On 22 Feb 2005 04:28:28 -0800,
(Paul) wrote:

I'm looking for some
advise about the panels used on the INSIDE of the garage roof, I'm
guessing for fire retardant (its an attached garage). They look
similar to sheets of pasterboard - but I'm pretty sure they're not!

If it is asbestos cement sheet it will be quite hard, whitish grey in
colour and usually have one plain side and one dimpled side. It is
essentially the same stuff as the corrugated version.

How evil is this asbestos?

Not particularly. The panic about asbestos is largely due to there
being no minimum exposure level below which it is safe and the old
nonsense about "one fibre causes cancer" is regularly trotted out.
This scaremongering rather ignores the fact that most people in this
country breath several strands a day and the vast majority of
asbestos related illness is found in people who worked with it or in
contact with it for many years with high exposures.

The primary significance of the "no safe dose" is that cases of
asbestos related illness are indefensible in court so can be very
costly. White asbestos (Chrysotile) makes up about 10% of your board,
the rest is cement.

If I want to
remove it (the garage is coming down so I need to....), is it ok to
remove it as whole pannels, wetted, bagged etc....

Yes - your local council will have at least one amenity tip licensed
to take asbestos cement board. Some make a charge (which is why it
often finds its way onto roadside verges where councils are happy to
let it sit for weeks).


--
Peter Parry.
http://www.wpp.ltd.uk/