This guide will help you to understand more about asbestos. It explains what it is, where it could be found in your home, why it might be a problem and how to deal with it.
What is asbestos?
Asbestos is a naturally occurring fibrous material. It was extensively used as a building material because it was cheap, with fireproofing properties, and it could be shaped and incorporated into many different products.
Why might asbestos be a problem?
Asbestos cannot harm anybody unless they breathe in asbestos fibres. Therefore, products containing asbestos do not normally present a problem unless they become damaged or worn, and the asbestos fibres released into the air.
If this happens, the fibres can be breathed deep into the lung where they may stay for a long time.
As a leaseholder of a council property, you have a responsibility to get permission from us before starting any improvement or refurbishment work to your home. For the purposes of minor DIY, a list of possible material groups which may contain asbestos are provided here. Under no circumstances should you attempt to carry out any DIY on these materials without getting permission from the us.
If in doubt - ask!
Contact your local housing office
What should I do?
If you’ve been told or suspect there is asbestos in your home – don’t worry. It is very unlikely that the levels of any asbestos fibres in your home will be harmful. Asbestos products cannot harm you unless there are loose fibres which can be breathed in over a long period of time.
If you think you might have damaged asbestos materials in your home you should tell us straight away.
Where might I find asbestos?
Asbestos is present in many different materials and common uses in the home include decorative textured coating to ceilings and walls, plastic and vinyl floor tiles, toilet cisterns and seats, some sink pads, asbestos cement water tanks, some boards to roofs, corrugated cement garage / shed roofs, and asbestos insulation board (AIB) fire-lining to communal risers and gas meters.
There are many other uses which are less common in the home such as sprayed fire-coating to structural steel, and thermal insulation ‘lagging’ to pipes and boilers.
Building materials containing asbestos were widely used from 1930 to the mid 1980s. This means houses or flats built or refurbished at this time may contain asbestos.
It is not always easy to tell whether a product contains asbestos, because modern asbestos-free materials often look similar
It is usually best to leave asbestos materials in good condition where they are rather than disturb them.
Occasionally it is unwise to have asbestos materials removed. For example, fire protection materials cannot be removed unless they are replaced with suitable alternatives.