I'm in council housing, there's an outside shed with a corrugated roof which looks like asbestos but I don't know for sure. I have asked the landlord if it is, they couldn't say and told me to submit a formal written request for that info. I will do that but meantime a question to the group, is there an easy way to check if this is asbestos? Polish neighbour was on his (same) shed roof, I think trying to fix a leak, and I tried telling him that it may be asbestos but couldn't get it across to him. Was he at any risk, apart from falling off it maybe?
Unless it's coming apart into fragments or you're trying to cut it, it's essentially harmless. Only issue is inhalation of micro fiber which there's nothing to generate unless it's broken up or sawn or the like...
Big ado over (essentially) nothing in most cases of existing installations and particularly the hard products such as this.
Don't do something patently stupid like use a dry circular saw on it w/ no respiratory protection but other than that or the like I'd worry none...
I'm not sure "corrugated roof" and asbestos computes. There are shingles made with asbestos, and corrugated metal roofs, but I've never seen a corrugated asbestos roof.
I am not sure I have ever seen corrugated roofing that had asbestos in it. This is more likely to be fiberglass. It is still nasty stuff when it degrades but does not have the bad press and lawyer activity that surrounds asbestos. Before the 60s asbestos shingles were popular for siding but they looked like "Hardie board". The temporary buildings (WWI) on the Washington Mall were made out of this stuff. They didn't figure it out it was dangerous until most were torn down and hauled away in the early 70s over a half century later..
The risk factor with asbestos is often overblown. Left alone, it is an inter material and will do you no harm. You can touch it, lick it, wear it, jump on it. Just don't cut it without precautions.
The danger from asbestos in inhaling the fibers that will get into your lungs. There was a drive to rid the world if it, but common sense has mostly prevailed now. In commercial and industrial buildings that have asbestos pipe insulation they now recommend painting over it to seal in the fibers. Siding and roofing is just left alone unless it has to be removed.
There are test kits for asbestos. You send a sample of the material and send it to a lab. Starting about $10.
Old roofing and siding used asbestos fiber to reinforce asphalt and cement. As others point out, asbestos is not a serious problem if contained in a matrix and if remove and broken up, a dust mask usually will suffice to avoid breathing in the fiber where it could cause health problems.
There was a lot of asbestos based corrugated roofing material used around the world - not so much in residential applications here in North America.. It was VERY common in Britain and the colonies (east/central Africa) And Australia It was referred to generically as AC material (Asbestos Cement), and often referred to as "Hardie Board" down under because one of the major manufacturers was James Hardie and Co. (trade name Fibrolite) and Wonderliche Durobestos was anothe brand popular down under.
Up here in Canada and the USA it is most often refered to as "transite" In the USA, Keasby and Mattison were the first to produce AC building panels under the Ambler brand. Johns Manville became the most recognizeable brand in North America, followed cloely by National Gypsum's Gold Bond brand. There was also Asbestone, Thermolite and Durocell were products of Ehret Magnesia Manufacturing in the Valley Forge area. (Baldwin Ehret Hill) who also made AC building board Celotex and it's Canadian subsidiery Carey Corp also produced AC building panels.
It saw a LOT of industrial applications - many factory roofs and walls because it was strong and fire-proof, and in roofing applications it was MUCH quieter than corrugated steel roofing.
Thanks for the replies. I actually knew a man who died from asbestosis, he was a storeman in a power station and picked it up from handling dirty overalls of men who had been removing asbestos, they were well protected but not enough thought was given to the disposal and cleaning of their work clothes. Maybe because of that I'd be more sensitive to the risks of working with it. It was complicated by the fact that the person was Polish and didn't seem to get what I was trying to tell him about possible risk, also the fact that since it's a council house he didn't need to be doing his own repairs anyway!
Kenny
There was a lot of asbestos based corrugated roofing material used around the world - not so much in residential applications here in North America.. It was VERY common in Britain and the colonies (east/central Africa) And Australia It was referred to generically as AC material (Asbestos Cement), and often referred to as "Hardie Board" down under because one of the major manufacturers was James Hardie and Co. (trade name Fibrolite) and Wonderliche Durobestos was anothe brand popular down under.
Up here in Canada and the USA it is most often refered to as "transite" In the USA, Keasby and Mattison were the first to produce AC building panels under the Ambler brand. Johns Manville became the most recognizeable brand in North America, followed cloely by National Gypsum's Gold Bond brand. There was also Asbestone, Thermolite and Durocell were products of Ehret Magnesia Manufacturing in the Valley Forge area. (Baldwin Ehret Hill) who also made AC building board Celotex and it's Canadian subsidiery Carey Corp also produced AC building panels.
It saw a LOT of industrial applications - many factory roofs and walls because it was strong and fire-proof, and in roofing applications it was MUCH quieter than corrugated steel roofing.
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