Dear All,
My friend has a defunct water tank in her loft, which is in a 60s brick semi. Evidently the plumber opted to just leave it there when he upgraded the system and installed a plastic, tank since it is very heavy.
It appears to be made of an asbestos material,but I may be wrong about this. Being a water tank I presume it is not intrinsically hazardous, but I am contemplating breaking it up to dispose of it. Do you think there would be hazards in doing this?
Cheers.
Chris
Absolutely not! It very probably is asbestos and needs dealing with professionally that will probably cost into four figures. Otherwise just leave it where it is as it is doing no harm.
snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com scribbled...
Where will you dispose of it ?
emi. Evidently the plumber opted to just leave it there when he upgraded th e system and installed a plastic, tank since it is very heavy.
is. Being a water tank I presume it is not intrinsically hazardous, but I a m contemplating breaking it up to dispose of it. Do you think there would b e hazards in doing this?
Probably (white) asbestos cement. Breaking or cutting will release airborne fibres, they cause of much grief in a few decades. If you can get it out i n one piece, your local authority may have a disposal facility if you doubl e-bag it. Otherwise steer clear.
Well, yes there could be, so use some form of breathing filter and of course you would need to confine the area so the occupants cannot breath it either. After that you will find nobody will let you dump the stuff either. Probably best left alone. Brian
I think there is certified centre run by City of London as far as I am told as I have a whole Garage to get rid of as well as a shed roof. The Asbestos Cement is not that hazardous normally, but its seemingly treated as if it were by most tips and recycling centres these days. I fear its just a big hassle so they don't want it. it all has to be bagged even for those who will take it to even consider it and labelled double bagged in some instances. I bet if you crawled around any tip you would find stuff much more of a hazard that nobody bothers with a second look. Brian
On Saturday 28 September 2013 13:45 Peter Crosland wrote in uk.d-i-y:
That depends on what type of asbestos it is!
Chrysotile (white) is not that bad if precautions are taken. It is highly unlikely to be any other asbestos - though a small sample can be taken and sent for analysis. It may not even contain asbestos.
The rest depends on what the tank looks like and what the access is like.
Having to break the tank is undesireable but may be unavoidable. If it will go got the loft hatch, then do so, but I would paint it with dilute PVA on all surfaces to prevent dusting.
If it does need breaking up - then I agree, it is a bit trickier. The personal protection is easy enough - paper suit and good respirator. The biggest problem comes with any contamination that gets chucked around the loft and house.
Personally, if it is too big to move, I'd take a sample and see if it is really a problem.
On Saturday 28 September 2013 14:02 Brian Gaff wrote in uk.d-i-y:
Most bigger dumps IME have asbestos disposal - ring the county or district council first.
Face mask, sledge (or smaller) hammer, don't angle-grind it. It will smash into smaller pieces which can be bagged up. Ignore the old women.
+1
Brian Gaff scribbled...
I've taken my time getting rid of it in the past. A bag at a time in the bin. If you soak the asbestos before bashing it into small pieces, it's not going to create a dust cloud.
Sort of surprised, the white asbestos cement products I've come across are porous to some extent. Yes you could get corrogated roofing sheets but keeping a a bit of rain out isn't the same as making a water tank from the stuff.
It's not just insulating board(s) around a galvanised tank?
On Saturday 28 September 2013 15:50 Dave Liquorice wrote in uk.d-i-y:
I've seen asbestos cement drain pipes.
+2 You could wrap it in an old bed sheet before whacking to contain any dust. As said above local waste sites may accept small quantities of asbestos cement.
I have one in my garden used for spent compost. I reckon it would still hold water if I took off the lid.
It will be asbestos cement which is not especially hazardous. Even if you have it done by a company it does not require removal by specialist contractors. DIY removal is perfectly acceptable and safe.
The best way of getting it down is to visit a local furniture store and get them to donate a couple of mattress or bed transit covers. These are just big heavy duty polythene bags. Slide the tank into one and then another over that. Close both bags and with a girt big hammer whack it just until it and the bags will fit through the hole in the ceiling (most get left in place because they won't fit through the ceiling hatch). Breaking in the bags means there is no residue left in the attic space. If you need to break it further do that outside after wetting it thoroughly.
Your local council web site will tell you what precautions you need to take and where you can dispose of it. There will usually be one designated site and you will need to double wrap it in polythene.
emi. Evidently the plumber opted to just leave it there when he upgraded th e system and installed a plastic, tank since it is very heavy.
is. Being a water tank I presume it is not intrinsically hazardous, but I a m contemplating breaking it up to dispose of it. Do you think there would b e hazards in doing this?
Thanks for the replies and suggestions. The consensus seems to be to be war y.
The tank will fit through the hatch, and my plan was to take it down in one piece and break it up outside. It definitely needs moving as it is occupyi ng prime storage space near the hatch. I will now reconsider relocating it in the loft, though this will be tricky due un-covered deep insulation all over.
Take it down in one piece, then double-wrap it and dispose of it - still in one piece.
Ignore the morons who say it can be safely broken. It cant, and if you have ever seen the tragic results of exposure to asbestos you would know why. Double bag it in polythene and take it to a registered disposal site taking care not to accidentally break it.
It's very likely to be asbestos cement, (10% asbestos about) sometimes they were painted with black bitumous paint on the inside. Though it contains asbestos fibres it is not as dangerous as loose asbestos (insulation say). Info here on handling.
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