Whether in the house or at work, you might be surprised at just how many places you can find asbestos. Now widely known as a very dangerous material, asbestos was once used for all sorts of building purposes from insulation to its fire retardant properties. Asbestos was banned from use in the UK in 1999, but it can still be found in many homes and businesses across the country. Here are some of the unexpected places you might discover asbestos.
Toilet cistern
Older style cisterns often had a small amount of asbestos used within the material to make them stronger. Thankfully the material’s low asbestos content and stability mean that it very unlikely to release fibres as long it is good condition. You only need to consider replacement a priority if it is in poor condition or broken.
Artex
Many people don’t realise that they have been living with asbestos literally over their head without it causing a problem. Ceiling coatings like Artex, which were extremely popular through the 1970s and 80s, often contained asbestos. But if you have a patterned ceiling there is no need to panic. Firstly, not all coatings contain asbestos and even those that do generally do not pose a risk to human health unless they are disturbed. If you are concerned about Artex in your home or workplace you should arrange for an asbestos survey to check for the presence of the substance and can offer advice for what you need to do.
Floor tiles
Once again, older style properties can have vinyl floor tiles that contain asbestos. It can almost impossible to know whether tiles contain asbestos simply by looking at them, so you would need to have a survey carried out to ascertain whether they hold asbestos in them. It is also true that they generally do not need to be replaced if they are in good condition.
Fuse box
Asbestos insulation board is often placed behind the fuse box. As these boards are very rarely disturbed they are likely to be in good condition, but if you do notice signs of wear it may be necessary to get the board removed and replaced with one that does not contain asbestos. Speak to an expert asbestos removals company for more details.