There are a few places you can find asbestos in a building; Cement, coatings, floor tiles, insulating boards, lagging and loose. Buildings constructed before 1999 will most likely contain at least one form of asbestos that may have been too expensive/ difficult to remove.
Asbestos filled cement can often be found in the form of guttering, wall cladding and roofing. It is most commonly used for corrugated cement roofing which can be found on old farm buildings, warehouses and on some private sheds and garages.
Many walls and ceilings used to be coated in asbestos in either a sprayed or textured form, this could exist in lofts, around beams and living spaces. Textured coatings are generally quite stable but sprayed coatings have the highest asbestos content so even a minor disturbance could release huge quantities of the material into the air.
Asbestos floor tiles were often used when insulating floor surfaces underneath carpeting or laminate flooring. A similar version of the material was even used in fire blankets and oven gloves. It is generally quite safe but still considered a risk and should not be handled or worked with.
AIB or Asbestos Insulating Board was quite commonly used to insulate lift shafts, roof linings, fire doors and partition walls. Large quantities of this is can still be found in many buildings build before the 1990s and is considered so dangerous only a licensed contractor can work with it.
Many cavities, pipes and boilers are filled and coated with loose fill and lagging asbestos. These are both considered very hazardous and should not be worked with or exposed to anyone other than a trained contractor. Exposure to any of the toxic fibres released can cause damaging respiratory problems and eventually cause a form of cancer known as Mesothelioma.
Want to find out more about asbestos in buildings, then visit the 'whats-my-claim-worth' site for advice on making a claim for asbestos exposure.
