How do I know whether my old car had asbestos brakes?

I am redoing the brakes, and I guess I need to wear a mask if the old brakes were asbestos. It's an '83 Volvo. Any thoughts? I hate masks, and don't want to wear one if it isn't strictly necessary.How do I know whether my old car had asbestos brakes?Asbestos is only dangerous if you breath it in. Eating it won't even harm you. Those paper masks you can buy at the store probably won't protect you much. A lot of harmful stuff goes right through those masks. You would need more of a respirator mask to be totally safe. Also, we breathe asbestos every day. Just not enough to harm you. It is a naturally occurring mineral. So just spray the brakes down with water and go for it.How do I know whether my old car had asbestos brakes?asbestos was used in automotive products until 1996. If the brakes are older than that they are likely containing asbestos.How do I know whether my old car had asbestos brakes?The powers tothat be say that there is no asbestos in brakes these days but I personally don't trust them. What I do is to remove the brake drums or front wheels and wash the brakes down with the hose to wash off any brake dust.



The water will wash off the brake dust without blowing into the air and will then be safe to work on without the need of a mask. Workshops need to dispose of that dust into a recepticle to be disposed of fully but should be fine for you to just hose off the driveway onto the grass.How do I know whether my old car had asbestos brakes?It does. That's why the manuals tell you not to bllow the break dust off with a airhose.

I could be wrong but aspestos has always been a ingrediant in brake pads.

Just be safe and wear a mask.

Goodluck