Asbestos
What is asbestos?
Asbestos is a special material that was widely used for it's fire resistant and insulation qualities in the construction of buildings up to the 1980's.
Why is it harmful?
If asbestos fibres are inhaled they can cause harmful diseases, often producing symptoms that can only be seen after many years. Because of the delay in symptoms appearing, the possible scale of the health risk only became known after asbestos had been widely used and many people had already been exposed.
Asbestos products only pose a risk to Southway residents when they are damaged and release asbestos fibres into the air. Most asbestos products cause no risk to health whilst they remain in good condition and undisturbed.
Where might I find asbestos in my home?
While there may be asbestos products in your home, they present very little risk because they are in good condition and there’s little chance of accidental damage. We won't normally remove undamaged asbestos products if they present no risk to you or other residents.
You might find asbestos in these common building materials:
• Thermal insulation lagging around pipes and boilers
• Linings for walls, ceilings and doors
• Roofing tiles and felt
• Some types of flooring materials
• Decorative textured coatings, usually used before 1990
• Bath panels
• Boarding and gaskets within electrical mains fuse cupboards
• Asbestos cement products compressed into flat or corrugated sheets, typically used
as roofing and wall cladding on garages and sheds
• Other asbestos cement products including gutters, rainwater pipes, water tanks and flues.
What precautions should I take?
If you’ve been told there is some material containing asbestos in your home you should avoid damaging it in any way. Don’t carry out any work that involves drilling, sawing, sanding or cutting into it that may release fibres into the air.
If you are concerned about any material in your home, always treat it as if it does contain asbestos until we tell you otherwise.
Never handle any suspect material or try to remove or get rid of it yourself. This is our responsibility and we will employ licensed and experienced contractors to remove and dispose of it safely.
If you’re in any doubt, please call us on 0161 448 4200.
Can I do any DIY?
It’s really important that you don’t make any alterations or improvements to your home, other than cleaning and basic decorating, without our permission.
We may not give you permission if there is a chance of you removing or damaging any materials containing asbestos.
Our commitment to managing asbestos
We already have information on the location of asbestos in Southway homes and we are currently undertaking an inclusive survey of 20% of all our homes to record the location of materials containing asbestos. This will help us safeguard the health of residents and building contractors and make sure there is no accidental release of asbestos fibres during improvements or repairs.
In future we will be arranging to survey further properties. If your home is chosen, we will write to you in advance to see if it is convenient for you when our surveyors are intending to call, we hope you will let them have access.
Remember - we won't normally remove undamaged asbestos products. The safest way of dealing with undamaged asbestos may be to leave it in place, and to seal it, to prevent the release of fibres.