Thread: Asbestos

Dear two monkeys:

You have another option depending upon what exactly you wan tto do and that is asbestos abatement treatment. The company I work for sells a product that is sprayed onto the asbestos, bonding the fibres into the surface, which can then be removed far more safely, though usually where possible its recommended not to disturbe asbestos, it *is* bad. Get in touch via personal message if you want more details

Originally Posted by twomonkeys

OK... second attempt .

Is it worth getting it all removed (ie. for us the rest of the eaves, a carport, shed, laundry etc) or is it best to leave well and good alone.

Generally, if the sheets are in good nick and sealed with paint then there is absolutely no need to remove them. Keep them sealed and leave them alone unless they are on your list of modifications to the house.

While everyone is wary of asbestos fibres there is no problem with sheets in good nick, the problem is when you have to drill into it or remove it. Fibro is an excellent cladding, just be aware of it when any changes are made.

Cheers

Thanks Rob

I thought as much, but good to hear it from someone else ! I reacon hubby wouldn't be too happy if I insisted it all get demolished either . The sheets are in good condition but we'll be doing a second bathroom reno down the track and will replace those at the time. All the other's will be left in place.

Cheers

Just make sure you take all the safety precautions when you get into the bathroom job and all should be well. Just stress that the cleanup is really important, its no good using respirators and all that if the place is left full of dust for when you have no breathing gear on.

Cheers

Originally Posted by womble

that DOES NOT sound professional to me!! whiteants are the least of your worries if there's blue fibres in the house now...

DeanP,
Bloody good thing that you are a suicidal single bloke and have no kiddies now that your house and grounds are contaminated..... bloody glad I'm not your neighbour too! Oh, and I don't think the whiteants will be killed by the asbestos......

Originally Posted by deanp

I just had a whole lot of the stuff removed yesterday by a professional. Blue azzy it was, apparently the worst you can have. I thought he'd be a bit carefull with the stuff removing it but all he did was put a crowbar through the panels and pulled it out and it broke up all over the place. Didn't wet it down either or clean up that well. Bit scaring seeing I have young children etc. Anyway I was in for another surprise...Big white ant infestation and just about to get into the roof timbers phew!!

Firstly,:mad: I'd report the so-called pro to the authorites ASAP. What he's doing is like having unprotected sxe if you're an aids carrier.:eek:
There are now national guidelines in place based on Victorian Legislation (which, thanks to the union movement, there is world leading) and which regulate the removal and disposal of white, brown and blue asbestos. There are severe penalties for cowboys and DIYers who deal with the stuff as you describe.
Secondly, get a real professional in to your place do an environmental assessment. You cannot now dispose of the property in good conscience knowing that it is now dangerously contaminated.
Collex are an accredited company for dealing with asbestos removal and disposal. Most if not all local councils have guidelines and accredited disposal centres especially for asbestos.
Thirdly, if you are living in a house contaminated by (blue) asbestos and you are in your thirties and you continue to live and breathe there you will die from mesothelioma or asbestosis sometime in the next 25 to 40 years and it aint't pretty mate. My uncle went from diagnosis to death in 3 weeks. He looked perfectly healthy until the day he died but his lungs were solid crystal (metaphorically speaking). He worked part time on the docks 40 years ago unloading bags of asbestos lagging.

Despite what people might tell you, asbestos comes in all different colours and products. Over 2000 different products in fact. It can be virtually any colour, and can not be identified by colour alone, but 3 types are most common.
Chrysotile - "white" asbestos.
Crocidolite - "blue" asbestos.
Amosite - "white" asbestos.

In my time with a company I used to work for I found Chrysotile to be the most common form found. Of course there are other types as well.

Asbestos products cannot be identified by sight alone. To identify it it needs to be put under a microscope - period!

The latency period to developing mesothelioma, or asbestosis, is usually 30 to 40 years, so if you do inhale the stuff, then you're not going to have a clue for a long, long time. Just remember, it's the stuff you can't see that does the damage, not the bits of dust floating around the room.

The national exposure levels (standard) for asbestos fibres are 0.1 f/mL (fibres per millilitre of air).

Now, there are many myths about this stuff, and it does cause a huge panic, but to be absolutely certain, if your house was built after 1990, you can just about guarantee it won't contain any asbestos related products. Before that, you should assume that any cement sheet product will contain it. Better to be safe than sorry.

The thing is that this stuff was used for all sorts of things, from lino, to the glue used to stick the lino down! I've been into Power stations, and even an old American tug boat that was formally used to push aircraft carriers around to remove this product. It's in just about everything. I actually just finished getting a heap of it out of a Hospitals' roof space (not a fun job in the tropics).


Anyway, I hope my first post here was at least a little informative. I've left plenty out on this topic, including control measures and whatnot else...but if you've got any questions on the stuff feel free to PM or email me.

Reading the posts brings to mind the question of contamination on any property that has asbestos sheeting installed.

If you ever watch a building site a lot of the excess products used are dumped on the property around the building. These days they mainly dump straight into bins but back 20-30 years ago it was just piled high around the site for long times.

So with all this talk about contamination of the site I suspect its to late the site was contaminated when the building was built.

In regard to the cowboy removal of the asbestos it would be good to get him to adjust his work practices particularly that you are paying a premium for his services but I would be very carefull which rabid dog(council or other authorities) you complain to as the end result may be worse than the problem. The council can actual condem your site and declare it uninhabitable.

Cheers

Originally Posted by Eastie

What level of exposure would be still considered safe?
<O</O
Difficult answer – despite there being exposure standards such as 0.1 fibre per millilitre of air, no-one really knows. There are those that stand behind the view that one fibre has the potential to lead to mesothelioma or lung cancer, and then there is the other side who says if that is the case we are all doomed from exposure to normal background exposures such as generated from the old asbestos brake linings. <O

Being a smoker significantly increases the hazzard of exposure.

Have a licensed professional do it.

I think it's the luck of the draw! My Dad worked for CSR Building Materials and had a lump of blue asbestos on his desk as a paperweight for 30 years and had no ill effects. 40 years ago I was cutting fibro with a friction blade on a circular saw, every exposed bit of skin covered in the white powder, no-one knew anything about the dangers (or did they?) From what I've heard, asbestos plus cigarettes = big trouble. So far, no airpipe cancer, only waterpipe!
Cheers
Graeme

Originally Posted by rrich

Being a smoker significantly increases the hazzard of exposure.

No studies have been done, so nobody knows anything about whether or not smoking increases, or decreases, the risk of it.

All that is known is that if you get mesothelioma or asbestosis, then you're as good as dead.

It's also 'thought' that asbestos cause forms of lung cancer, but nothing is really known, or proven there either. It's just presumed asbestos can cause cancer.

Most of us have been exposed to asbestos sometime in our life ...to get it professionally removed is very costly and can involve a lot of red tape..if someone says don't worry about it or don't care themselves doesn't mean it isn't dangerous..but what the heck..u gotta die of something!!

Hey Boilermaker thanks for renovating an old thread and letting me get somthing off my chest.

A couple of weeks ago I spent the week removing old bluey using the recommended precautions. There's heaps of worksafe guidance for OBs and home owners. It definately takes a bit more time, care and a few bucks.

Imagine my surprise when a "professional" builder (mentioning no names but they bust space apparently) started this week on next doors reno. No protective clothing, busted the sheets with a hammer - dust all over the place, lined a skip with plastic but only sealed it with a token length of tape so the wind got into it. The owner's happy to pick up the chunks he can see but it the micro sized bits he (and we) need to worry about.