Some county recycling tips have a special skip, if in doubt ask your council
for their policy on getting rid of cement asbestos. Mine has a special
arrangement with an asbestos handling depot. You just double bag it and take
it along.

Wear a mask when you break it and keep it damp.

Sam
wrote in message
...
Invisible Man wrote:
Bob Minchin wrote:
TheScullster wrote:
Hi all

Does anyone know whether the soffits in 1970s houses tended to contain
asbestos?

Asbestos cement sheet was used, yes

Our house is looking well-tatty as all the paint is flaking and
falling off the soffits. They look suspiciously like asbestos boards.

so repaint. It wouldnt be very smart to remove what are safe and very
long lasting soffits to replace them with shorter lived wood or
plastic.


Our neighbours recently had all uPVC replacement stuff. When the
company came to fit these they claimed that they would have to engage
"specialists" to remove the soffits due to asbestos risk.
The specialists arrived and, using nothing more than paper nose/mouth
masks, proceeded to smash out the soffits with hammers!
Surely, if the soffits were high-risk asbestos, a more professional
method should be used. It certainly looked like the ideal way to
release the maximum amount of fibre/debris into the surroundings!
Any comments please?

There is nothing high risk about white asbestos bound in cement. The
high risk asbestoses are blue and brown when _not_ bound in cement.

As for releasing fibres on breaking, the amount released would be
miniscule, and its white asbestos, not the nasty ones. If you had blue
asbestos boards thats different, and they should not be smashed. But
even there, simply painting them is the best option.



They were bull****ting you. There is minimal danger associated with
asbestos cement products unless you are working with them all day and
everyday. Blue asbestos as used in industrial insulation is the nasty
stuff.

Bob

I have seen enough mesothelioma claims to be wary of asbestos.
Having said that I have an asbestos cement garage roof.
Breaking it with a hammer after wetting is not too serious.
Do not drill it or sand it. As long as it is reasonably sound it should
not be a problem.
Household waste and recycling sites will not take it.

Asbestos should be double bagged, then it can go in the waste stream
for landfill.


NT