Checking for Asbestos
It’s estimated that 500,000+ structures still contain Asbestos throughout the U.K. Therefore it is important to be able to identify Asbestos and the kinds of materials that might contain Asbestos in and around your residential and commercial properties.
Signs of Asbestos
The properties of Asbestos made it an ideal material for use in a number of products, including insulation material for buildings, boilers and pipes; car brakes and floor tiles, insulating board to protect against fire; as well as Asbestos cement for roofing sheets and pipes.
This can mean that Asbestos could be contained within a number of materials in and around your commercial and residential properties. Despite its frequency and commonality of use, it isn’t always easy to identify signs of Asbestos. Subsequently, there are a few checks for Asbestos that we would recommend:
Building Age
One factor that can help to decide whether you should have an Asbestos survey is the age of the building in question.
Up until 1985, all types of Asbestos could still be legally used in the U.K. They were popular and actively used to create appliances and buildings all over the country due to the useful properties of Asbestos. Asbestos could be found in insulation, roofing materials, boilers, housing pipes, and even hairdryers. It is likely that most buildings built before the 21st century contain Asbestos.
Asbestos was used in the construction of everything, not only residential home but schools, industrial factories and all sorts of construction projects. For this reason, workers must be cautious when being exposed to older buildings. Tradespeople such as electricians, builder, and plumbers face considerable risk when working in old buildings. This is because any disruption to the existing building work can lead to Asbestos exposure.
Asbestos Containing Materials
​​​There are a number of common materials that are the usual suspects when it comes to identifying Asbestos in your property. We’ve listed some examples below, to check for signs of Asbestos in your property.
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How to Check for Asbestos?
Even if you know your building age, it can still be very challenging to identify Asbestos by visual analysis or comparing an area that you suspect to an online image or video. We would always recommend getting an Asbestos survey to identify Asbestos containing materials.
Asbestos Surveys
If you suspect that a part of your home contains Asbestos, we recommend getting a fully licenced company like Mick George Environmental to perform an Asbestos survey at your property and then manage and complete any Asbestos removal or disposal works as necessary.
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