Asbestos in communal areas

[yuliant123]

Hello,

We're now well advanced with the purchase of a flat in London. But now it came to our attention that there is asbestos presenting in stair nosing in communal areas. Asbestos report says that it's low risk. And roof hasn't been checked due to no access.

Would you be concerned about this? How big is the risk? We'd use the stairs every day and we have small children. Are we better pulling out now and forgetting about £2k+ spent on all the searches/checks/mortgage/etc. than taking the risk of inhaling asbestos later?

Many thanks

Asbestos is only an issue when disturbed. In most cases the best advice for low risk asbestos is to cover it up rather than try to remove it. I wouldn't be concerned.

Thanks, TinfoilHattie. But stair noises are disturbed on an every day basis, aren't they? You tear and wear them with your shoes

Stair nosings are typically made of plastic and the asbestos content will be both low and low risk asbestos. Plastic tends to snap if broken so the chances of any asbestos fibres being released into the air are extremely slim.

You are worrying unduly imo. Removing the stair nosings to replace them presents more risk, relatively, than leaving them in situ and living with them.

If it helps, our house has concrete asbestos. We have lived here 13 years and have a 6 year old and have had no issues. Asbestos is only an issue if disturbed (i.e if you try to remove it)

I personally wouldn't go near it. All it takes is one fiber to be inhaled and you are at great risk of getting mesothelioma, the lung cancer associated with asbestos. My mum recently died of this and she has no idea where she caught it from. She must have breathed it In Somewhere. Probably a school that she worked for. If it's on the stairs then any damage to the wall can disturb it. I do t want to scare monger but after what happened to my mum I feel quite strongly about it.