On Mon, 07 Mar 2011 22:24:07 +0000, Peter Parry wrote:

It is asbestos cement - it can be removed without any particular
precautions other than minimising dust by wetting it well. It does
not require a licenced asbestos fraudster to do the job.

I'd agree with that. There is a lot of FUD surrounding asbestos. Yes,
it can be nasty stuff, documented cases of people going down with
asbestosis or related lung disease 50 years after a single 15 minute
exposure to low levels. But that would almost certainly be blue or
brown asbestos not white that is commonly found in asbestos cement.

The average handyman is probably more at risk from the dust produced
by machine MDF or hard woods.

--
Cheers
Dave.