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Can I Remove Asbestos Myself?

If you’re an individual who owns or control buildings, you’re required by the law to carry out asbestos management and reasonably so. Asbestos is a very dangerous and life threatening material which comes with a host of potential diseases related to exposure and therefore, it’s required to be removed from any building once discovered.

Majority of these diseases are not treated and in the UK alone, there has been about 4,500 deaths per year that has been attributable to asbestos exposure. Hence, this explains why this topic is considered crucial to the legislators.

When it comes to asbestos containing materials removal, this should only be done if necessary and ultimately, only by a person who possesses the skills, knowledge and expertise to make sure that the removal is done safely and to the highest possible standards. Exposure to asbestos poses great health risks. And although when left alone the material can only cause little harm, but the real threat comes when disturbed which implies that asbestos removal is a gravely dangerous process if not handle with skill and care.

Due to this fact, the law has taken a very serious stance that only skilled specialist are allowed to handle the task. Therefore, if you want to know if you can undertake this task by yourself, it’s important to consult your local authority to know the stance of the law in your state. We’d however recommend that you do not attempt this by yourself as the dangers are simply too much. The cost of asbestos containing materials removal can be somewhat costly, but when you look at the threat it poses to both you and your loved ones, you’d realize that it’s worth the price.

Being a commonly used building material in the 1950’s to about 1990’s, asbestos is very popular back in the days and used for almost every roofing project because of it fire resistant properties. They’re mostly mixed with cement and are known to last for over 4 decades.

Due to the harmful properties found in asbestos, the material was totally banned in the UK since the year 1999. It’s found that when disturbed, asbestos releases some fibres which when inhaled can result in some deadly health conditions such as lung cancer and asbestosis, which are all fatal. These diseases are mostly not detected until several years after the first exposure to the asbestos fibres, which makes them even more deadly. Hence, it’s crucial to know how to identify asbestos roof tiles so you can have them removed by a professional immediately. In this article, we’ll show you what you can look out for to identify asbestos roof tiles. Let’s take a look!

Asbestos roof tiles are typically square shaped and they also generally possess a combination of grey and black colour. Although asbestos can feature a number of colours based on the kind of material you mix with it. In truth, asbestos can be very tricky to identify, when disturbed not only are their fibres totally invisible to the naked eye but they’re also completely odourless. This implies that you may not even be aware that you’re exposed to such harmful material for a prolonged period of time. In order to accurately identify asbestos roof tiles, the only thing you can possibly do is to call in a UKAS accredited laboratory to have them tested. This way, you’ll have a peace of mind knowing the result will point you in the right direction.

An asbestos survey is a property inspection to check for the presence of asbestos. A professional will go around your building and look at and take samples of any materials that they think may contain asbestos. These will then be tested to see if asbestos is present.

There are two types of asbestos survey, a Management Asbestos Survey and a Refurbishment and Demolition Asbestos Survey. A Management Asbestos Survey is mainly conducted to check if any materials containing asbestos pose a risk to inhabitants during everyday use of a building. A Refurbishment and Demolition Asbestos Survey is designed to check for any asbestos exposure risks before building work is started on a property.

For some types of asbestos, you are not legally required to use a licensed contractor. However, it’s recommended that you always use one. These contractors will have all the relevant training and knowledge to make sure asbestos is removed safely. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the licensing body.

Asbestos fibres are very small, so they’re not possible to identify with the naked eye. However, they’re common in particular materials of a certain age, so you can work out if there are any parts of a building that are likely to contain asbestos.

Start by checking the date that the material you suspect contains asbestos was installed. If it was in 2000 or after then you don’t need to worry, it definitely doesn’t contain asbestos. However, if it was fitted before 2000 it may contain asbestos, particularly if this was between 1940 and 1980.

Materials that used to commonly contain asbestos include ceiling tiles, guttering, soffits, fascia, external cladding and facades, vinyl flooring, artex, cement roofs and insulation.

A typical Homebuyer Report or Building Survey Report doesn’t usually involve checking for asbestos. Your surveyor may let you know that there are certain parts of the property that are likely to contain asbestos, but they won’t do any testing. This means that, if you want to be sure about whether a property contains asbestos, you need to get an asbestos survey.

Is Asbestos Dangerous?

The short and simple answer to this question is yes, asbestos is absolutely dangerous. Exposure to asbestos fibres and dust can lead to cancer, lung disease and lots more. It’s known to be so dangerous that no level of exposure to asbestos is considered safe. It has been banned in the UK since 1999 but exposure is till rampant due to the exceptions to the ban and there’s a good chance that you’ll find it in several older buildings and homes. And despite the ban in most countries, asbestos related health issues are still on the rise across the globe. People that are mostly exposed to this risk are those who’re exposed on the job as well as those who simply like to take on projects around the house containing asbestos insulation by themselves.

Furthermore, there’s a need to observe safety precautions when working with asbestos. If not, you’ll be exposing both you and your family to long term health risks. Below are some of the things you need to know about the dangers of asbestos.

✓ Exposure to asbestos fibres has no safe level. So it’s best to avoid exposure at all costs.

✓ Breathing in asbestos dust can lead to lung cancer, asbestosis and mesothelioma.

✓ If disturbed, asbestos can release dangerous particles of dust containing asbestos fibres.

✓ Mesothelioma is a type of cancer which mostly affects the lung’s lining. It has no cure.

✓ If you smoke, then the risk of inhaling asbestos is greatly increased.

✓ The number of fibres inhaled as well as the length of time that you’ve been exposed to it increases the risk of contracting asbestos related diseases.

✓ The symptoms of asbestos dust related diseases do not commonly come out until its about 20 to 30 years after the first exposure.

If your house is built before the 1980’s it’s likely to contain some form of asbestos material which when disturbed can release some harmful fibres whose inhalation can lead to a number of fatal diseases and health issues like lung cancer and asbestosis. If you suspect that your house contains some asbestos materials, the best step to take is to call in a qualified asbestos consultant to carry out a thorough inspection of the area so as to identify the potential asbestos containing materials in your property.

The result of the testing done will bring a peace of mind as it’ll confirm whether or not the material actually contains asbestos. In the event whereby the testing result shows that the material does not contain asbestos, this will significantly reduce your renovation or demolition cost. So if you’re wondering how asbestos testing can be done, simply continue reading.

Identifying asbestos is as simple as just looking at the material with the naked to check if it contains the harmful substance. The presence or otherwise of a potential asbestos containing material can only be confirmed by laboratory testing. A qualitative identification of asbestos in a bulk sample is the best method for testing for asbestos. This asbestos testing process involves taking a look at the fibres under a polarized light microscope and under varying conditions to determine the kind of asbestos it is, if present. The result of the testing, if positive, will identify the type of the asbestos discovered and this can be either white or chyrsotile asbestos, brown or amosite asbestos or, blue or crocidolite asbestos. However in the event whereby the sample doesn’t contain any asbestos, the test result will show NAD or No Asbestos Detected.