Asbestos
What is asbestos?
Asbestos is the name given to a group of fibrous minerals found naturally in many parts of the world. In the past, asbestos was added to a variety of products to strengthen them and to provide fire proofing and noise reduction.
Homes built since the mid-1980s are unlikely to contain asbestos in the fabric of the building. Homes built after 1995 are extremely unlikely to contain asbestos anywhere in the building.
What is wrong with asbestos?
Normally there is nothing wrong with asbestos, however, when asbestos materials age or become damaged they may release fibres into the air. The fibres, if breathed in, could lead to asbestos-related diseases. People who have worked with asbestos for many years as part of their job are most likely to be affected. Most occurrences of asbestos in housing are of low risk and unlikely to harm your health.
What are your responsibilities?
If you think asbestos-containing materials may be in your home, don’t panic! Asbestos-containing materials in good condition will not release asbestos fibres. There’s no danger unless the fibres are released and inhaled into the lungs. Check material regularly if you suspect it may contain asbestos. Don’t touch it, but look for signs of wear and tear, such as tears, abrasions or water damage. If damage or deterioration is apparent, please notify us on Freephone 0800 731 9293.
Changes to the structure or fabric of your home are not permitted under your tenancy agreement without prior written approval.
If you want to carry out any home improvements that may disturb an asbestos-containing material you must contact your housing officer for permission to ensure proper controls are put in place to reduce exposure to you, your family and the person carrying out the work (if not yourself).
Don’t drill, cut or disturb asbestos-containing materials. Don’t scrape or sand asbestos-containing materials before decorating. Some types of asbestos-containing materials are very soft and can release large numbers of fibres if rubbed or scraped.
If you carry out any work, or permit others to carry out work, without written approval, you’ll be liable for any costs of dealing with any asbestos incidents.
Our responsibilities
Due to the possible health risks, changes have been made to legislation. Under the ‘Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002’ the government requires us to hold a register of where asbestos is in our offices and also in the communal areas where you live.
The regulations don’t currently extend to your individual homes. However, as a responsible landlord, we undertake detailed asbestos surveys of your homes during improvement works and when we upgrade empty homes. This information is also recorded in the register, so that we can inform you of any risks you may be exposed to. We’ll ensure that any asbestos-containing material is maintained in a safe condition and, where it is possible, we’ll remove it.
To help us to do this, our team of surveyors have undertaken asbestos sampling training that allows them to take samples of suspected asbestos-containing material. This will then be tested in a laboratory and the results placed onto our database.
Any identified asbestos-containing material left in your home will be in good condition and covered or out of reach, so that removal will not be necessary. A regular monitoring programme will ensure it remains in good condition.
Removing asbestos-containing material
If there’s a need to remove any asbestos-containing material from your home, we’ll decide on the best course of action.
Dependant upon the type of asbestos-containing material, we may need to appoint a specialist contractor. In this case, the specialist contractor will ensure that the asbestos-containing material is moved safely from your home to a licensed landfill site. Otherwise, our trained operatives may carry out this work.
Any asbestos-containing material removed from your home will be double-wrapped in plastic and taped. Once this removal work has been carried out we need to ensure that the asbestos-containing material is disposed of safely in a government-licensed landfill site.
To comply with legislation, we can transport some asbestos-containing material, providing supporting paperwork is in place. This paperwork will track the route from your home to the waste transfer station, before being disposed of at a landfill site. Therefore, there may be occasions where the double wrapped asbestos-containing material will be left in a safe place outside your home awaiting collection.
The double wrapped package will be clearly marked with a yellow tape, stating “asbestos”. The material is perfectly safe when wrapped in this way, as long as it is not tampered with. It’s important that you do not tamper with, open or move the double wrapped package. We’ll do our best to keep collection time to a minimum.
If you are in doubt or would like to obtain any further advice them please contact MWS technical and property services on Freephone 0800 731 9293.
How to get advice
If you would like any further advice then please contact:
MWS technical and property services on Freephone 0800 731 9293
Where to get further information:
Useful websites:
The Health and Safety Executive www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos
National Society for Clean Air & Environmental Protection www.nsca.org.uk
Asbestos Information Centre www.alc.org.uk
West Somerset Council www.westsomersetonline.gov.uk
If in doubt, seek advice |