Asbestos Remediation

Upon first discovering asbestos, the words asbestos cancer are often pretty immediate entrants into the mind of the person that has discovered it. The next thought is how the hell they are going to get it out of their homes. The primary thing to be aware of is that asbestos that is compact and non disturbed is not actually dangerous. Therefore you need to leave it where it is and contact an asbestos remediation professional who can tell you exactly what needs to be done next. People generally have a lot of questions when they first discover in their home and I will now outline the answers to the most common ones.

How likely is it that what I have found is in fact asbestos?

Asbestos can be found in any home that was developed prior to the year 2000. The reason for this is that though some regulations were in place before this, a complete ban was not implemented until 1999. The most common places that it can be found are within roofing, boilers, window paneling, various forms of insulation and also some forms of interior wall panels.

Why do I need to contact an asbestos remediation company?

The most important thing to understand about asbestos however is that removing it yourself is incredibly dangerous. Provided it is intact and has not been damaged or disturbed, your home should be perfectly safe. Therefore you need to contact an asbestos remediation company as soon as possible and they will advice you about what is the best course of action to take. Often removal is considered a last resort so they may end up suggesting that it simply needs to be managed. The primary thing to know however is that this is not a decision that you can make yourself. If you have found asbestos, you must contact an asbestos remediation company and the sooner the better.

Why didn't anyone figure out the danger of asbestos for so many years?

The answer to this question is actually relatively simple; there was no reason to suspect that asbestos had such a dangerous secret. The fact that such a long time is required to pass before someone who has been exposed actually develops an illness as a result meant that people didn't start getting sick until decades after it was put into use. It was eventually discovered that there was a very high proportion of people developing mesothelioma that had worked around the material during their life time. Further analysis then proved that there was a link. Before this discovery was made it was just considered a building material that was incredibly durable and fire resistant. The problem is it was during that time that a lot of the UK's buildings were manufactured.

So in conclusion, if you think that you have discovered asbestos in your home, the most important thing to realize is that it is not something that you can handle yourself. Attempting to do so is not only stupid, it could be fatal.