pimmo2000

iTrader: (6)

Just been in the loft and thought about the insulation and wondered if theres a risk it could be asbestos ?. My nose hurts from the dust and I assume asbestos is only dangerous long term .. but its a concern.

My house is build around 1935 ... assuming the loft was done a few years after that ...

Any thoughts

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

What's the stuff LOOK like? Asbestos tends to be grey/white, thickly fibrous, and relatively soft.

Other alternatives are fibreglass, which is pink, orange or yellow, usually, with thin shiny fibres and almost "stiff" to the touch...........don't touch too much, it penetrates and irritates skin.

Rockwool is another option, tends to be less fibrous, mine is orangey-yellowy-brown, and it looks like "tufts" all matted together. Also quit stiff to touch, also irritating to skin.

HTH.

If you are unsure, contact your council for advice.

Alcazar

Daz34

Very doubtful. It's unlikely to be in a domestic property other than on your garage roof.
Can you describe the insulation?
It will more than likely just be glass fibre based which irritates the moment you are in contact with it.

Dave1980

actually having just done a course on asbestos most residential built before 1992 will have asbestos of some form in them. usually in the form of pipe lagging and other forms of insulation but can also be present in corregated sheeting and cement.
theres 3 types, all very nasty stuff.

as said above if in doubt contact your local council who can put you in touch with a specialist removal firm.

one particle is all it takes

shockingly but unsurprising russia, china and india still use the stuff like its going out of fashion as they havent signed up to the non asbestos treaty.

left dormant and undisturbed its fine so dont panic unless you start ripping the stuff out.

pimmo2000

iTrader: (6)

I walked over it .. does that count ? I'll get a photo up of it a bit later

Dave1980

possibly, put a pic up and lets have a look. although it should be ok in a loft really.

pimmo2000

iTrader: (6)

My g/fs skates by the way

Odds on

Try and set it on fire. If it burns, it's probably not asbestos.




























Disclaimer - ....

Na you wont be that stupid.

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

It DOES look a bit like asbestos.

I'd be inclined to contact your council sooner rather than later.

Alcazar

speedking

On the bright side if you and previous residents have been using the loft access then the fibres have probably distributed around the house and affected everyone thats ever been there... so you're recent disturbance would have a minimal effect.

Although one fibre is all it takes, the more the exposure, the more the risk. I wouldn't go in the loft again until you have had it checked out. Did you have a survey done when you moved in? If so did that say anything?

Dave1980

does look a bit suspect, get onto the council and get someone professional to have a look.

probably not, it may just be old insulation but in an old house its better to be safe than sorry.

PaulC72

For me it looks like loft insulation glass fibre stuff, however Asbestos comes in many forms and until tested you can never be sure if it is or not as sight can only provide an asumption {lab tests are required to actually confirm}
Asbestos fibres are invisible and like said above if left undisturbed are usually harmless however if you walk, move something around near by and so on the air movement itself will disturb the settled fibres.

TBH I would get it checked out even for piece of mind, the usual scenario comes to mind, if in doubt... check.

j4ckos mate

Get it tested, we had a bathroom leak, and the sealing was damaged in the kitchen, it was tested and had to come down a company called silverdell did it all via the insurance, my house is 1970's

Daz34

It's not always that simple though so no need to panic if you have been exposed.
Practically everyone has a few particles in their lungs through normal exposure & there are plenty of people about that were cutting boards or mixing paste with no protection who never developed asbestosis.
It's all a bit hit and miss.
Best take no chances though..

pimmo2000

iTrader: (6)

I've been living here nearly a year and have been in the loft a few times ... you've got me worried now .. would I notice anything if I was "infected" or whatever the term is??

pimmo2000

iTrader: (6)

ON the bright side ???

Yes we did and he didnt mention it ... I think its something we might have avoided

All Torque

It looks very much like the stuff we had in our loft as put in by some sort of energy concerving scheme that our local council was using. We had it done about 20 years ago and it was srayed up there with a long tube out of the back of a lorry. I`ve found this on the net and am hoping this was used
Non toxic cotton fiber insulation
I have since done a loft conversion and no mention of asbestos was raised when cleaning it up, because it sure did create a mess.

Dave1980

it probably is just old loft insulation, however get it checked just for peace of mind.
you will probably be fine, just try not to disturb it.

besides its mdf the next one you need to worry about, already banned in the US and probably will be hear. the formeldahyde glue in it does wonders for your respiratory system if you inhail the dust.

MikeCardiff

iTrader: (2)

It does look like the sprayed stuff that was used for a while some years back ( was used a lot more in the USA IIRC ) - it was sprayed in damp from a truck with a long hose and sort of set into place.

I wouldnt be overly concerned about having inhaled it, unless you have been eating handfuls of it and throwing it around its unlikely that it would cause a problem.

I was speaking to someone before about this, and he said the main problems with Asbestosis came from the old hot water cylinder and pipe lagging that was used, which was very loose, and plumbers used to cut it off making loads of dust because they didnt know about the risks. Even then, most of the plumbers he knew who had done this hadnt had any health problems from it, despite having probably breathed in loads in their working lives.

Get it checked anyway just to make sure, if it is Asbestos then as its in the loft its better to have it removed than leave it there as it is more likely to be disturbed.

As an aside, most houses older than about 20 or 30 years old will have some asbestos somewhere in them - left alone and undisturbed it is fine and wont cause any problems.

al4x1

Asbestos wasn't as far as I know used for general insulation, more a case of used as fire protection or from high heat sources such as pipes etc, some doors have a lining of it to give fire protection. The ceiling mentioned above would have contained it in the artex. So basically to my mind thats not asbestos just insulation material though it won't be nice to breathe with 80 years worth of dust mixed in. I'd get rid of it all and start afresh. Asbestos has a bad press partly helped by companies making a fortune out of its disposal, in domestic residences its unlikely to meet the really nasty kind and most will be encased in cement so as long as you don't break it up the fibres are not likely to be possible to inhale

spireite

which bit ,have you ever seen asbestos