Is the killer demonic, a disgruntled spirit or an ancient curse? Unfortunately what we are talking about is not that obvious. Many of the buildings and facilities our research brings us to carry within them a proven and highly efficient invisible killer; it's called ASBESTOS!  In the average asbestos contaminated area, it only takes three seconds to inhale enough asbestos fibers to eventually kill you!

         Asbestos use in this country has been replaced by modern, more efficient synthetic materials, but it still does exist and is still in use worldwide in places like factories, prisons, state and private hospitals and just about anywhere else radiant heat conservation and fire prevention and protection is called for. As these (some) abandoned places fall into disrepair and neglect, the atmosphere within their crumbling interiors where this potentially lethal material was used becomes laden with its fibers. Any disturbance whatsoever can create an invisible fog of asbestos fibers that will fill a room in seconds and not settle again for several hours. These fibers, once airborne, can then be inhaled into our lungs and begin the degenerative process that in far too many cases will become mesothelioma. Because most victims show no symptoms until the disease has terminally progressed, its one of the leading incurable, untreatable terminal cancers known to modern man.  Its most common cause has been proven to be exposure to airborne asbestos (98% of the time according to a RI Oncologist). Dangerous odds! The other two percent will inevitably be diagnosed with one or more of any number of eventually terminal respiratory conditions and diseases.  If the exposed person is a smoker, it accelerates the timetable ten-fold to when they will be diagnosed with mesothelioma in the future.  So, no matter what, when it comes to asbestos exposure, you are playing Russian Roulette with a fully loaded gun!

         Simply not disturbing the actual areas that might contain this deadly material is not enough to protect an individual from exposure and the inevitable outcome down the road. Walking past the doorway to a contaminated room or worse, walking though a contaminated area, is enough to dislodge hundreds of thousands of microscopic fibers and transplant them into previously safe areas. Breezes, drafts, a sneeze and even a single person's cough can carry the asbestos fibers for hundreds of feet into areas that normally would not have been contaminated. We have been told that even the updraft caused by the radiant heat of our bodies standing still for ten seconds is enough to make an airborne cloud of particles.  

        With reading all of this, it's hard for the reader to imagine that the key to never having to worry about any of this is as simple as wearing an OSHA approved facial dust mask and taking a few other simple precautions! A box of a dozen, one-size-fits-all cotton masks costs less than a six-pack of generic beer today and it's scary to see that so few freelancers and groups are willing to use them or are even aware there's a genuine need for them. They can be purchased at any home improvement store, hardware store or department store in the crafts and hardware section. Surgical supply centers have an even better version of this mask which offers more protection from asbestos fibers. Yes, this version will cost you a little more, but our group seems to think our lives are worth the extra $1.28. Clothing worn within an asbestos contaminated area has to be washed thoroughly afterwards and before any fibers can escape into your car or home. A simple change of clothes and a trash bag to CAREFULLY put the contaminated clothes into will take care of this...again, an affordable, simple way to prevent a senseless death...yours!  Please note that these precautions DO NOT APPLY to areas with asbestos levels deemed too high for LIMITED human exposure.  In such areas, special suits with specialized ventilation and breathing systems are required.

         There's no excuse not to wear these simple but highly effective masks and not to adhere to these simple precautionary measures and every reason why it should become a regular part of all investigators' basic equipment and procedure.  We have  discovered that a hand held "black light" (a light utilizing an fluorescent UV bulb) will instantly detect airborne asbestos fibers. Just as the light makes it easier to see airborne particles and allows investigators to differentiate between actual Orbs and other natural airborne contaminates, the light also makes any airborne asbestos fibers or particles glow a bright white and sometimes twinkle! This is detection at its most basic level, we admit, but it works!  The alternative is investing in five figure test equipment and we know of very few research groups with such funding available. 

         On behalf of the members of The Rhode Island Paranormal Research Group, we sincerely ask...no, plead, that all of our fellow researchers take these simple and very affordable steps to protecting themselves. All of us have invested good money in the instruments we use in investigating the dead, but so few have invested in securing the living a safe harbor from this killer.