Sea water actually does break it down, very slowly, but there is no risk to your job because it is that easy. It isn't, because of the problems of removing the vile stuff from where it is, and safely transporting it to a place of destruction. I am far from convinced that the majority of people are not, innocently, spreading asbestos, because like any pollutant, cleaning it up often just moves it about. It needs to be encapsulated in something sticky, which then sets hard, or washed away to where it can be infinitely diluted, as in the sea. In the UK, proper asbestos removal contractors will suitably wrap it to seal in fibres, and transport it to a furnace, where the fibres are fused into a completely different and harmless glass-like structure. But people cleaning brakes in a garage are not doing any of that, so I pose the question again, where is it actually going? I still think it is mostly on the garage floor, and then stirred up into the air....
It is not entirely unlike disposing of traces of plutonium and other nasties when decommissioning nuclear reactors. We all now know that Cillit Bang removes it nicely from stainless steel pipework, but then where does it go? Fret not, that industry does know what it is doing, and the cloths, waste solvents, etc, are all collected up and go for disposal, probably as medium-level waste. But the average person is not so clued up, and will not see that asbestos is just as hazardous (well, they both cause lung cancer), not has the skills to ensure that it all ends up in a suitable place.
Like handling any hazardous material (and nearly anything is hazardous in some circumstances), a great deal of thought needs to be given to what you or I are doing, as we work on our vehicles. We should take asbestos every bit as seriously as spraying 2-pack paint containing isocyanates. Both will kill, the latter somewhat more quickly. Sadly, some people don't care...
