Asbestos Removal

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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.

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What is asbestos?

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Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that has been used in a range of building materials to make them more rigid and fire resistant. Asbestos was used extensively as a building material from the 1950's through to the mid 1980's. You can view our asbestos buildings on the asbestos page that shows you typical places where asbestos has been used in both Domestic and Commercial buildings. Asbestos Page

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

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• eaves, soffits, gutters and rainwater fall pipes

• garage and shed roofs

• linings for walls, ceilings and doors

• insulation panels in some storage heaters

• bath panels

• central heating flues

• floor tiles

 

Asbestos in your home – what to do?

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It can be hard to visually identify asbestos, but if you suspect that you are living with it:

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• Leave the asbestos alone as it’s safe unless it’s damaged or disturbed

• never drill .sand or saw asbestos materials

• always seek professional advice before removing suspected asbestos materials

• do not attempt to remove asbestos lagging, spray coatings or insulation board 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

 

Asbestos Removal 

You may have asbestos containing materials within your properties and whilst it is not a legal requirement to have it removed if they are in good condition, you may want them removed. The choice really is yours.

 

Their are some fundamentals to be aware of, for example not all asbestos materials are classed as licensable, in other words you don't have to use a company that is licensed to remove asbestos by the Health and Safety Inspectorate (Currently undertaken by the Health and Safety Executive Norther Ireland HSENI) for certain types of asbestos materials. 

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The basic rule of thumb is that non licensable asbestos containing products are the ones where the asbestos is firmly bound in a matrix such as floor tiles, corrugated sheeting used for roofs and some types of roof tiles. We have to help you decide if a material is licensable or not added a table below to help.

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Irrespective of whether the asbestos materials are licensable or not, their are still some legal requirements which when selecting a suitably experienced contractor to undertake the works the following check list to ask for the information which may help in deciding.

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Non Licensed Contractor

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• Insurance that covers asbestos removal works

• Training for the workforce as per Reg 10 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012

• Respirators and Face Fit Testing

• Reg 7 statutory Method and Risk Assessments

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Licensed Contractor

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• Asbestos Removal Licence

• Insurance that covers asbestos removal works

• Training for the workforce as per Reg 10 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012

• Health Surveillance and Medicals

• Respirators and Face Fit Testing

• Reg 7 statutory Method and Risk Assessments

• 14 day Notification Period.

 

As a licensed asbestos removal company, Ferncroft Environmental can deal with whatever type of asbestos containing product.