Dealing with Asbestos
|
|
What is Asbestos?
You may find Asbestos in all types of properties including housing, commercial and industrial buildings.
Asbestos is a glassy rock that occurs naturally in different parts of the world.
The rock forms in strands or fibres which, when processed, can be split down in size, until they are invisible, without the aid of a microscope.
Asbestos fibres are strong and resistant to heat and chemicals. As a result, asbestos is in a wide range of building materials and products; often as fireproofing.
Homes built since the mid 1950’s are likely to contain asbestos in the fabric of the building. Garages and sheds often contain asbestos cement as a cladding material and it is still possible to find it in garages and sheds. However, homes built after 1990 are unlikely to contain asbestos anywhere in the building.
Where will you commonly find Asbestos?
You may find Asbestos in many areas of the home, it is common to find it in:
- Insulation to pipework
- Asbestos Insulated Boards
- Textured Coatings - ARTEX
- Thermoplastic floor tiles and coverings
- Asbestos cement-garages
- Roofing soffits
- Ironing Boards
How Derwentside Homes will deal with Asbestos
Derwentside Homes has an asbestos register, which contains information taken from surveys carried out by specialist asbestos surveyors. The register will enable us to alert tenants, contractors and people who work in or visit our schemes if asbestos is present on-site.
Don’t panic if you have asbestos in your home because if it’s in good condition, removal won’t be necessary and disturbing asbestos can in fact put your family’s health at greater risk.
Seeking Advice
Derwentside Homes has trained staff and officers to answer any queries you might have about the presence of asbestos in your home.
REMEMBER
- Avoid disturbing or damaging asbestos materials which are in good condition.
If you have damage or deteriorating asbestos materials in your home then SEEK ADVICE. Do not continue to use oven gloves or other small items containing asbestos - dispose of them safely. - Take care when doing “Do-it-yourself.”
- If you have asbestos materials in your home, you should take extra care doing D.I.Y. DO NOT try to carry out work before contacting Derwentside Homes for advice.
- If you think you may have asbestos in your home, SEEK ADVICE by contacting Customer Services on 0800 7839295 or 01207 521100.
| The information on these pages is available in print or to download in our Asbestos Leaflet. |  |
