If you run a commercial building that you believe contains asbestos, then it’s your responsibility to ensure that an asbestos survey is completed in order to prioritise the health and safety for any staff or members of the public who will be inside. Asbestos particles can become airborne and have serious health repercussions. If left untreated it can easily be disturbed putting yourself and others at risk. Specialist asbestos removal can often be required and comes with several health benefits. It is also especially important in domestic properties that asbestos is checked over for the same reasons.
Health Benefits
There are several health benefits to hiring professionals to deal with both commercial and domestic asbestos. Asbestos is highly toxic when disturbed, easily becoming airborne when fibres are released into the air. Inhaling asbestos can lead to health problems such as hypertension, hoarse breathing, shortness of breath, swelling in the neck or head and trouble swallowing. It has also been shown to have long-lasting effects and cause conditions such as lung cancer.
Asbestos removal
Asbestos requires extreme caution when being handled as it is a hazardous material. This required specialist expertise, experience, and equipment to ensure that the risk associated with it is severely reduced. Any materials containing asbestos must be sealed off to prevent the particles from becoming airborne and spreading throughout your building. Due to its hazardous nature, it also needs to be disposed of at specialist waste facilities and transported in specialist containers.
Cost
Many people have the misconception that with the correct gear they can remove the asbestos themselves. However, time and time again people come to the realisation that there are many costs involved. Not only is there the initial cost of the specialist removal equipment but there are also costs involved in cleaning up after, disposal fees and inspection fees that you will still have to pay anyway. Many people think that when it comes to domestic asbestos it’s not as important, however, without the correct precautions asbestos can easily settle throughout your home, increasing the health risks associated with it.
Time
Professional asbestos removal companies will know how to work quickly in a quarantined area. With their expertise, they know how to deal with all the associated problems quickly in order to cause as little disruption as possible when it comes to commercial asbestos. As we all know, time is money, if you spend twice as long doing it yourself, you will only cost yourself more in the additional time taken.
Asbestos Survey
When hiring a professional for asbestos removal in both commercial and domestic settings there will be asbestos surveys that are completed. These will determine the risks that the asbestos poses as well as the best ways to approach removing them. An asbestos survey won’t always advise towards asbestos removal. When asbestos is in good condition it can sometimes be more desirable to keep it in place and monitor its condition over time. This way, the decision can then be made to remove it at a later date when there will be less risk of exposure.
If you would like to find out more about asbestos removal, please contact Croft Environmental Services, they will be able to answer any questions or queries you may have. To get in touch give them a call on 0166 251 8050 or pop them an email at asbestos@croftenviromental.co.uk.