ADSENSE HERE!
signs of asbestos
5 Signs Your House has Asbestos
Asbestos was once an important construction material for
homes and buildings as it is cheap and durable. In Australia, hundreds of
thousands of homes were constructed with asbestos containing materials (ACM) up
until the 1980s. Asbestos wise reported that:
● A quarter of Australian homes is contaminated with
asbestos cement in the 1960s.
● About 52% of all houses constructed in NSW used to have
asbestos cement in 1954.
● Only 2 percent of homes in Victoria ARE free of ACM, in
1976.
 |
signs of asbestos
Although the use of this material plummeted in 1980s, only
on 31 December 2003 when Asbestos and all Asbestos containing materials were
banned throughout Australia. However, time and again, remnants of asbestos
contamination is discovered in a few homes.
As the season comes to an end, you may be already doing some
last-minute spring cleaning and preparing your home in time for summer. Make
this the perfect time to do visual survey around your home to check whether you
have these 5 indicators of asbestos contamination.
5 Tell Tale Signs of Asbestos Materials in Your Home
1. If a house was built during or before 1980s, chances are
it is contaminated with asbestos. Homes during the period used to contain
asbestos in its floor tiles, walls, ceilings, insulation, and in pipe cement among
others.
2. Most of flat corrugated roofing and bitumen roofing are
contaminated with asbestos. These roofs are contaminated with white asbestos,
the least dangerous of the three types, but still not short of causing health
hazard.
3. Flooring tiles with 9 by 9 inches of of size, Vinyl tiles
and vinyl sheet with paper or millboard are most likely contaminated with
asbestos. The probability is higher if your home was built or renovated during
or prior 1980s.
4. Due to asbestos’ insulation and fireproof property, grey
or white asbestos is widely used as insulation for pipes, particularly the
fittings. White asbestos tapes were also used on pipes as insulation.
5. Old ceilings can be made of asbestos cement sheet. Check
for cover traps, light bases, and vent covers as all these can be contaminated
with asbestos.
What to do if you have an asbestos contaminated home?
Do nothing if the material is intact or in good shape
If you suspect that your home is contaminated with asbestos,
leave it alone. If the material is in
good condition, without any sign of wear and tear, do not damage or disturb it.
There are also cleaning mistakes that must be avoided to stay away from further
problems and make proper use of your time, at the same time. As a rule, do not
dismantle it lest fibres would come out in the air that could permeate your
body as you breathe. Scrubbing or cleaning an asbestos cement, for instance, is
a big cleaning mistake that you shouldn’t commit.
Remember that asbestos, especially the non-friable, is not
hazardous when it is not exposed to air or when it is tightly sealed off and
isolated. Only when it is damaged, sawed, drilled or sanded that it can release
inhalable asbestos particles in the air.
Temporarily isolate non-friable Asbestos Containing
Materials
As a temporary solution, you can seal off non-friable
asbestos in floor tiles and wall with encapsulants. This airtight coating keeps
asbestos fibres isolated so as not to diffuse in the air. It is a good choice
for ACM that is not damaged, but can aggravate damaged asbestos containing
materials.
Call for Professional Asbestos Removalist
ADSENSE HERE!
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar