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Contractor breaking up Asbestos in my garden

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  • 20-12-2014 10:02pm
    #1
    kikel
    Users Awaiting Email Confirmation Posts: 2,584 ✭✭✭


    I live in rented accommodation. I noticed a few months ago the the corrugated asbestos sheets on the roof of the shed were all coming loose. I advised the landlord and he came around ready to drill new holes in the asbestos to secure the sheets. I queried his approach on environmental\health grounds. Anyway he acknowledge my concern and organised for a company to do the removal today. Anyway the company arrived and started to remove the sheets and load them into a trailer. The trailer was covered in 2 sheets of thick plastic. The 2 lads couldn't fit the sheets of asbestos into the trailer so decided the break the asbestos up with a hammer. Anyone able to advise on the effect that this would have on the locality. Is my back garden now infected with asbestos fibres? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.


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    #2
    Markcheese
    Registered Users Posts: 8,428 ✭✭✭Markcheese


    You'll be fine - I hope the lads breaking up the sheeting were wearing protective breathing gear though - it's the dust that's the issue if you breath it in - and in this weather I doubt there was much dust-

    Slava ukraini 🇺🇦



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    #3
    Bigcheeze
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,858 ✭✭✭Bigcheeze


    I think asbestos in that form (concrete) is pretty stable and low risk.

    In the UK council waste centres will take this type of asbestos if it's wrapped in plastic but it seems very difficult to get rid of here which results in lots of unofficial disposal.


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    #4
    Qualitymark
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,824 ✭✭✭Qualitymark


    http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/environment/environmental_protection/asbestos_regulations.html
    Removing asbestos is a complex procedure and must only be done by a contractor who has the necessary training. Improper removal increases the risk of fibre inhalation.

    You should contact you local authority for advice and only hand over asbestos to local authority waste handlers or to someone who has a permit from the local authority to handle such waste. Local authorities have control over municipal dumps in this country and as such determine what can or cannot be placed in their dumps. Again for further information, you should contact the local authority in the area where you wish to dispose of the asbestos material.

    The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) has legal powers under the European Communities (Protection of Workers) (Exposure to Asbestos) Regulations, 1989 (as amended) to ensure the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to asbestos at work. The Authority is responsible for policing anyone engaged in work with asbestos, including professional asbestos removal, and surveying firms so as to ensure that the worker protection legislation is implemented.

    etc.


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    #5
    greenpick
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 4 ✭greenpick


    I just had to get an old water tank removed from my house and I had to get a special licensed contractor to do it, and an independent firm who verified that the air was clean. If someone is breaking up asbestos outside, they don't sound very professional


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    #6
    Jim Martin
    Registered Users Posts: 806 ✭✭✭Jim Martin


    I have some asbestos roof tiles which I want to dispose of. I asked my local authority what to do and they said I should hang onto them as they had no means of disposing them. I'm not at all happy with this situation!


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    #7
    Qualitymark
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,824 ✭✭✭Qualitymark


    I had some builders working for me a few years ago, who boasted of having worked ankle-deep in blue asbestos in England and how it hadn't taken a feather out of them. Before I could stop myself I burst out and told them that the microscopic, needle-like asbestos fragments make their way into your lungs and years later cause cancer. Their faces whitened as I spoke…

    Maybe your builders aren't aware of what they're dealing with?

    http://www.ehow.com/list_6585971_asbestos-roofing-dangers.html


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    #8
    brijo
    Registered Users Posts: 10 ✭brijo


    There are no asbestos disposal facilities in Ireland. Only option is export for landfill in other countries. Expensive. That's why councils won't take it. But there are private firms who'll do it and arrange for export, but small quantities will be very pricey.


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    #9
    Qualitymark
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,824 ✭✭✭Qualitymark


    futureisgreen wrote: »
    I agree with Qualitymark that many builders don't know the dangers. Looks like private companies are the way to go if councils aren't going to take them. If you hose plenty of water on the garden (although with the weather recently, that's not an issue!) then the fibres shouldn't do anyone any harm.

    More a council of hope than of expertise, I suspect. These microfibres are so minuscule that they can enter the lungs if disturbed at all.

    http://www.hsa.ie/eng/Your_Industry/Chemicals/Asbestos/

    http://www.hsa.ie/eng/Topics/Business_Licensing_and_Notification_Requirements/Asbestos/


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