What to do when encountering asbestos in your home renovation project

It is a fact that asbestos-containing materials are responsible for the deaths of 5,000 workers every year. A certain percentage of that is on tradespeople working on older buildings built before the year 2000.

Asbestos is a naturally occurring fibrous material which is extremely dangerous to people that are not trained in asbestos safety and has severe consequences if handled incorrectly. There are some things that you need to do if you feel that any work has led to asbestos exposure risk.

First action

If there is a possible release of asbestos fibres within the work area, you need to stop all work immediately.

The area that you are concerned about needs to be sealed off from everybody entering the area. You also need to remove any clothing that shows any dust or debris and place them in a plastic bag. You will also need to inform all parties working on the property of the potential for an asbestos risk.

Second action

You will need to call in a specialist in asbestos services such as asbestos removal Manchester to come to the property and conduct an asbestos survey and ascertain the level of issue through sampling and asbestos testing. Ideally, this would have been performed before any construction work was taken up, but in the cases where it has been overlooked or ignored, this is a high priority.

An asbestos removal company is the only certified body to legally work with asbestos-containing materials. You should not perform any sample taking or removal and disposal of suspected asbestos materials if you are not trained to do so.

Asbestos surveying

Asbestos surveys are required by law because of the high risk presented by asbestos fibres when discovered within buildings. A building may require one type of survey, the other or both depending on the building and work being undertaken.

An asbestos survey is the only way to know for certain that the materials you are working around have asbestos traces within them. These specific surveys need to be conducted by an expert in asbestos services such as asbestos removal South Manchester to determine the materials type, amount and location before any further work is carried out.

The surveyor will have training and experience in all aspects of asbestos surveying work, knowledge of asbestos-containing products and proper management systems for you to follow to the letter.

Do not cut corners with safety, contact an asbestos removal company before things become dangerous.