Find an Asbestos Removal Contractor you can trust in Torpoint.

There are all different types of Asbestos. Some kinds of asbestos, if they are in good condition, may be left as they are or covered up. If there is any danger of the asbestos being damaged and particles entering the air, it should be removed. Once a survey has been completed you will be advised on what course of action to take.

The deposits of asbestos are commonly found in both rocks and soil throughout the globe. Historically, this material has been incorporated for more than 4,500 years for a number of purposes by our ancestors. However, mining of asbestos in large scale started only in the 1870’s in Quebec, Canada. It only took about a decade after this commencement before other countries picked the trail and also began the production of asbestos for industrial uses as asbestos rapidly grew to become an ubiquitous phenomenon across many nations of the world such as the USA, Russia, Italy as well as South Africa.

Today, several countries have placed a total ban on the production as well as exportation of asbestos as a result of the harmful fibre it contains. Asbestos has been discovered to be a life threatening material which when disturbed, it releases a harmful fibre that can lead to a number of serious health issues if inhaled over a long period of time. Most recently in 2019, the material was popularly banned in Canada, who for several years has operated the world’s largest mine of asbestos in Quebec.

Despite how harmful the material is, it’s however still being mined in some countries with some of its exporters being Russia, Kazakhstan, China as well as Brazil, with Russia taking the lead, covering for over 53 percent of the world’s total production.

Contrary to many beliefs, asbestos is not a man made material but a group of six types of naturally occurring fibrous minerals that are commonly found in rock and soil which are collectively known as asbestos. These minerals are primarily composed of both silicon and oxygen but also includes other minor elements.

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.

The ability to identify exactly what an asbestos looks like can possibly save you from deadly health conditions that can arise as a result of a prolonged exposure to the dangerous material. It is one of the most frequent questions asked by homeowners in the UK and for a good reason. However, this question is not as simple or straightforward as it sounds because asbestos can actually take on a number of forms. As a result, this makes it a lot difficult to identify asbestos just by visual analysis or comparing an area which you suspect to be an asbestos to an example online. Therefore, the best way to truly identify if the area you suspect is really asbestos, then you’d have to send away a sample of the material to a certified asbestos testing lab in a safe way.

This happens to be the most effective way to verify if there’s a presence of asbestos in your home or property. Legally speaking, commercial properties are necessitated to undergo a total asbestos audit which involves carrying out lab tests on each and every material that’s suspected to include the deadly asbestos fibre substance. From these tests, you’ll get to know whether the asbestos present are friable or non friable which can go a long way to help identify the level of risk that’s posed by various building materials.

Upon the reception of the suspected asbestos-contained material, a certified asbestos testing laboratory will incorporate a form of transmission electron microscopy to reveal as well as determine the type of asbestos fibres that are in the sample. In the event whereby you discover a material you suspect to be an asbestos in your home, do not just go ahead to remove it. It’s strongly recommended to call in a specialist who can help to safely remove and send the suspected material to the lab for verification before further actions would be taken.

Asbestos refers to a group of minerals made up of tiny fibres. If you become exposed to these fibres and breathe them in, you’re at risk of contracting a dangerous lung-related disease.

Asbestos is strong and a good insulator, which means it was previously used to insulate and reinforce parts of buildings, like ceilings, roofs and guttering. Its use has been banned in the UK since 2000, but it is still present in lots of domestic and commercial buildings today.

Asbestos usually only poses a health risk if the material it’s contained in is damaged and its fibres are released into the air.

Are you planning to remove or renovate your garage? Before proceeding with the intended project, it’s usually essential to firstly determine whether or not your garage contains asbestos. However, asbestos isn’t the easiest material to identify and even more so when you’re unsure of what it looks. The fibres on the other hand are not visible to the eye and can’t be smelt as it’s odourless. In this article, we’ll provide you some helpful tips to spot an asbestos garage roof. Let’s take a closer look!

✓ Figure out when the building was constructed. In the year 1999, a ban was placed on the use of asbestos in the UK, both to manufacture and supply of asbestos materials. As a result, if your garage was built before this period, then it’s very likely that an asbestos containing material was used. It’s also important to note that several garage roofs that contain asbestos are constructed with the help of flat or corrugated sheets of cement.

✓ Check the surface. When cement contains asbestos its usually fairly thin with visible fibres running through it. Also, the surface of the cement will have a texture and also some craters. If you an older cement sheets is incorporated, there’s a high chance that it contains asbestos.

✓ How it’s built. Asbestos materials are usually joined together by aluminium runners and help in position with nails that are blunt-ended. Take a look at the joints, if the sheets inside is held together by wooden or plastic runners then there’s danger.

Finally, roofs made from asbestos cement has a good chance of becoming very brittle.

By now, every homeower should be fully aware of the dangers of asbestos due to the fact that it can be found in a wide range of building products from the roofs and walls and right down to the floor tiles. An exposure to asbestos especially when disturbed can be life threatening as it can lead to a plethora of health issues which includes lung cancer, mesothelioma, asbestosis and lots more.

Asbestos are more dangerous when damaged or disturbed, but if they’re found in a great shape and are left undisturbed, then asbestos containing materials poses little to no threats. This dangerous material can be found in a large variety of insulation. And when compared to batt insulation, loose-fill insulation can be highly dangerous when it’s not installed in the right way. When poorly done, several particles of the asbestos can be released inside the wall or around pipes. As a result, insulation becomes a big worry that most homeowers will face down the road.

Homes that were constructed before the 1980’s commonly features steam pipes, hot water pipes as well as furnace ducts insulated with asbestos containing materials. And this is primarily because there’s no other fire retardant, thermal as well as acoustic insulator like asbestos that’s as effective and affordable as it is. However to really know if your building’s insulation is made with asbestos containing materials, you can take the following steps:

✓ Find out when your house was built. If it was constructed or renovated before the 1980’s then it’s likely to contain some asbestos materials.

✓ Although this is not advisable, but if you plan on checking the insulation by yourself, you should ensure to put on protect equipment such as goggles, gloves, masks and a safety suit.

✓ Check for insulation available in the building. The asbestos containing insulation in both batt and loose-fill types are grey-coloured so this shouldn’t be too hard to spot.

✓ Examine the pipe coverings especially the blanket type and cardboard coverings.

Being a commonly used building material in the 1950’s to about 1990’s, asbestos is very popular back in the days and used for almost every roofing project because of it fire resistant properties. They’re mostly mixed with cement and are known to last for over 4 decades.

Due to the harmful properties found in asbestos, the material was totally banned in the UK since the year 1999. It’s found that when disturbed, asbestos releases some fibres which when inhaled can result in some deadly health conditions such as lung cancer and asbestosis, which are all fatal. These diseases are mostly not detected until several years after the first exposure to the asbestos fibres, which makes them even more deadly. Hence, it’s crucial to know how to identify asbestos roof tiles so you can have them removed by a professional immediately. In this article, we’ll show you what you can look out for to identify asbestos roof tiles. Let’s take a look!

Asbestos roof tiles are typically square shaped and they also generally possess a combination of grey and black colour. Although asbestos can feature a number of colours based on the kind of material you mix with it. In truth, asbestos can be very tricky to identify, when disturbed not only are their fibres totally invisible to the naked eye but they’re also completely odourless. This implies that you may not even be aware that you’re exposed to such harmful material for a prolonged period of time. In order to accurately identify asbestos roof tiles, the only thing you can possibly do is to call in a UKAS accredited laboratory to have them tested. This way, you’ll have a peace of mind knowing the result will point you in the right direction.