We moved house 3 months ago to a house approx 25 years old. The surveyor said that there some parts of the building would  contain asbestos, but this would only be a problem if it was disturbed. Since moving, we've had the soffits etc replaced & a partition under the kitchen window & I was suprised by the blase attitude of the contractors - i.e no masks or protective clothing - but that's done now. However, the extractor fan in the downstairs loo goes into trunking in the garage which looks like asbestos sheeting, which is starting to crack in one place. The trunking goes along the garage wall and out into the garden. I've contacted one firm who said they'd have to do a sample of the material to see if it does actually contain asbestos - and that would be £100 +VAT. Then they'd probably recommend sealing and labelling the material - cost ??? Has anyone any experience of this sort of problem? Thanks.

We are in the process of having our laminate flooring replaced under insurance due to an accident with a fish tank!!  The old marley tiles underneath (orginal tiles since the house was built) apparently contain less than 2% asbestos and because some of them have lifted due to water damage, the insurance company now have to remove all the tiles - two rooms before putting new laminate down.  Apparently it has turned into a very costly claim,  to dispose of these tiles alone is costing £500, plus the asbestos firm labour charge, then builders in to relatex the floor then the new laminate............the claim is now running into thousands of pounds   thank goodness we took out the no excess top insurance!!  It cost £280 for the abestos company to come out and take away a 2" sample of tile for testing............very expensive business, but like they say if you do it not only is it dangerous to your health you can also get fined thousands of pounds for not disposing of correctly!

The launch of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002 introduced Regulation 4, the new EXPLICIT duty to manage asbestos in premises.

Broadly, the duty to manage will require those in control of premises to:

· Find out if there is asbestos in the premises, amount, type and condition etc.

· Presume materials contain asbestos unless there is strong evidence to prove otherwise.

· Collate and keep an up to date record of the location and condition of the Asbestos Containing Materials or presumed Asbestos Containing Materials in the premises.

· Assess the risk from the materials

· Prepare a plan setting out how the risks from the materials are to be managed

· Take the necessary steps to put the plan into action.

· Review and monitor the plan periodically.

· Provide information on the location and condition of the materials to anyone who is liable to work on or disturb the asbestos.

In simple terms this means that owners, employers and managers of non-domestic properties, ( this also includes managed residential premises), will be required to assess and where relevant have in place a managed asbestos survey, whether work on the premises is planned or not.

This new regulation will enable contracted workers on site to assess correctly the nature of a material before work is carried out, thus eliminating the risk of uncontrolled damage to Asbestos Containing Materials.

The importance of ASBESTOS MANAGEMENT will greatly affect non-domestic property owners and employers.

The HSE state, If properly controlled and maintained there is no reason why Asbestos Containing Materials cannot remain in use for many years.

Consequences of not taking action-

· H.S.E Inspectors have the power to issue prohibition notices closing areas or entire sites.

· Companies can be fined an unlimited amount and individuals £20,000

· Responsible individuals can be imprisoned for up to 2 years.

If you do not employ the services of a properly trained and qualified contractor who is familiar with the asbestos regulations you may find yourself both criminally and civilly liable for any claims from any injured party as well as the contractor themselves.............

Don't forget you do not need protracted exposure to asbestos (there are 3 main types) to contract a fatal non treatable condition. so you are at risk as well as the contractors if works was carried out as you suggest........................

There are well over 1000 houses in this area, all with the same tiles and nobody knew they contained asbestos............quite frightening isn't it!    I know of lots of families that took up these tiles and disposed of them at the local council tip 

Firstly i would contact your last contractors and check if they did remove asbestos.....they could have put you at risk. You must keep a record of the dates they came and did the work, keep a record of the firm. If there were to be a health problem in future, you may need to know this.
Secondly,because of the health and safety issues, i suspect that the local council will be able to give you advice on asbestos removal.
Thirdly, I cannot emphasise enough to you or any one else just how dangerous this stuff is. You really do ony need as little as ONE exposure to it to pay the price later. In the course of my job, every single week I deal with those who get mesothelioma, a type of lung cancer caused by asbestos.the disease usually rears its head 20 years or so after exposure to the stuff. the incidence of mesothelioma is increasing at a vast rate.

Under no circumstances should anyone consider anything other than professional removal.£500 is a lot of money, but your life is a lot more valuable than that.

Why then is there not more publicity about this? It's known to be a work-related risk, but obviously since the material has been used so extensively, everyone must be at risk to some extent? It's rather alarming when people working in renovation etc obviously are not taking the risk seriously - is this form ignorance or negligence?

Did you know that even Artex before 1980 contained asbestos?  We were told this by the company that came out to check our tiles!!

also lagging, insulation materials, concrete mixes, plastic floor tiles, ceiling tiles, fuse boxes, bath panels, decorative panels etc. Council housing used a lot of asbestos as it was cheap and long lasting . Its only when its broken and the fibres are released that there is a problem .
It is only a requirement to manage asbestos in non-domestic premises and common parts of domestic premises  and more info can be found in the approved code of practice (L127) and guidance documents INDG 223
There is a duty of care to protect employees and those who are involved in the removal of asbestos and therefore a suitable and sufficient risk assesment would be required to be completed by the employer