any asbestos testing companies that are honest?

cypher007

are there any testing companies that don't also do removal? just seems crazy to not have a separate independent organisation testing stuff, that don't have a vested interest in removing it.

Bigphil1474

cypher - companies don't need an asbestos license to sample, so if you see any companies that don't have a license number then they won't do removal. If you have broken pieces laying around, you could just bag them up and take them to a UKAS accredited lab. Might be worth getting some advice on that first.


You can search for UKAS labs via https://www.ukas.com/search-accredited-organisations/ Just type in your location, and you can filter for asbestos.

Hasbeen

cypher007 wrote: »

checked the screwfix site and i cant find the test kit. maybe theyve been told to stop selling them.

Yes looks like they are not stocking them anymore but plenty available re google example: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pro-Lab-Inc-AS108-Asbestos/dp/B000DZDSII

PhilE

cypher007 wrote: »

i did ask the previous owner before i bought the house if there was any asbestos in the chimnies to which he replied via my solicitor that there wasnt and they were just clay lined.


well after we moved in i found the log burner chimney was indeed clay lined but the one to the rear of the property, which he chopped a kitchen extractor into, looks very asbestos like, going by the fragments laid in the bottom of the inspection cover.


the house was built in 1967 and had a coke boiler previously. the suspect liner is inside the clay one.


when i bought this up with my solicitor they said they couldnt do anything. i contacted the surveyor and asked if he had inspected the chimney as i thought it was asbestos. he said no, but thought it would just be fire cement (which if you google it contains asbestos).


so weve blocked the extractor and left it alone for 4 years.

I presume by fragments, you mean that the concrete was disintegrating. This is when asbestos can be dangerous.

The surveyor, previous owner or anyone can only speculate whether it is asbestos or not. Until its tested, no one knows. Test it asap. If its positive, get the air of your house tested if it does have signs of deterioration.

Concrete asbestos in a flue is classed as unlicensed asbestos, which means that a professional such as a heating engineer can remove it.

If there is any casing of boarding around it, this may be high content asbestos which is more hazardous and would require a licensed asbestos company to remove it.

Sounds complicated but don't worry, I've been there. Just get it tested and inspected.

debtdebt

cypher007 wrote: »

well as I had specifically asked the question, before we bought the house, about the chimney's in question I feel that yes it was dumped on me.

Get it tested and then sue the previous owner for providing false information if you feel so strongly about the issue.

Kiran

cypher007 wrote: »

are there any testing companies that don't also do removal? just seems crazy to not have a separate independent organisation testing stuff, that don't have a vested interest in removing it.

Yes, there are plenty. We have a policy in work, in the world of main contracting, where we will not use the same company to survey/sample as we do for the removal.

davelees215

There's plenty of companies that carry out asbestos surveys that don't do removal. A good Nationwide one is environtec. I've worked in the asbestos sector for 15 years and I've never come across anyone faking results to get work, I suppose it could happen but if they're ukas accredited they have some very strict assessments including having previous samples re examined. I'm not saying it's never happened but I'd say it's unusual.

cypher007

Found this company local to me. But doesn’t look like they have ukas.

https://www.stoneasbestos.co.uk/