Neighbour storing asbestos in his garden

[SneezyGonzalez]

Next door neighbour is an arse and a bully, no doubt about it.

He has had his old asbestos shed roof in his garden leant up against his wall which adjoins our garden (which is too low, that’s a while other story) for at least a year, initially it was about 6m from our back door but now he’s moved it between our conservatories so it’s less than 2m from my back door. There are 4 panels in total, one is already broken.

I’ve reported it to the council and they’ve marked it as urgent (whether they’ll actually deal with it urgently is another matter).

I’m not on speaking terms with him (see arse bit above) so cannot discuss it with him.

So...
A) How dangerous is it?
B) Is there anything else I can do to speed up the removal.
C) AIBU

whole not while

Oh god, I hope you get a good answer, this would make me crazy

Its only dangerous when it disintigrates, that is gets powdery and can be inhaled or ingested. Broken is also not good, but it does depend on the type and how bad it is. Some asbestos is worse than others. I would not be happy with this, so call the council again. A nice person from an asbestos removal service may take pity on you and give you some free advice.

It’s the fibres that are dangerous. While it’s solid it shouldn’t pose a threat. How broken is the broken bit?

I wouldn’t be too happy about it. No idea about getting rid faster though, sorry

The asbestos used in garage roof sheets is generally white asbestos so the lowest risk level as you are not handling the panels then the risk is not immediate however if it's broken or deteriorating then that's not great so reporting it is the right thing.
The council should treat it as an important incident as they have a legal duty for enforcement but if nothing happens in the next week you could report it again to ensure they do follow it up. Make sure you are reporting it to Environmental health at the council.

But to reassure you it's a low risk level as described.

The intact sheets are ok. Damage is the key as @notagainmummy said. Usually shed asbestos sheets are a concrete-asbestos mix, which is what makes the dust such a problem. If he insists on storing them outdoors he is going to run into weathering problems. Keeping the sheets wet is useful because it stops dust coming off, but wind/heavy rain could be a problem in terms of damaging/cracking them.

Surely, unless it has been broken up, it won't be any more dangerous than it was on his shed roof.

In other words, not very dangerous at all.

DH is a professor in recycling industrial materials. He said this is the less dangerous type of asbestos but it's still dangerous if it breaks. Proping it up against the wall will increase the risk of it breaking and releasing fibers. Ideally it needs to be sprayed with water to reduce the risk of dust and double bagged in plastic. Whoever handles it should be wearing a respirator.

So while you're waiting for the council to intervene, could you sneakily get the hosepipe on it everytime he's out?

wonkylegs the important incident thing is good to know, I reported it at the weekend and called in on Monday, it was marked as urgent but I’ve heard nothing back so I’ll call again tomorrow to chase it up.

FatCatThinCat will get the hose out in the morning and also hose down his old storage spot in case there are any fragments hanging around.

I just can’t believe he’s left it like that 🤷🏻‍♀️ he’s either just trying to wind me up or a total lazy bugger...when I spoke to the council they said the corporation of London (we’re way out on the outskirts but it still covers our area) will come and wrap it and remove it for FREE precisely to avoid this kind of situation, so why the hell has he just left it 😠