I'm fairly sure everyone's heard about asbestos and how bad it is for your health. Back in the mid to late 70's it was outlawed, but due to businesses fighting the ban it was reintroduced in lots of items but restricted in a handful of building materials. Bottom line, clutches, brakes and certain types of gaskets may still contain this nasty product. So be careful when working with these items. I lost my father a few years ago from this, he was a carpenter who did a lot of drywall work when he was young before it was outlawed in that product. Exposure can not show up as a heath problem until many years have passed. I worked for Cummins Engine Company who was adamant that none of their products contained asbestos, yeah right! Exhaust gaskets they purchased from China for some power gen applications was made with asbestos without anyone knowing for a while.

Ok I'm done, just be careful around some clutches, brakes and fiberous gaskets, wear masks (Haven't heard that before) and don't clean potentially contaminated areas with air guns, use a vacuum.

The following link to everyones favorite gov. organization, the EPA contains a lot of info about asbestos.


https://www.epa.gov/asbestos