Asbestos and lead

[candyflossy]

Our house has suffered water damage due to next door's burst pipe. We found out that the tiles under the carpets are asbestos. And a small part of the plaster wall has been damaged by the previous owner by removing a plank of wood that was nailed to the wall. I am so worry about the asbestos tiles and possible lead from the damaged plaster wall! I am completely stressed out!

Have the asbestos tiles got wet but otherwise still as they were? If so you needn't worry unduly about them I reckon, providing it is flooring as opposed to something like asbestos insulation board - can't think why latter would be under carpets tho. If the tiles need to be removed or broken up inany way then there are ways of doing this safely. The removal process often involves damping the offending material down.

Have you spoken to your insurers about your concerns?

How old's your house? It's more usual to find lead in paintwork than plaster IIRC.

I would take professional advice on both issues and if you think there may be lead dust then this should be taken seriously as it is bad, especially for young kids.

Thanks, Narmada. Yes, I don't think lead is found in plaster.

Candyfloss, there is no lead in plaster and no danger from asbestos providing it is not broken up. The problems arise when sheets are broken up or asbestos around pipes, for example, is chipped away because it is the fibres getting into your body (especially the lungs, of course) that cause the damage. If you think about it, there are thousands of garages with corrugated asbestos roofs and they are perfectly safe provided they don't get broken or removed by non-professionals.

In any case, the material you are looking at may not be asbestos. Since the problems with asbestos became known, other materials that look rather like asbestos have been developed, but they are perfectly safe (at least as far as we know).

Up until about 1984 small amounts of asbestos were put into artex, but again there is no problem if you have artex ceilings and you don't try to remove it. For a more detailed explanation see www.asbestosadvisor.net/asbestos_products/asbestos_textured_coating_artex.aspx