Do you think you have an asbestos problem?
The following information will give you some guidelines for avoiding the consequences of asbestos exposure. If you think you may have asbestos in your house or office, here are some tips on how to proceed to eliminate the dangers.
- Don't take samples yourself. Hire a certified asbestos surveyor to come in and take samples of the suspect material. All of the asbestosguide.co.uk surveyors are fully qualified. Unless you are trained and have the proper protective gear, you will expose yourself, your family, and your colleagues by attempting to take your own samples.
- Make sure the samples are taken to a UKAS approved testing laboratory. Ensure that the laboratory is reputable. Check with the HSE/UKAS if you have questions.
- Make a sound judgement call, asbestosguide.co.uk can advise you of your options if an asbestos exposure is detected. Hopefully your samples will come back with negative results for fibres. However if the results show that you have asbestos fibres in your home, you are going to have to make a tough decision about what to do with them. The basic choices are to have the asbestos removed, seal it up (encapsulation), or leave it alone. Sometimes if a damaged asbestos product is exposed to the open air or is in a trafficked area in your home, the call is simple. You need to have it removed. This can be a relatively expensive process, but the economic costs are minimal compared to the heath damages to which you may be exposing your family if you don't deal with it properly. It is always a good idea to consult with an expert, and asbestosguide.co.uk can help you in this regard. There are times when you may want to delay action on the asbestos product. If, for example, you have asbestos pipe wrap beneath your house and it appears to be in good condition, you may choose to leave it alone for a period of time, or in some cases seal it as a temporary fix. However, this does not mean you can ignore it. If you choose to leave asbestos in your home for whatever reason, you should monitor it on a regular basis to make sure it is not being disturbed. At some point, you should be prepared to have it removed, especially before you renovate or repair the area.
- Don't remove it yourself. Hire a certified asbestos abatement contractor and monitor the job to make sure it is done properly. As an independent consultant asbestosguide.co.uk can organise this for you.
- Have roofs, walls, and appliances inspected before removal. Both new and old roofing material often contain asbestos. You should always have an asbestos surveyor look at your house before you remove the old roof or renovate a wall. The same holds true when you replace an oven or other built-in appliances that must be disassembled before being removed.