Asbestos....

**BeeMay** · 28th November 2007, 08:52 PM

SilentC,
I was told the same thing.I bought a house in Qld clad in fibro.It was unpainted for 50years.to get the loan for the house I had to agree in writing to paint it within 3 months of purchase.I rang the builders advisory up there as I wanted to remove the internal firbro walls as there was great VJ's underneath. Basically told to wet it, don't use power tools on it, use a mask,when handling it or banging a nail in etc.Be careful,treat it as with caution, the precautions were overkill for a reason,to basically scare people into doing the right thing.As for disposal,that was a bit harder.Had to wrap it in plastic and notify the tip we were bringing it in(so they could dig a hole?)and pay $20 a load instead of $4 tthat it normally was for a load.My husband was very careful with it,and had us all out of the house while he handled it,wearing overalls,mask ,gloves etc.........
but it is scary when you have people telling yuou,"it only takes one fibre............."

cheers
Bee

**Bluegum** · 29th November 2007, 12:16 PM

I helped a mate do some demolition work on a house he was renovating a couple of years back. The first thing he did was take to the fibro with a claw hammer and smash it of the outside walls. He then dumped it into a corner in the back yard. It was a breezy ort of day and when I asked him where his hose was to wet it down he couldn't see the point of it. I pointed out that his neighbors windows were open and there was dust swirling around in the wind. I spent most of the day hosing down this pile of fibro that he dumped there and then lef there for another week before he got the skip into get rid of it. Needless to say I had nothing more to do with this job.

**Gooner** · 5th December 2007, 07:34 PM

Just yesterday I was in my small ensuite tearing down the shower, tiling, and cement sheeting under the tiles. In the middle of *ripping* the cement sheeting off the walls (with no respirator) I stopped after about 1 hour and thought, "Crap, this stuff could be asbestos".

I have tried the "burn test" as as far as I can see some of the small fibres do in fact burn. I am still not convinced.

I will try the place in Melbourne that tests for asbestos for free.

I believe the house was built in the late 70's. I would think the cemter sheeting has been there since that time.

**Bleedin Thumb** · 5th December 2007, 10:26 PM

Originally Posted by Gooner

Just yesterday I was in my small ensuite tearing down the shower, tiling, and cement sheeting under the tiles. In the middle of *ripping* the cement sheeting off the walls (with no respirator) I stopped after about 1 hour and thought, "Crap, this stuff could be asbestos".

I have tried the "burn test" as as far as I can see some of the small fibres do in fact burn. I am still not convinced.

I will try the place in Melbourne that tests for asbestos for free.

I believe the house was built in the late 70's. I would think the cemter sheeting has been there since that time.

Geeze mate ... I don't mean to be rude but how much education does it take for you to take notice!

Unless it was placed on the walls after about 1985 its got asbestos in it.
Between then and 1989 you can still have traces of asbestos because Hardies didn't overhaul their production facilities.

BTW we are now seeing the peak of asbestos related claims from workers within the industry, the insurers are now bracing themselves for the next wave of claims......the home renovaters.

So for Christ sake be careful when you handle fibro or any other FRC sheeting! the later stuff has the date stamped on the back.

**nev25** · 5th December 2007, 10:55 PM

Someone told me a while ago that Lamipanel (that was installed in most bathrooms a while ago) contains asbestos
Anyone know anything about this?

**journeyman Mick** · 6th December 2007, 01:31 PM

Originally Posted by nev25

Someone told me a while ago that Lamipanel (that was installed in most bathrooms a while ago) contains asbestos
Anyone know anything about this?

Not AFAIK, it's basically just a thicker version of benchtop laminates, consisting of layers of paper with resin bonded at high pressure and heat. Does contain a fair bit of formaldehyde though.

Mick

**Gooner** · 8th December 2007, 12:23 AM

Originally Posted by Gooner

Just yesterday I was in my small ensuite tearing down the shower, tiling, and cement sheeting under the tiles. In the middle of *ripping* the cement sheeting off the walls (with no respirator) I stopped after about 1 hour and thought, "Crap, this stuff could be asbestos".

I have tried the "burn test" as as far as I can see some of the small fibres do in fact burn. I am still not convinced.

I will try the place in Melbourne that tests for asbestos for free.

I believe the house was built in the late 70's. I would think the cemter sheeting has been there since that time.

Went to "Noel and Associates" in Box Hill Melbourne to have two samples from the walls and floor to be tested. (Its a free service for a verbal result for domestic use). Turns out it is all asbestos.

Therefore, it seems that if built during or before early 80's, assume asbestos.

**Bleedin Thumb** · 9th December 2007, 03:11 PM

Originally Posted by Gooner

Therefore, it seems that if built during or before early 80's, assume asbestos.

Now lets be perfectly clear on this.

Any fibre cement product installed prior to 1989 should be considered to contain asbestos and handled in acordance with your local state workcover requirements.

To make it idiot proof think of the cut off date as 1990.

**Gooner** · 14th December 2007, 02:11 PM

Yesterday I went into my ensuite and removed about 5 square meters worth of asbestos sheeting from the walls and floors. I tried my best to take it off in sheets, but in the end the sheets were too big to transport so I broke them down into smaller pieces. Of course I wore overalls, hat and respirator. (I didn't wear gloves... I assume there is no risk in not wearing gloves?) The ensuite is a good room to do this because I can lock myself in there to do the job.

Today I tried to dispose of the stuff. I am really annoyed at the difficulty I had disposing of the stuff. First I rang my local council. They gave me zero help or information. Next, I rang Sustainability Victoria and the EPA. It seems like there are only two places in Melbourne you can get rid of asbestos. Epping (Outer North) and Laverton (Outer West). I live in the outer eastern suburbs, therefore I would have to make a 100km trip and on top of that pay $60 to dispose of a few sheets of asbestos.

In the end I rang up an asbestos remover contractor, drove the stuff to his workplace and handed a boot-load of asbestos to him for $100 cash.

It would have been really easy to go up to my local waste transfer station, pay $12 and dump the lot there, but obviously I want to do the right thing. However, considering the difficulty and cost of disposing of the stuff, I would assume many people would simply dump it at the local tip rather than drive across town and pay $60.

I am actually quite suprised about this situation. I thought that the local council would provide *some* level of service to dispose of asbestos. I am thinking of writing a letter to our local member.....

**hansp77** · 14th December 2007, 02:31 PM

Gooner, here is a list of places you can dispose of Asbestos...
http://www.ohsrep.org.au/index.cfm?s...t&contentid=33

I've used the Bulla rd one. Had to book it in, drive it out, all double wrapped, etc.
Frankly, I think it is a pretty good idea to keep the amount of places down where this stuff is going to be buried. It would be good though if there was some sort of council service (subsidised or at least non-profit) to help us get rid of this problem.

**pharmaboy2** · 14th December 2007, 02:43 PM

spot on gooner - as a result of the regs, asbestos sheet mostly ends up in the std waste bins at the dump or in wheely bins. I, like you, would happily treat it properly, but they make you jump through so many hoops, the end result is more danger to more poeople not less.

On a similar not our local dump used to be free fro householders with a trailer load, then it was $5-00 or something - in the last 10 years its gone to $80 a tonne - I'm also a mountain biker and can tell you that the amount of rubbish dumped in the bush tracks follows that policy perfectly!

**Bleedin Thumb** · 14th December 2007, 05:34 PM

[quote=Gooner;644591] I broke them down into smaller pieces. Of course I wore overalls, hat and respirator. (I didn't wear gloves... I assume there is no risk in not wearing gloves?) The ensuite is a good room to do this because I can lock myself in there to do the job.

Gooner did you actually do any research into the safe handling of asbestos - (besides this thread) before you proceeded.

The dust that was in your en suite is now spread through out your home -

I don't want to preach but you should be more careful.

**Gooner** · 14th December 2007, 05:54 PM

Originally Posted by Bleedin Thumb

Gooner did you actually do any research into the safe handling of asbestos - (besides this thread) before you proceeded.

The dust that was in your en suite is now spread through out your home -

I don't want to preach but you should be more careful.

How so? I "locked" myself in the room and wrapped all the asbestos in plastic within the room. I stored the plastic in a little cupboard inside the room as to minimize the amount of dust on it prior to use. I used a spray bottle to wet down all the asbestos. I used a wet rag on all surfaces after I finished taking out all the asbestos. I even took all my clothes off within the room and soaked everything immediately and then went straight into the shower.

What have I done wrong??

I did read the recommended safety regulations.

**Bleedin Thumb** · 14th December 2007, 06:05 PM

Sorry Gooner It sounds as though you have it covered, good stuff.

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