Advanced Asbestos Removal Safety Information
Until the 1990s, virtually all homes, factories, schools and buildings in general constructed in New Zealand contained some asbestos products. It was considered a ‘wonder material’, and was incorporated into a wide number of building materials, including the following listed below.
- Cement and concrete
- Flooring
- Pipe insulation
- Bathroom fixtures
- Fireproof internal walls and ceilings
- External walls
- Roofing and roof tiles
- Fences, gutters and external fixtures
- Sheds and outbuildings
In fact, it was used so extensively that roughly 1/3 of the homes standing in New Zealand today contain at least one (and probably more) asbestos containing materials.
Today, we know that asbestos is a direct cause of not just cancer but a host of respiratory illnesses, any of which can and often do prove fatal.
How does asbestos harm us?
Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that forms fine, threadlike crystals. This gives it a fibrous, almost stringy appearance on nature, and is the source of both its amazing utility and its ability to do harm.
These fine crystals break off into fibres thinner than spider webs, which can be carried on the lightest breeze and be inhaled (or consumed) by humans or animals. Once these fibres enter your lungs or digestive tract they embed themselves in these tissues, and cannot be removed. They not only irritate the tissues they come into contact with, they cause physical and chemical changes which can eventually cause several types of cancer.
How dangerous is asbestos?
Extremely dangerous. In fact, once building materials or even tools are determined to be contaminated with asbestos fibres, they must be disposed of at regulated waste disposal facilities. They cannot ever be decontaminated, and even attempting to clean them simply puts more asbestos fibres into the water supply.
This is only one of the reasons even the smallest asbestos removal task should be left to trained (and well-equipped) professionals.
What should I do if I think I might have found asbestos in my building?
If you even suspect you’ve found asbestos, leave the area immediately. Call All Asbestos NZ LTD and a sampling service can be provided right away to determine whether asbestos containing materials are present, and a management plan can be provided to assist you in how best to protect your people and property if Asbestos Containing Material is found.
Never attempt to remove material that might contain asbestos yourself!
Attempting to do so not only puts your health at risk, but that of others in your community. The dust you create could contaminate the air, water and soil for miles around, and cause the illness or death of hundreds of people, even decades onto the future.
Asbestos should only be removed, cleaned and disposed of by trained professionals working with the appropriate equipment and the latest techniques. Anything less is asking for trouble.