Asbestos removal

Many people have worries about asbestos, but undisturbed asbestos usually poses no problems. However, care should be taken to prevent the release of fibres as they can cause serious damage to your health.

What is asbestos?

Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that has been used in a range of building materials to make them more rigid and fire resistant. It has also been used in household products such as ironing boards and oven gloves. Asbestos was used extensively as a building material from the 1950s through to the mid 1980s.

Some of areas in your home where you may find asbestos include:

eaves, soffits, gutters and rainwater fall pipes
fire blankets
garage and shed roofs
linings for walls, ceilings and doors
insulation panels in some storage heaters
bath panels
central heating flues
loose asbestos packing between floors and in partition walls
floor tiles

Most people are exposed to low amounts of asbestos present in the atmosphere with no ill effects.

Asbestos fibres and dust are potentially very dangerous if inhaled in higher concentrations over a period of time, when they can cause serious lung diseases including cancer. The symptoms of these diseases often do not appear for between 20 - 30 years after exposure to asbestos.

Asbestos in your home - what to do?

It is very hard to identify asbestos, but if you suspect that you are living with it:

don't panic - leave the asbestos alone as it's safe unless it's damaged or disturbed
never sand, drill or saw asbestos materials
always seek professional advice before thinking of removing asbestos materials
do not attempt to remove asbestos lagging, spray coatings or insulation board by yourself - these materials can only be safely removed by a licensed contractor
removal of non-licensable asbestos material, such as asbestos cement or asbestos vinyl floor tiles, should be carried out by a competent contractor whose employees have been trained to work with such material
sometimes it will be necessary to take a sample, for example to identify the type of asbestos - only employ a suitably trained, competent person to sample or do a survey of the premises

Removing asbestos from your home

If you do choose to remove the non-licensable asbestos materials yourself it will help if you take the following precautions:

wear a dust mask specifically approved for asbestos - it should be marked PP3. So-called 'nuisance' dust masks are not suitable for use with asbestos
wear a disposable overall
keep other people away from the working area
wet the material well with water containing a little washing up liquid; check that there is no potential for contact with electricity first
always remove whole sheets or components; do not break them up
place any loose or small items in strong plastic labelled bags and seal
clean up all dust with a damp cloth and then seal it in a plastic bag whilst damp
do not use a domestic vacuum cleaner as dust may pass through the filter
all asbestos waste should be double bagged or double wrapped in heavy duty plastic

If you have removed asbestos from your home yourself, it will need to be disposed of separately from your normal household waste. Asbestos waste may only be disposed of to a site that has been licensed to accept it by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency. You may be able to arrange to have it collected by a contractor who is licensed to do so, and has arranged a consignment note, or, if you are a private householder not working for gain, you may make arrangements with one of the licensed hazardous waste disposal sites.

Please use the link below to contact your local council for further details: