Social media’s fantastic. Twitter, Facebook, and other social media outlets allow regular folks like me to interact with our favorite authors, celebrities, athletes, and friends. And there’s also unlimited potential for wasting time and killing productivity. Don’t tell my boss – it’ll take away from his time spent looking for clever Star Trek slides to insert into his PowerPoint files. If you’ve seen him speak, you know what I mean.
Over recent months, I’ve noticed Twitter accounts for many fictional characters. Darth Vader has at least one Twitter account. Some of the tweets are actually pretty funny.
Recently I tweeted a link to a news article from Australia relating the plight of Australian homeowners dealing with asbestos problems in their homes. That may not seem like a huge news story, but these homes are called “Mr. Fluffy homes” since they contain an asbestos insulation product known as – you guessed it – Mr. Fluffy.
People really used this stuff to decorate!
I sent this because the Mr. Fluffy product name made me think of the scene in Ghostbusters where the guys are fighting to save New York City and they wind up fighting a giant marshmallow, the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.
I mean, when you hear “Mr. Fuffy”, the last thing to cross your mind is “Wow, I better steer clear of that.” Instead, this product contains asbestos. Irony. Just like the scene from Ghostbusters where it seemed pretty ridiculous that the Ghostbusters would fight a giant marshmallow man sent to destroy the world.
Is that a nice smile, or evil?
Then things really got weird – the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man actually responded to my tweet! You know things are weird when a nonexistent fictional character is corresponding with you via Twitter. Here’s my original tweet and my exchange with the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man (if you accept the reply as actually coming from a fictional character):
But hey – he’s famous!
It brings to mind the idea that some folks think asbestos is not really a problem.
So, when is asbestos a problem?
That’s a tough question to answer. In my work I’ve come across people who think the asbestos problem is completely overblown, and only take steps to deal with asbestos legally when someone makes them. I’ve seen others who appear to overreact because television commercials and the Internet scared them to death. No matter what, we have to approach every asbestos project with an abundance of caution.
Some folks think that asbestos abatement projects have become pretty routine. And since that’s the case, we won’t have any problems performing asbestos projects, or we can pretty much do what we want because no one is checking – whether that’s the boss or the regulatory folks. Or maybe you’ve had a good run of luck on your projects, and your contractors and consultants have done a really good job for you. That’s certainly what I hope, but sometimes we can take success for granted.
A Google News search will reveal numerous stories where people perform illegal demolition and asbestos removal. Many of these people knowingly expose employees and building occupants to asbestos and other environmental hazards. There’s no excuse for this.
Mr. Fluffy may sound like the name of a child’s toy, but to those homeowners in Australia, Mr. Fluffy’s actually a pretty scary phrase. The word “asbestos” doesn’t seem to strike terror in the hearts of many as it used to, which is not entirely a bad thing. But just because we may not be as scared of asbestos anymore, that doesn’t mean we asbestos with zero respect.
So if you’re a building owner, contractor, design professional, or consultant, it may be a good idea for you to check on your projects and see for yourself how they’re really going. Ignorance may be bliss, But ignorance may also lead to complacency, and that can jump up and pop us in the mouth. On asbestos projects, like other environmental work, the best surprise is no surprise.
So what’s the point? I was struck by the irony that a product named Mr. Fluffy could on the one hand sound pretty comical, while at the same time, this product is causing much distress for those homeowners. Likewise, the Ghostbusters were pretty scared of the giant Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.
They’re letting him have it
