Asbestos contamination - throw away or clean stuff?

[Twinklebat87]

I've just discovered disturbed asbestos in my flat - painter/decorator sanded down 5 cupboard doors that were asbestos-backed, releasing asbestos dust into the surrounding area. Had an asbestos surveyor round, he said we will probably need to throw away EVERYTHING in those cupboards, which includes shoes, tools, yoga mat, bike helmets etc.

Has anyone else had to do this? Or have you been able to clean some of the wipeable stuff/possessions and keep? We're looking at £££ to have the doors removed and everywhere wiped down and vacced with special vac, which we can barely afford, so if there is a safe way to clean some of the stuff we are keen to know...... thank you.

Does your insurance cover it?

No experience of this but I don’t think I would take the risk.

Has it been tested as asbestos?
Get on to your insurance ASAP.

You could put a lot of safety gear on & wipe it all down. If suitable surfaces.

I'm not saying what you should do, but (while wearing safety gear & took everything to the special tip in special bags afterwards) wiping every surface down (wet wipes maybe?) on the floor or wall, from where asbestos tiles were removed, is what my son did and feels satisfied with.

I wouldn't risk it.. 1 single fibre of asbestos breathed in can cause cancer later down the line. I have met far too many people who have mesothelioma and their only known exposure is a one off small thing like this.

Thanks all - so we are waiting for the results to come back from samples tested by asbestos specialist surveyor who came yesterday am, but he said straight off the bat that it is almost certainly asbestos. The council holds the building insurance for our flat, haven't checked it yet but have been told it's not likely to be insured. We will probably try to get compensation from the surveyor in some shape or form to help cover the cost of removing the doors, and an 'environmental clean up' where they wipe down the doors and walls etc.

Christ no, that stuff is lethal. Take the expert's advice.

Please don't try to clean it yourself. It needs specialist cleaners.

I would pay whatever they are asking. I wouldn't go near anything with disturbed asbestos. Do you know if it's likely to have affected your health at all? What about the painter/decorator? Asbestos exposure is so serious, I'd be seriously concerned about the painter's health and also any potential liability.

If the council hold the building insurance OP ( I’m assuming you own the flat) then the insurance may not include asbestos contamination if it’s for the building only. A kitchen is a fixture which might have been fitted by another occupant ?

However it still might mean they have to pay for the clean up.

Whatever you do though, please take specialist a£vice on clean up, this is not something you can do yourself.

The builders should have reported this to the HSE also as they have potentially exposed their employees and you to serious health effects, it’s an offence to do this type of work without checking ( and it may be an offence not to report to the HSE if the substance is asbestos).

Prior to moving into Council property you should have been provided with information that an asbestos survey was carried out, this indicates the type of asbestos, condition and the location of the asbestos. I work as a housing officer for the Council and each tenant/ leaseholder receives, where relevant certs for gas, electrical, boiler and asbestos inspection. If you didn’t receive such information, then the Council have failed in their duty to manage asbestos as a social landlord. I would first go to them and request the asbestos survey for your property.

Just wondered if the tradesman is ok. Surely he has breathed in asbestos dust, and you also if you were there. Sorry to say it but worrying about yoga mats etc. would be the least of my concerns.

Obviously it is your home, and you may not be a worrier about things like this, as I would be! Others will suggest things for you, I'd be gone!

Sanding generates a lot of dust so tradesperson likely was masked up then.
It takes decades for any health effects to manifest.

If the Council knew there was asbestos in cupboard doors would they have had any obligation to remove it before you moved in?
I can understand leaving it there and giving you notice if it was in ceilings or walls but surely with cupboard doors you just take them off and replace them.

I'm not sure that masking up for sawdust is the same as the protection required for asbestos dust.

Painter/decorator a sole trader, and fortunately was masked up and using a professional sander with advanced filtration which would have helped. He was the one who pointed out the asbestos (I would not have recognised it) and seemed exceedingly relaxed about it, which I find weird. Thanks for advice on searching for an asbestos report from the council - I have been in a state of mild shock so far this weekend just trying to get myself organised for living somewhere else for a month and worrying about health but now going to sift through all the docs.

All his tools will have to be cleaned too - I hope he didn’t just take them onto the ‘next ‘ job.

Have you left the flat now Op ?

Yes I left on Friday straight after the asbestos surveyor left, just to be on safe side and won't be returning til the coast is clear. Am extremely lucky to have family living nearby who are putting me up and clothing me. Definitely right re. the painter - haven't had a formal report yet from the specialist surveyor but I did pass on the advice I got on the day that all tools/clothes etc. would need to be cleaned or disposed of properly. I suspect that'll be written out in the report too.

Good to hear you are staying with family. What a nightmare for you though I really hope they resolve it for you soon.

@Modernist is correct the council should have given this info to you when you moved in too.

@Twinklebat87 Just wondering what happened to this? Hoping everything got sorted out for you... I'm in the middle of an asbestos issue (much less difficult than yours) so be intersting to see how you got on... FIngers crossed for you!

@HomebuyerHopefully thanks for asking :) We ended up spending 1.5 months out of our flat, getting various tests done to see if asbestos dust had spread elsewhere in the house, etc. Then it was finally removed (doors with asbestos backing just taken off entirely and disposed of) and almost everything in the cupboards disposed of that couldn't be wiped clean. Big extra clean ourselves when we got back in the flat, we got rid of a lot of other stuff that the asbestos company said would be fine but we didn't want to chance including our sofa. Starting to be able to relax but still work to do and new doors to get fitted etc. Has given me an ongoing distrust of workmen I won't lie.

How was it the workman's fault?

If you look at the original post at the top of this thread, I explained that the tradesperson we hired to do decorating job didn't recognise the asbestos, and caused the damage as a result of disrupting it. Even though apparently if you're a tradesperson it's often quite obvious when it is present particularly when it's not deep in walls etc which this wasn't - it was on the backs of doors, so not exactly hidden. Obviously it wasn't done on purpose, but it's part of the responsibility of a service provider including a tradesperson to ensure the service is provided with reasonable care and skill, including knowledge of likely issues such as asbestos.

ok - it just read like he didn't realise there was asbestos before the dust was released. Surely if he had known there was asbestos he wouldn't have sanded it down?

Wash everything off, it will be OK, damp down everywhere to trap the asbestos. But I might want my money back at the very least from the absolutely stupid person who did this.