Facts about asbestos - breadth it may be acclimated and what to do if you acquisition it in your
home.
This admonition is based on the album ‘Asbestos in the Home’ appear by the DETR (the
Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions) in 1999.
Introduction
This admonition addresses apropos and questions about asbestos in homes. It explains
what it is, breadth it is found, why it ability be a botheration and how to accord with it.
Asbestos fibres are able and aggressive to calefaction and chemicals. This has led to their use in a
wide ambit of architecture abstracts and products, generally as fireproofing.
Properties congenital back the mid-1980s are actual absurd to accommodate asbestos in the bolt of the
building. Properties congenital afterwards 1990 are acutely absurd to accommodate asbestos anywhere in
the building. Asbestos adhesive has been broadly acclimated as a cladding actual and can still be
found in garages and sheds.
Why may asbestos be a problem?
When asbestos abstracts age or become damaged they can absolution fibres into the air. These
can be breathed abysmal into the lung breadth they may breach for a continued time, causing possible
damage. Back actual aerial levels of these fibres are breathed in there is a accident of lung diseases,
including cancer.
People who accept formed with asbestos for abounding years as allotment of their job or accept washed
the arenaceous accouterment of those who formed with asbestos are best acceptable to be affected.
Workplace regulations now assure such people.
Is anybody apparent to asbestos?
There is a actual low akin of fibres in the air everywhere because asbestos has been used
widely. Exposure to this low akin of fibres is absurd to abuse people’s health.
Levels of fibres may be college in barrio absolute asbestos materials, abnormally where
the abstracts are damaged. It is actual absurd that the levels of asbestos fibres begin in
buildings will be harmful, but if you accept damaged asbestos abstracts in your home you
should seek admonition on adapted activity to take.
High, concise exposures to asbestos fibres can activity during DIY work. For this reason, try
not to accession dust back alive with abstracts which ability accommodate asbestos, and avoid
sanding or drilling.
Where is asbestos found?
Building abstracts absolute asbestos were broadly acclimated from 1930 to about 1980,
particularly from the 1960s onwards. So houses and flats congenital or refurbished at this time may
contain asbestos materials.
Asbestos has additionally been acclimated in some heat-resistant domiciliary products, such as oven
gloves and bed-making boards. The use of asbestos in these articles decreased abundantly around
the mid-1980s, and back 1993 the use of asbestos in best articles has been banned.
It is not consistently accessible to acquaint whether a artefact contains asbestos as avant-garde asbestos-free
materials generally attending agnate - bethink it is usually earlier articles that accommodate asbestos.
Loft or atrium bank insulation does not accommodate asbestos.
The types of asbestos abstracts that may be begin in homes are declared below:
• Careful board
(Asbestos agreeable 20-45 percent.)
Insulating lath has been acclimated for blaze protection, calefaction and complete insulation. It is
particularly accepted in 1960s and 1970s system-built apartment and is begin in
materials such as ducts, infill panels, beam tiles, bank lining, ablution panels and
partitions. It is absurd to be begin in barrio complete afterwards 1982.
• Asbestos lagging
(Asbestos agreeable 55-100 percent.)
Asbestos backward has been acclimated for thermal insulation of pipes and boilers. It was
widely acclimated in accessible barrio and system-built flats during the 1960s to aboriginal 1970s
in areas such as boiler houses and heating plants.
Asbestos backward is actual not often begin in homes, abnormally those complete afterwards the
mid 1970s. The use of asbestos for thermal insulation was banned in 1986.
• Sprayed coating
(Asbestos agreeable up to 85 percent.)
Sprayed asbestos coatings were acclimated for blaze aegis of structural animate and are
commonly begin in system-built flats congenital during the 1960s. The coatings were mainly
applied about the bulk of the architecture such as account ducts, lift shafts, etc.
Use chock-full in 1974 and the spraying of asbestos has been banned back 1986.
Sprayed asbestos has back been removed from abounding buildings, or closed to prevent
fibres actuality released.
• Asbestos-cement products
(Asbestos agreeable mainly 10-15 percent, but sometimes up to 40 percent.)
Asbestos-cement is the best broadly acclimated asbestos material. It is begin in abounding types
of architecture as profiled bedding for beam and wall-cladding, in collapsed bedding and partition
boards for linings to walls and ceilings, in ablution panels, soffit boards, blaze surrounds,
flue pipes, algid baptize tanks and as beam tiles and slates. It has been commonly
used as beam and cladding for garages and sheds and additionally in guttering and
drainpipes.
Use has beneath back 1976, but asbestos adhesive is still actuality used, decidedly in
roofing and cladding products. Asbestos adhesive articles are absurd to absolution high
levels of fibres because of the way they are made, unless they are accountable to extreme
abrasion. Damage from weathering may additionally absolution a baby bulk of fibres.
• Added architecture abstracts and products
Asbestos has been acclimated in a array of added architecture materials, for archetype in
decorative coatings such as textured paints and plasters. These are still broadly in
place but accumulation and appliance has been banned back 1988. Artificial attic tiles,
cushion flooring, beam felts, tapes, ropes, felts and blankets can additionally contain
asbestos.
• Heating accessories and calm equipment
Asbestos was acclimated in some balmy air heating systems, electric accumulator heaters (up to
1976), in flameless catalytic gas heaters (up to 1988) and some aboriginal ‘coal effect’ gas
fires.
It has additionally been acclimated in calm equipment, such as oven gloves, bed-making boards,
seals on cooker doors and blaze blankets, and in anchor linings and pads.
How can I analyze articles or abstracts absolute asbestos?
Since 1976 British manufacturers accept put labels on their articles to appearance they contain
asbestos, and back 1986 all articles absolute asbestos backpack the European label.
The supplier or architect of a artefact may be able to acquaint you if it contains asbestos.
Often homes congenital at the aforementioned time accommodate agnate abstracts - your neighbours may apperceive if
surveys for asbestos accept been done.
Your bounded council’s Ecology Bloom Department may be able to admonition analyze if you have
asbestos articles in your home, or if homes in your breadth accept been surveyed.
Remember, asbestos-containing articles can attending actual agnate to those not containing
asbestos - if in agnosticism SEEK ADVICE.
What should I do if I doubtable there is asbestos in my home?
• Asbestos abstracts in acceptable activity that cannot readily be damaged are often
best larboard breadth they are because abatement can advance to college levels of fibres in the air
for some time. Check the activity of asbestos abstracts from time to time to make
sure they accept not become damaged or started to deteriorate.
If you are planning home improvements or aliment and accept asbestos in your
home, consistently acquaint builders, aliment workers or contractors afore they start
work.
• Asbestos abstracts that are hardly damaged can sometimes be repaired by
sealing or anchor the actual - SEEK ADVICE on the best adapted action.
• Asbestos abstracts that are abominably damaged or breakable can absolution dust and
should be removed.
Some asbestos abstracts (sprayed asbestos, backward or careful boards) must
always be removed by contractors with a appropriate authorization issued by the Government.
These accountant contractors accept to chase regulations to ensure asbestos is safely
removed. Your bounded ecology bloom administrator should be able to accommodate admonition on
asbestos abatement and accountant contractors.
Sometimes it is alarming to accept asbestos removed - for instance fire-protection
materials - after replacing it with a acceptable alternative.
REMEMBER:
• Abstain advancing or damaging asbestos abstracts in acceptable condition.
• If you accept damaged or breakable asbestos abstracts in your home again SEEK
ADVICE.
• Do not accumulate application oven gloves or added baby items absolute asbestos - actuate of
them cautiously (see breadth on auctioning of asbestos).
• If you anticipate that your balmy air heating system, electrical accumulator heating arrangement or
flameless catalytic gas boiler may accommodate asbestos again SEEK ADVICE from your
local gas or electricity supplier. If they do accommodate asbestos, do not attack to
dismantle these accessories yourself, but SEEK ADVICE from your the council.
Take affliction back accomplishing DIY
If you accept asbestos abstracts in your home, added affliction should be taken back accomplishing DIY. DO
NOT attack assignment involving sprayed asbestos, backward or careful boards, as this charge be
undertaken by a accountant asbestos abatement contractor. If in doubt, SEEK ADVICE.
If you do any DIY with asbestos abstracts booty the afterward precautions:
1. Accumulate added bodies abroad from the breadth of work.
2. Wear careful accouterment (e.g. overalls), finer disposable, and abstain breath in
asbestos dust (a disposable dust affectation ’CE’ apparent to EN 149 with FFP2 particulate
filters is recommended).
3. Accumulate asbestos abstracts wet to abstain bearing dust.
4. Assignment alfresco if accessible and abstain alive overhead.
5. Do not drill, cut or afflict asbestos unless actually necessary. Do not scrape or
sand asbestos abstracts afore painting and decorating. Some types of asbestos
materials are actual bendable and can absolution ample numbers of fibres if rubbed or scraped.
6. Use duke accoutrement rather than ability tools.
7. Do not use a calm exhaustion cleaner to bright up the dust. Hire an automated vacuum
cleaner that conforms to BS 5415 (Type H).
8. Back you accept accomplished work, apple-pie up and again booty off the overalls anxiously to
avoid adopting any dust which may accept calm in the fabric.
In the case of disposable overalls, double-bag them, acutely mark ‘ASBESTOS’ on
the bag and actuate of them as asbestos waste.
Wash non-disposable overalls beeline away, abandoned from added clothing, in a
washing machine.
How should I actuate of asbestos?
Wet baby amounts of asbestos decay and put it in a able artificial bag - allowance this deeply and
clearly mark it ‘ASBESTOS’.
Do not breach up ample asbestos-cement bedding - they do not charge to be closed in accoutrements but
should be captivated in polythene or agnate bedding and disposed of as asbestos waste.
Do not put asbestos decay in the dustbin - SEEK ADVICE from the board about how to
dispose of your asbestos waste.
REMEMBER:
• Abstain creating asbestos dust.
• Abstain breath asbestos dust.
• Asbestos actual in acceptable activity should be larboard alone.
• If you anticipate you may accept asbestos-containing articles in your house, SEEK
ADVICE from the board afore you booty any action
