//did ok afterwords (tho the "idiot" STILL smoked after using his breathing/lung clearing machine, whatever it was called) He did contract mesothemiomia(sp?)from his time in the mill in contact with asbestos during his career as a mason,, and my wife/family still get compensatory checks to this day (He passed away @ 79 yrs, the last 15 yrs with one lung) So i know very well the dangers and results of dealing with that kind of stuff
Your post regarding the dangers and how to deal with them is a VERY good thing to add here, i hope everyone reads it and learns from it