Asbestos Safes Disposal
Asbestos Safes Disposal
Is it safe for my family to stay in the house when a vinyl tile flr (basement) containing asbestos is removed?
My contractor told me, inorder for the County to give as the permit for demolition for my second floor addition to my house, we need to removed the vinyl tile floor in my basement (15 x 20 area), because it’s contaminated with asbestos. My contractor will do it by himself and will put everything in a double bag and will hire a disposal co. to disposed it. How safe are we in staying in the house after they removed it? We will be staying in the house for another 1-2 Months before they do the actual construction.
The contractor must hire a licenced firm to take out the tile and dispose of it. If he does it by himself without a licence, you should fire him and probably report him. You cannot be in the house while the work is taking place, but a qualified crew shouldn’t need more than a couple of days to finish a home job. After the work is done, there is no problem being in the house. The whole point of having a company come remove it is that it is gone! There will be no dust or any other traces of it if they do their job right.
I worked for a school district and several buildings had asbestos in them, including the vinyl floor tile. The asbestos was used as a lubricant during the manufacturing process. It’s really quite an amazing material besides the killing people part. The problem lies in the inhalation. Small particles enter your lungs and cause tiny cuts inside the lungs themselves. These will heal, but it is impossible to remove the particles so coughing and sneezing move them about causing more damage over and over. The asbestos in tile is not “safe” but is not a threat unless it is drilled or pulverized in some way. There are thousands of buildings across the country with this same tile and there are no concerns except for those mentioned. After it is removed, live in your house with no concerns for the asbestos
TopAsbestosRemoval.co.uk Asbestos Removal Information
Top 10 tips for working with Asbestos
As part of Action Mesothelioma Day on Friday 2 July 2010, the British Lung Foundation suggested some top tips lists for DIY enthusiasts to ‘Be Asbestos Aware’. The foundation concerned with the increase of asbestos related diseases has listed 10 tops tips on how to stay asbestos free:-
- Asbestos containing materials in good condition are still a health risk and should be left alone
- It is always advisable not to sand, drill or saw objects which may contain asbestos such as textured ceiling coatings, floor tiles or asbestos cement roofs
- Common places where asbestos could be found include floor tiles, toilet cisterns, textured ceiling coatings, asbestos cement roofs, soffit boards and linings of boiler cupboards
- Always make sure you have the correct personal protection equipment including:
Properly fitted mask to the standards EN149 (type FFP3) or EN1827 (type FMP3)
Overalls and boot covers – most home improvement stores will stock these
If you are doing DIY in your own clothes, remove them carefully to avoid excess dust and wash straight away, separately from other clothing, in a washing machine. Make sure you use a mask whilst dealing with them
- If in doubt contact an asbestos surveyor
- If you are working with asbestos materials always dampen down the surface to avoid producing dust
- Don’t smoke, eat or drink in the work area
- If you disturb asbestos do not use a domestic vacuum cleaner as dust may pass through the filter – hire a special (Class H) industrial vacuum cleaner that complies with British Standards Look up ‘asbestos safety equipment hire’ on the internet for where to find one
- Do not put asbestos waste in the dustbin – seek advice from the council about how to safely dispose of it
- Always seek professional advice from your local authority or an accredited asbestos removal company before thinking of removing asbestos materials
For more information on asbestos visit www.reddishvale.co.uk/
About the Author
Reddish Vale Insulations is a fully licensed asbestos removal & survey contractor, based in the North West and offering competitive prices with no hidden costs.
Operating since 1984, we provide both asbestos removal and asbestos surveys to the public and private sectors nationwide.