Homeowners Guide To Asbestos Awareness Before Renovations Begin!

Jan. 12, 2012 - PRLog -- Householders who own properties built or renovated up until the mid 1980s and 90s, and who are about to redecorate need to be aware of the deadly dangers lurking just under the surface in the form of different types of asbestos insulation. Twenty five years after the first legislation was introduced, around a half a million UK households are still likely to contain asbestos material hidden within the fabric of the building, according to the Health & Safety Executive (HSE).

Viewed as ‘low risk’ and thus, less dangerous than the brown ( amosite) and blue ( crocidolite) asbestos forms which were banned from use from the early 1980s onwards, white ( chrysotile) asbestos continued to be mixed with many types of building materials used for constructing or renovating domestic properties and public buildings.

Despite growing asbestos awareness of the fatal health risks, many thousands of men and women were regularly exposed to the heat insulation and fire retardant commonly used throughout twentieth century UK manufacturing, engineering and construction industries. Despite the European Commission ruling in 1999 that products made of white asbestos were to be completely prohibited, it was not until January 1, 2005 – less than ten years ago – that the ban came into force.

A 1985 survey of over 2.2 million council houses conducted by the Association of Metropolitan Authorities (AMA) estimated that there could be between two and four million homes constructed of lightweight building materials containing hidden asbestos.

The problem for most owners of older properties of at least 25 years old,  is distinguishing between modern asbestos-free materials and an asbestos–containing material (ACM), which look almost identical.

As a general guidance for assessing the likelihood of uncovering asbestos in an older domestic property, around thirty per cent could be present in the form of  textured and sprayed ceiling coatings and wall cladding, a highly popular and most widely used application.

A further ten to fifteen per cent may be found in other forms of insulation used to manufacture cement panel ceilings, lagging around boiler flue pipes and ducts, cold water storage tanks, cement roofing panels and roofing felt, roof eaves, soffits, gutters, and rainwater pipes.

A most common building material was Asbestos Insulating Board (AIB) used for constructing  partition walls, fireproofing panels in fire doors, ceiling tiles, soffits and panels below windows often affixed with asbestos adhesive tapes, filler and packing. Loose fill asbestos was also sprayed in between cavity walls, under floorboards and in loft spaces.

Asbestos containing floor tiles can still be found and while considered less hazardous because the fibres were bonded together and encapsulated with the tile material when manufactured, any sign of wear, damage or moisture could still be potentially harmful.

In older properties, thick grey asbestos linings and insulation could still be hidden in fuse boxes and electrical boxes behind wall switches and plugs, recessed lighting, and in ceiling fixtures and freestanding lamp sockets. In addition, paper or fabric insulators of asbestos on electrical wires were still in existence as late as the 1980s.

All inadvertent contact with asbestos can immediately be high risk. Any drilling, scraping, abrading or hammering that uncovers asbestos can easily release fibre dust particles into the surrounding air. Once inhaled, the fibres remain permanently embedded in the linings of the lungs, which can eventually cause asbestosis disease or the fatal, incurable cancer, mesothelioma.

The long gestation period of between 15 and 50 years from first exposure to the emergence of asbestosis symptoms when mesothelioma has reached an advanced stage often means that survival rates after confirmed diagnosis is less than six months. The present application period for meothelioma compensation is three years.

Any material uncovered during  structural conversion, or general renovations, which appears to be in a “ friable” (fragile, disintegrating) condition should be considered suspect and not handled until examined by licensed and approved asbestos disposal contractors to determine it’s exact properties.

Visit http://www.asbestosvictimadvice.com for more information and advice.

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