Asbestos Survey in West Malling

Asbestos is basically a naturally occurring fibre which, until the 1990s, has been a commonly used material in construction and other industries. There are three major kinds of asbestos fibres in the UK and they include crocidolite or blue, amosite or brown as well as chrysotile or white.

Before it’s life threatening potentials were exposed, asbestos was commonly used across the globe in buildings and structures as a means of insulation, roofing, flooring and was also sprayed on ceiling as well as walls. Upon the discovery of its hazardous features however, it has been swiftly banned in the UK but it may still be discovered in buildings and structures that have been erected before the year 2000.

In the event whereby a building or structure possesses asbestos within them, it can pose only a little risk but only if they remain undisturbed. It’s only when they’re disturbed or damaged that the tiny asbestos fibres are usually discharged into the air and can be easily inhaled into the lungs. Breathing in of asbestos is a very harmful thing as the fibres can have a terrible impact on your lungs and their linings. What’s more? Asbestos-related health conditions’ symptoms normally takes several years to surface which means that an exposure to the deadly substance many years ago may only start to show symptoms today. Therefore, if you’ve worked in a building or construction industry especially within the time period of 1970s to 1990s, there is a real chance that you’ve been exposed to asbestos. This type of jobs include ship building, construction and insulation projects, but this doesn’t necessarily imply that asbestos exposure can not occur in other jobs as well.

Asbestos is a perfect example of a silent and hidden killer. The harmful fibre it releases is not only totally invisible to the eye, but also absolutely odourless, therefore can’t be smelt. As a result, you can walk into a room completely filled with asbestos and you still won’t suspect a thing. If you live in an old building ( built before the 1980’s) in the UK, it’s very possible that there’s some asbestos in the house.

Asbestos causes up to 5000 deaths in the UK on a yearly basis. When asbestos materials are disturbed, they release asbestos fibres, which when inhaled can result in lung cancer, asbestosis as well as mesothelioma which are all painful and fatal diseases. And perhaps even more importantly, you won’t notice any symptoms of having these diseases until after several years after your first exposure to asbestos fibres.

Therefore, to reduce these numbers, there’s a crucial need to to know how to identify asbestos so as not to put both ourselves and loved ones at risk.

There are three types of asbestos which includes blue or crocidolite, brown or amosite, and white or chrysotile. So they can easily be identified by their respective colour names, right? Wrong! Asbestos fibres can not be seen with the eye, it can only be detected under a microscope. They’re very tiny and light, and once disturbed and in the air, they can float can days. Asbestos are commonly found in several building materials such as cement products, floor tiles, paints, adhesive, partitions, cladding, insulation, doors and lots more. With its wide acceptability in the past, any building product you can probably think of could contain asbestos.

A typical Homebuyer Report or Building Survey Report doesn’t usually involve checking for asbestos. Your surveyor may let you know that there are certain parts of the property that are likely to contain asbestos, but they won’t do any testing. This means that, if you want to be sure about whether a property contains asbestos, you need to get an asbestos survey.

There is no legal requirement to have an asbestos survey done to sell your house. However, some mortgage lenders, estate agents and insurance companies may require one. Many home buyers and/or valuers will want to know before submitting an offer for your property.