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Asbestos

derek kelly

The Deli lama
Club Sponsor
A neighbour of my daughter is employed as an asbestos remover, we were chatting earlier & Bev asked him how they dispose of it, I was shocked when he said “landfill” how can that be safe?
 

slim63

Never surrender
Club Sponsor
A neighbour of my daughter is employed as an asbestos remover, we were chatting earlier & Bev asked him how they dispose of it, I was shocked when he said “landfill” how can that be safe?
Its is only dangerous as a dust so care must be taken when removing it and transporting it other than that its safe enough and it will not go to ordinary landfill there will be a section for it so that once its buried (still double bagged) it will never be disturbed again so poses no hazard

Braking it down or otherwise trying to destroy it would be more dangerous than doing it this way re the possible release of dust particles !
 

derek kelly

The Deli lama
Club Sponsor
I understand that but what happens years down the line when someone decides that the site is safe enough to build on?
 

andyBeaker

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
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Some of the bungalows round here had facias and other bits constructed from asbestos when built, not unusual at the time; at one point a ‘specialist’ firm was removing the asbestos and replacing with upvc….their way of disposing of the asbestos was to shove it into the attic space.
 

Duck n Dive

Rebel without a clue ...
Club Sponsor
I understand the problem is the fibres from the damaged/broken asbestos.

Intact it's not a hazard.

We have an entire 9 floor block at work riddled with the stuff. The whole block is ancient and needs removing. But it's riddled with asbestos so even renovation can't be done.
For now it sits as an eyesore with occasional use as the cost of renovation or demolition are prohibitive.
 

slim63

Never surrender
Club Sponsor
I understand that but what happens years down the line when someone decides that the site is safe enough to build on?
Quick answer, nothing, its buried deep foundations for anything are not going to get near it and even if they did its still just inert asbestos so no danger until you break it up
 

derek kelly

The Deli lama
Club Sponsor
Quick answer, nothing, its buried deep foundations for anything are not going to get near it and even if they did its still just inert asbestos so no danger until you break it up
Over years earth moves & erodes, buried things can rise to the surface.
 

DEG5Y

Been there, and had one
Club Sponsor
As people have said, it is the dust that is the problem and then if breathed in the fibres may or may not cause a problem for the individual.

As Asbestos is a natural fibre and plastic is man made, it wouldn't surprise me if the plastic used to double bag it is more harmful to the earth.
 

slim63

Never surrender
Club Sponsor
Over years earth moves & erodes, buried things can rise to the surface.
There are much more dangerous things buried in the uk to be worrying about rather than a spot of asbestos mate, it really would be a very specific freak event for any of it to cause a problem in years to come imo
 

sr71caspar

B̶a̶n̶n̶e̶d̶
Club Sponsor
My old man has just been diagnosed with asbestosis.
He has never been anywhere near asbestos apart from working (Air Traffic Control) in a room he thinks had asbestos lined walls, many years ago.

He's just started a course of immunotherapy.
 

T.C

Been there, and had one
Club Sponsor
My old man has just been diagnosed with asbestosis.
He has never been anywhere near asbestos apart from working (Air Traffic Control) in a room he thinks had asbestos lined walls, many years ago.

He's just started a course of immunotherapy.
Asbestos related diseases can take 50+ years to develop as I found out during my time investigating asbestos related diseases in legal.

Many people from our generation are who went to school in the 60's and 70's are now starting to develop the disease from the days when they did science and the boards used around the Bunsen burners and other equipment in the lab was made of asbestos and flaked off and was inhaled by unsuspecting teachers and students. Schools were often lagged with asbestos all around as well.

Mesothelioma in particular is horrible and it is reckoned that life expectancy is on average 9 months from diagnosis to death.

Wen I did investigations to get working life history statements and life history, it was amazing how people used to treat the stuff. Some even used to chew it.

Blue asbestos was particularly nasty (used in the marine industry) and the stuff used in lagging was really bad.

The good part is that firms who exposed their people to asbestos all those years ago are still liable in law, even if they have been taken over many times or firms that closed down but had employer liability insurance in place, are still being required to pay compensation.

Mesothelioma is worth a minimum of £250,000 and is very rarely contested once it is established where the exposure occurred, but they reckom that the second wave of asbestos claims are about to come to light and my be ongoing for another 30 years or so.
 

sr71caspar

B̶a̶n̶n̶e̶d̶
Club Sponsor
Thanks for the info TC.
I think my dad is focusing on treatment, at the moment. You can't enjoy compensation in a coffin.
He also doesn't know where or how he was exposed to it. How do you establish it?
 

Cougar377

Express elevator to hell
Staff member
Moderator
Club Sponsor
Mesothelioma is worth a minimum of £250,000
Six years ago the wife's mother got a third of that for an uncontested case against the naval dockyard. She contracted the condition through hand washing her husbands overalls (he worked there and died of a lung condition years prior) .

She survived twice the predicted time after diagnosis, but she didn't live to see the money.

It’s not a nice way to go.
 
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derek kelly

The Deli lama
Club Sponsor
It is surprising just where you find asbestos, old 9” x 9” floor tiles are almost certain to contain asbestos & possibly the mastic used to stick it down, the pads under sinks are sometimes asbestos
 

Oldandbald

Been there, and had one
Club Sponsor
And beware scraping your old Artex off the ceilings which you thought looked good when you put it up.
 

DEG5Y

Been there, and had one
Club Sponsor
As a Spark, I do wonder how you can allocate blame should I ever fall to the condition.
I've worked where I am now for 30yrs and it's only about 20yrs ago that they started to take notice of the asbestos in the building.
Prior to that nearly another 20 yrs working all over the place.

I suppose that, while I can, I should make a list of places and known incidences with the stuff!
 

derek kelly

The Deli lama
Club Sponsor
And beware scraping your old Artex off the ceilings which you thought looked good when you put it up.
When we moved in this house every ceiling was artex, we hired plasterers who covered them in pva then plastered over them
 

Minkey

Ok it was me
Club Sponsor
I used to work in a laboratory and we used asbestos mats to stand bunsen burners on and the stands we used to heat things on contained asbestos, but also back then we were having to add water to hot sulphuric acid and breathing in the fumes given off. No health and safety in those days
 

andyBeaker

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
Club Sponsor
And beware scraping your old Artex off the ceilings which you thought looked good when you put it up.
Plus one on that. Anything pre-2000 is likely to contain asbestos.

Easy and relatively inexpensive to get samples tested before proceeding, loads of online places.

Artex can look good - our lounge has a stunning Artex finish on the ceiling, a real bit of craftsmanship. No way is it getting covered up!
 
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