Artex asbestos risk

leila96

Hi
We had a plasterer in today to go over our patterned Artex ceiling. We had been told he would be covering and skimming over the top but found out half way through the job that the texture was too bumpy and he had decided to chip it off. 

We asked about asbestos and he wasn’t worried due to the house being built in 1999, he also said it was quite soft (not sure what that means). 

I am very worried about our exposure, it was in the 2 bedrooms upstairs and we were working downstairs in the kitchen with the door shut and the french doors open. My partner went upstairs twice to speak to the plasterer. 

He had dust sheets down with the windows open and the doors shut. I am getting it tested but we don’t know what to do with the mess left there now. Should we close the doors and seal them off until we know if it contains asbestos? He will have walked the dirt into the wooden floor in our hallway. We are planning to get a mask and wash the floor but I’m very concerned. 

We’ve asked if any neighbours have had theirs tested and they haven’t, but most have had it scraped off. 

Any opinions would be great fully received.

Doozergirl

All forms of asbestos in everything were banned by 1999 so I'd say the risk is little to none.  You'll find out when you get it tested.  

AdrianC

You're more likely to catch covid off the plasterer than anything from asbestos in the artex.
Think about it - he deals with this stuff regularly, and is far more up-close-and-personal than you are. Was he worried? Falling off the ladder is probably his biggest risk...

davidmcn

...and even if the Artex did contain asbestos, it was in tiny proportions (something like 1%), it wasn't made of asbestos.

People don't come down with asbestos-related illnesses from having artex in their houses, it's almost wholly those who worked with the stuff day in and day out in shipyards etc.

Falafels

I wouldn't give it a second thought, I really wouldn't. They stopped adding asbestos to artex in 1984, and even allowing for the fact that it would have taken a while to use up old stock, it's a pretty safe bet that the artex in your 1999 house doesn't contain any. Sounds like your plasterer thought so, too.

Quite apart from that, the amount of asbestos was minuscule and it was the less dangerous - white - type in the first place. 

As David says, it was the poor sods who were routinely breathing in full-fat asbestos dust whilst working in traditional heavy industries who were genuinely at risk.

So, in answer to your question, carry on with your planned cleaning-up and enjoy your lovely new bedrooms!