Dave Wellard


Asbestos Manager

Domestic Asbestos

So your asbestos issue is in a domestic property,  before we talk about removing asbestos let me tell you a bit more about how, where and when asbestos was used in domestic properties just so you have a better idea of if you do really have an asbestos issue.

Asbestos was used in a wide range of building materials and products, often as fireproofing because the fibres are strong and very heat resistant.

Asbestos cement has been widely used as a cladding material and often found in sheds and garages. Properties built in the mid 1980’s are very unlikely to contain asbestos and properties built in the 1990’s are extremely unlikely to contain asbestos anywhere in the building.

Houses and flats built or refurbished from 1930 to around 1980 may contain asbestos as building materials containing asbestos were widely used in this period, particularly from 1960 onwards.

Some household products may contain asbestos too such as oven gloves and ironing boards but the use of asbestos in these products decreased greatly in the mid 1980’s and by 1990 was banned completely.

Here are some types of asbestos materials that may be found in your home:

  • Insulating Board (asbestos content 20-45%)

Has been used for fire protection, heat and sound insulation.
You are more likely to find it in buildings between 1960’s and 1970’s and can be found in materials such as partitions, bath panels, wall lining, ducts, infill panels and ceiling tiles. If your home is built after 1982 you will be unlikely to find asbestos in the building materials.

  • Asbestos Lagging (asbestos content 55-100%)

Widely used in public buildings and system built flats during the 1960’s to the early 1970’s. Asbestos lagging was used for thermal insulation of boilers and pipes.

Luckily if your home is built mid 1970 you are very unlikely to find asbestos lagging and then in 1986 the use of asbestos for thermal insulation was banned.

  • Sprayed coating (content up to 85%)

Sprayed asbestos coatings were used for fire protection of structural steel and were mainly applied to core parts of the building like lift shafts and service ducts. It is most commonly found in system built flats from the 1960’s. Thankfully use of sprayed asbestos coatings was stopped in 1975 and was banned in 1986.

  • Asbestos cement products (mainly 10-15%, but up to 40% on occasions)

Being the most widely used asbestos material it is found in many types of buildings. Either as partition boards and flat sheets for wall and ceiling linings, bath panels, fire surrounds, flue pipes, soffit boards, cold water tanks and as roof slates and tiles. It can also be found as profiled sheets for roofing and wall cladding. Asbestos cement products have also been used in guttering and drainpipes and as roofing and cladding for garages.
Asbestos cement is still being used today in roofing and cladding but because of the way it is made today it is unlikely to release high levels of fibre unless it is subject to extreme abrasion.

  • Other Building Materials and products

There is a variety of other building materials that contain asbestos including decorative coatings such as some plasters and textured paints. Supply and application of such materials has been prohibited since 1988 but they are still widely in place. Other materials that can contain asbestos are roofing felts, plastic floor tiles, cushion flooring, ropes, tapes felts and blankets.

  • Heating appliances and domestic equipment

Asbestos was also used in some early ‘coal effect’ gas fires, flameless catalytic gas heaters, some warm air heating systems and electric storage heaters up to 1976.


So you now know if you have asbestos in your property, what type of asbestos it is and how harmful it can be. If you are still unsure about certain materials in your home always presume that they do contain asbestos.

So how do you go about managing these materials in my home?

Asbestos can be encapsulated which involves the application of an impervious material which is secured over or around an asbestos containing material (ACM) and is designed to prevent the release of fibres under foreseeable conditions, such as vibration, impact and age degradation.

Encapsulation should maintain the beneficial properties of the original asbestos application and maintain it in a safe condition.

Remember if you are removing insulation you will need to reinstall insulation and the same applies to fire protection asbestos materials you must reinstall fire protection. To find out more about insulation speak to Mick Austin Alltask’s insulation manager and for fire protection speak to Trevor Fullwood, Alltask’s passive fire protection manager.


If you are still unsure about anything regarding asbestos then feel free to contact me or request a ring back and I will be more than happy to talk you through the risks and options available to you to safely manage your asbestos containing materials (ACM’s) in your property.

Regards

Dave Wellard

 

 

 

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