Ceiling artex containing Chrysotile (white) asbestos in my flat

General_query

Hi,

The flats on our estate are having new doors anddouble glazing, but an asbestos survey / sample taking was needed prior to theplanned works.

I had an email reply afterwards saying:

"The samples we took came back as positive, but we already knew they would, the textured coatings on virtually all of your ceilings do contain a trace of Chrysotile asbestos, it’s the same throughout the estate, its nothing for you to worry about as it is only dangerous if its disturbed, its mainly in case we send workmen/contractors in to do any work in your flat, so that they know to take precautions before disturbing any of it.

There also used to be area’s within the store cupboards, where the old metal warm airducting passes through, these also had asbestos installations but most of these have either already been removed or in some cases, they’ve been plastered over so can no longer be seen or got at without doing a lot of damage, but again these are safe in this state as fibres cannot get out if its been sealed in.


I hope this info helps, but yes you can paint over the sample area’s if you wish to do so, although the surveyor taking the samples would have put a small amount of special sealing paint over the sample site so that no fibre release would occur."


Two observations, the first is that it WAS disturbed for them to take a sample, and secondly, no special sealing paint was put over the sample sites preventing fibre release.

It was a ball ache getting them to come on a Saturday morning to do the survey. Should I insist they come back to paint over the two sample scraping sites. I’ll try and attach photo’s.

We’re really worried now. So, is this safe? We're not gonna get lung cancer and die.

Thank you.

phoenix_w

General_query wrote: »

We’re really worried now. So, is this safe? We're not gonna get lung cancer and die.

Don't panic. The white asbestos in artex is low risk and people have been living in house & flats like yours all over the country for 50+ years without dropping like flies.

Paint it or plaster over it and all will be cool.

phill99

I think your paranoia is a far greater risk than the minimal amount of asbestos in the artex.

WestonDave

Seriously just paint over it and it will be fine - if you want to be extra careful get a face mask from any DIY store and use that.


Asbestos does cause a very nasty illness but in context you need to bear in mind firstly that it is a naturally occurring substance that to some extent is present in the atmosphere anyway so you can't avoid it. Secondly there were some really bad practices with it in the past before its dangers were properly known. My neighbour sadly died of mesothelioma a couple of years back - he had been exposed to it not long after WWII working on warships and told me that there had been times when they struggled to see across the room due to the thickness of asbestos dust in the atmosphere. Even then he lived an active normal life until fairly near the end, finally dying well over 80. Such is the nature of the condition that many of his colleagues would not have become ill at all - it is a bit random. For completeness its also worth saying that it was the blue and brown forms that are considered more dangerous due to the sharper nature of the fibres.


Encapsulating it (in other words sealing it) is a normal way to deal with it especially where it is difficult to remove. A few metres from where I sit at present the boiler room is full of the stuff sealing in a white substance so it can't be disturbed - this is because there is no easy way of removing it without spreading it around. So painting it will do a very similar job for you.

General_query

Thanks everyone. Lived here for over 10 years so was worried (just a little!). The flats are all concrete affairs built in the late 60's.

Still surprised the workmen didn't wear anything protective while taking the samples with a penknife while I was stood directly behind them....

:eek:

phoenix_w

General_query wrote: »

Still surprised the workmen didn't wear anything protective while taking the samples with a penknife while I was stood directly behind them....

The workmen know the score - they're more likely to get squashed to death by an elephant falling out of a passing aircraft then contracting asbestosis from a small bit of artex. If they had suspected some of the nastier flavours of asbestos they'd probably be taking a little more precaution.

Annie1960

General_query wrote: »

Thanks everyone. Lived here for over 10 years so was worried (just a little!). The flats are all concrete affairs built in the late 60's.

Still surprised the workmen didn't wear anything protective while taking the samples with a penknife while I was stood directly behind them....

:eek:

I had my ceilings tested for asbestos recently. The workman did not wear any protective clothing or mask. When I expressed surprise at this, he said ceilings don't contain the nasty type of asbestos, and he doesn't need to wear protective clothing for this.

Also, he took samples spread around the place and he explained that, even if asbestos is present, it will be in such low quantities that taking a sample from just one area could miss it, so he needed to take a couple of samples from each room.

All-in-all, it's nothing to worry about. People usually just skim over it.

Risteard

phoenix_w wrote: »

The workmen know the score - they're more likely to get squashed to death by an elephant falling out of a passing aircraft then contracting asbestosis from a small bit of artex. If they had suspected some of the nastier flavours of asbestos they'd probably be taking a little more precaution.

Would it not be fair to say that they have knowingly breached Health & Safety legislation, and the homeowner should kick up a stink over possible exposure. (To themselves as well as the homeowner.)

You can't just get a lump hammer and bust it into pieces in order to sample it! I mean come on, seriously?

Whilst Artex tends to be low risk this does not make it in any way excusable (or legal).

Risteard

Annie1960 wrote: »

When I expressed surprise at this, he said ceilings don't contain the nasty type of asbestos, and he doesn't need to wear protective clothing for this.

He is either misguided or lying.

Visit the HSE website for correct procedures.

phoenix_w

Risteard wrote: »

You can't just get a lump hammer and bust it into pieces in order to sample it! I mean come on, seriously?

I can't see evidence that the op's contractors took a lump hammer to the ceiling. They most likely scraped a couple of samples with a screwdriver or small chisel and carefully placed them into a sealed container.

Should contractors be forced to wear respirators and damp down the room every time they take a sample?

I'm sure people have released more fibres hitting the ceiling accidentally over the years than were released by the contractors taking samples.

Norman_Castle

General_query wrote: »

Still surprised the workmen didn't wear anything protective while taking the samples with a penknife while I was stood directly behind them....

:eek:

Common sense should dictate taking precautions when collecting samples for testing. You don't know what you're dealing with until its tested.