Asbestos in your home Tenant version
Asbestos in your home Asbestos was frequently used in building work from the 1860s until it was banned outright in the UK in 1999. What is asbestos? Some materials containing asbestos can be found in properties built as late as 1999. Properties built after this date are unlikely to contain asbestos. Asbestos is a fibrous natural mineral. In the past it was added to a variety of products for strength, fireproofing and insulation, and to reduce noise. Some of the most common products that used asbestos were Artex, ironing board pads, fire blankets, floor tiles, sink pads, storage heaters, seals on cooker doors, boiler flues, corrugated roof sheets and insulation. Most asbestos in housing is low risk and unlikely to harm your health. Why can asbestos be dangerous? Certain types of asbestos are made up of small hooked fibres, which if airborne can be breathed deep into the lungs where they sometimes lodge themselves. The lodged fibres can then cause infection which could ultimately cause lung diseases, including cancer. It is not always the case that fibres can cause an infection they can stay in the lungs for many years without causing a problem. Those at risk are people who have worked with asbestos for many years or have washed the dusty clothing of those who have worked with asbestos. Workplace regulations now protect these people. It is most unlikely that someone living in a house with asbestos would be exposed to asbestos fibres as they are locked in the products made from asbestos. There is only a slight risk if you interfere with or damage materials that contain asbestos. As long as materials containing asbestos are left undisturbed, there is no risk to you.
Our responsibilities The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 place a duty on us to manage asbestos risks in non-domestic premises. These regulations say that we must have a register of where asbestos is found in our offices and in the shared areas where our residents live As your property becomes a place of work when our employees and contractors carry out repairs or visits, we have to extend our register to cover domestic premises such as yours We will tell you if there are any materials in your home which we have identified as being likely to contain asbestos We will make sure that any material which contains asbestos and is in a shared area is maintained in a safe condition. If it is damaged, we will seal it or remove it Our contractors and staff have asbestos-awareness training to help us manage asbestos properly
Your responsibilities Materials which contain asbestos but which are in good condition will not release asbestos fibres. There is no danger unless the fibres are released and breathed into the lungs. Short-term exposure to asbestos fibres can happen during DIY and maintenance, so these are risks you must avoid You should regularly check materials containing asbestos to look for signs of wear and tear, such as cracks, abrasions or water damage. If you can see any of these, please don t touch the material but let us know If you want to carry out any home improvements that may disturb material containing asbestos, you must contact the repairs team for permission to make sure proper controls are put in place to reduce exposure to you, your family or the person carrying out the work (if not yourself). If your home has vinyl floor tiles under the carpets, you should contact us before replacing or removing carpets Do not drill, cut or disturb materials which contain asbestos Do not scrape or sand the materials before decorating. Some types of material are very soft and can release large numbers of fibres if rubbed or scraped Changes to the structure or fabric of your home are not allowed under your tenancy agreement without our written approval. If you carry out any work or allow others to carry out work without approval before the work starts, or otherwise deliberately damage or disturb materials containing asbestos, you may be legally responsible for any costs in dealing with an asbestos incident. These costs may be quite high
Living with asbestos Treat asbestos with respect and make sure you avoid damaging asbestos material in your home. Do Don t ü Contact us if you want to carry out any DIY work to your property that might affect materials which contain asbestos. If you are not sure, we can arrange for a member of staff to advise you ü Only a trained specialist contractor can remove the material (and for some products they also need to be licensed). If material containing asbestos is damaged, it may need to be removed or sealed. We will arrange any work to do this Don t panic - material containing asbestos is only a problem if it gets disturbed Don t drill, sand, cut or in any way disturb an area which is known to (or may) contain asbestos. Remember, if you don t breathe in asbestos dust, it can t harm you Don t use power tools on materials containing asbestos Don t remove or disturb asbestos containing material. We will do this Don t break the materials because this releases the small fibres into the atmosphere Don t use a domestic vacuum cleaner to clean up asbestos - they spread the fibres rather than contain them Don t move material containing asbestos
Where you might find asbestos in the home 1 Roof tiles 2 Water tank 3 Underlay strips fixed below a gable or porch 4 Gutters 5 Down pipes 6 Roof sheets 7 Bath panel 8 Coatings and paints 9 Insulation partitions and pipe boxing 10 Eaves and fascias 11 Panels behind heaters 12 Panels on fire doors 13 Floor tiles 14 Behind fuse boards 15 Black insulation pad under sink 16 Boiler flue and parts 4 5 9 6 14
1 2 3 8 10 7 16 12 11 15 13
Further information and advice Please contact your housing and support team for more information about asbestos. If they are not available please contact: Hanover on Call centre.on-call@hanover.org.uk 0844 892 1013 or 01249 443930 (24 hours a day, 365 days a year) hse.gov.uk/asbestos 08453 450055 The Health and Safety Executive aic.org.uk 01273 878770 Asbestos Information Centre If in doubt, please seek advice. Anchor Hanover Group is a charitable housing association with registered society No. 7843. Registered Provider No. LH4095. Registered office: Anchor Hanover Group, Suites A & B, The Heal s Building, 22-24 Torrington Place, London, WC1E 7HJ. 7023-3/112018