Asbestos query

welshsue

Hi

I had a builder replace part of a garage roof for me in September (I rent and the landlord employed this builder). The sheets he took off were asbestos and he said he could not dispose of them as he wasn't licensed to.
He propped them up in the gap between ours and our neighbours garage and said the landlord would need to sort out disposal. Spoken to the landlord on numerous occasions and the builder agreed to remove them (don't know why when he originally said no).... He still hasn't and now my neighbour is complaining they are still there and threatening to report me to the authorities.

Spoke to the landlord this morning and he has spoken to the builder who said "I am just waiting for my mate to dig a hole then I will collect them and bury them"....

Is this allowed???? Worried in case anyone sees him doing this and it comes back on us as we live here....
Any advice would be great.

Thanks

Swipe

As long as the hole he refers to isn't in your back garden I can't see it coming back on you. It will be the landlord committing the offence rather than you.

strawberryfield2233

Do not let the asbestos sheets be buried :eek:

In order to be safe seek advice from your council on where you can take the asbestos and ask does it need to be wrapped in plastic before taking to the tip yourself. Do not cut it up etc to avoid any problems or if you must break it make sure it is contained within the plastic. (plastic presumably you can obtain from DIY stores etc better to be safe than sorry)

LisaLou1982

*LovelyRose* wrote: »

Do not let the asbestos sheets be buried :eek:

In order to be safe seek advice from your council on where you can take the asbestos and ask does it need to be wrapped in plastic before taking to the tip yourself. Do not cut it up etc to avoid any problems or if you must break it make sure it is contained within the plastic. (plastic presumably you can obtain from DIY stores etc better to be safe than sorry)

Actually, this advice is wrong.

The only way to dispose of asbestos is to bury it. There is no other safe way. However, most recycling centres and tips will take it if it is double bagged. They dispose of it by burying it.

welshsue

Thanks for all the replies. The builder has actually cut the asbestos which is why I was querying it. He also brushed some of it with a wire brush as he was going to re-use some of it. I do not want it in my car and neither does the landlord....
He is coming back tomorrow as this so called new roof is now badly leaking water again.
Our local tip will take it as long as it is double bagged and they charge £5.00 per sheet for this.
Think I will see what happens tomorrow.

LisaLou1982

welshsue wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies. The builder has actually cut the asbestos which is why I was querying it. He also brushed some of it with a wire brush as he was going to re-use some of it. I do not want it in my car and neither does the landlord....
He is coming back tomorrow as this so called new roof is now badly leaking water again.
Our local tip will take it as long as it is double bagged and they charge £5.00 per sheet for this.
Think I will see what happens tomorrow.

Cut it?!!!!!

He should not have done that....and what on earth was he planning on reusing it for?!

Dont let it go in your car. Although the likelihood of the asbestos fibres harming you is relatively slim, it is a very real danger and i certainly wouldnt be letting any loose fibres get into any enclosed space.

spaceboy

welshsue wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies. The builder has actually cut the asbestos which is why I was querying it. He also brushed some of it with a wire brush as he was going to re-use some of it. I do not want it in my car and neither does the landlord....
He is coming back tomorrow as this so called new roof is now badly leaking water again.
Our local tip will take it as long as it is double bagged and they charge £5.00 per sheet for this.
Think I will see what happens tomorrow.

The builder sounds pretty ignorant about asbestos then. I take it these were asbestos cement sheets. Usually they contain only white asbestos but they can contain brown or blue asbestos as well. Using a wire brush on it is madness. Also it's illegal to re-use asbestos containing materials. They must be disposed of as special waste and no you shouldn't bury them in a hole in your garden or anywhere else other than special waste sites.

I think you can call your local council and they will collect asbestos waste for you.

Homersimpson

LisaLou1982 wrote: »

Actually, this advice is wrong.

The only way to dispose of asbestos is to bury it. There is no other safe way. However, most recycling centres and tips will take it if it is double bagged. They dispose of it by burying it.

Yes but the difference is that when its buried by a proper company they know where it is rather than leaving it as a nasty suprise for someone in future.

lynzpower

Some really terrible advice on here.

If your landlord is choosing not to dispose of it using a licensed asbestos waste carrier/ contractor. I would suggest calling your local Environmental health officer who will discuss it with your landlord.

theres a reason why we dont just dump asbestos. See page 66- onward s http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/pdf/142631.pdf

asbokid

There is a huge amount of hysteria surrounding "asbestos", coinciding with the huge profits to be made from its disposal.

The Daily Telegraph carried a long-running column by Christopher Booker about the shenanigans of the billion dollar asbestos-disposal industry.

Booker claims that scientists have shown that white "asbestos" is in fact safe.

Lots of people who read Booker's column claimed that he was working clandestinely for the asbestos industry. A claim which he has always denied. In fact, Booker went on to write a book that covered a whole range of phony health scares from Global Warming to BSE.

The white "asbestos" used in roofing slates of the type that the OP describes, is not strictly asbestos at all.

The proper common name for white asbestos is Chrysotile. According to Wikipedia, it is a naturally occurring mineral from the serpentine group of phyllosilicates.

"As such, [Chrysotile] is distinct from other asbestiform minerals in the amphibole group."

According to scientists cited by Booker, there is no evidence that chrysotiles are carcinogenic.

Unlike the long blue or brown fibres of amphibole asbestos, the fibres of chrysotile asbestos are dissolved rapidly in the lungs.

I wouldn't make a habit of snorting chrysotile fibres on a daily basis, any more than I would deliberately inhale brick or Portland cement dust.

But that said, I have worked the material on many occasions, drilling it, cutting it, and brushing it down with a wire brush in preparation for painting it. Yet here I am, still alive to tell the tale!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthcomment/3313214/Asbestos-the-most-expensive-word-in-history.html

.

lynzpower

Oh that guy! the one who bangs on about the perfect parents having thier children snatched by bored council officials.

Do people really rate this guy then?