Asbestos and the council??

[petethemanc]

Nearly two years ago, we had a house fire. It was mostly contained to the kitchen. The kitchen ceiling already had a dip since 2005 which we had asked several times to be repaired. Because of the fire the ceiling got worse and we were left with a hole there. Again we asked for this to be repaired as there were also two children in the house. After a year and a half, someone from the council came out to take a sample of the ceiling. I asked the council worker what for, and he replied "its just a sample which is normal" but i had my doubts.
After another few months a company contracted for the council came to repair the ceiling, the kitchen was cleared and was covered off with blue protective material so stop anything going into other rooms (and also for us to see in) Also the van that they were using was not on the street or anywhere in site (i thought this odd as there was no way they could walk with all that equipment) we went out for the day, but before i went i asked "is there asbestos up there" and was told there was only a small amount. When we returned we saw their van which had asbestos removal service on the side. (obviously they hid the van so we could not see) and the person who was looking after the house while we were out saw them taking big rolls of asbestos out the house to the van. Now surely we should have been warned that we had asbestos in an open hole in the ceiling especially with two children in the house. And they blatantly lied, we also ahd to pay full rent when there was a massive hole in the ceiling. What can we do about this? Any help much appreciated.

[blacksheep1979]

depends on the type of asbestos to the health risks there is several kinds and only one or two of these pose a proper health risk and only once they are broken and the particles becom airborn. Is the person 100% sure that the 'big rolls' that were removed were asbestos? With workers health they have to take every precaution so whilst they may be covered head to foot, with respirators the risk may be minimal or non existant.

[petethemanc]

It was definately asbestos, as another neighbour saw them carrying it out and recognized it instantly.

[demon_x_slash]

As blacksheep says, asbestos is only dangerous if the fibres get into the air, usually through it being broken, or if it's lying around, being kicked/trodden on. That's why you can keep up an asbestos-impregnated shed you've already got, but if you want it dismantled, the council has to come around and do it. I would definitely be asking some questions of the council though, as to why you were never explicitly told that the ceiling presented a possible hazard - I've found the general number for the Health and Safety Executive's Office, 0845 345 0055, and they take inquiries of this kind, but really, if the asbestos removed was intact, and the room was sealed off as it seemed to be during removal, your family should be more than safe.

(My qualifications? Being a dedicated urbexer, there's asbestos all over the old asylums and houses I visit, and I'm not dead yet )

[petethemanc]

Ok, seems we werent affected, what i was asking really was should be be paying full rent when we had a potential hazard like that in the house for two years??

[demon_x_slash]

It's not a hazard unless it's disturbed. Were you planning on taking your kitchen ceiling apart yourself? I'm being devil's advocate (council) here; I sympathise with your worries but it's really not a problem unless it's interfered with. I think that you should have been advised that there was asbestos, just in case you were planning on any major renovation, but if you were the council would have removed it for freee then anyway.

[simonjohn]

[quote=demon_x_slash;71818 0]It's not a hazard unless it's disturbed. Were you planning on taking your kitchen ceiling apart yourself? I'm being devil's advocate (council) here; I sympathise with your worries but it's really not a problem unless it's interfered with. I think that you should have been advised that there was asbestos, just in case you were planning on any major renovation, but if you were the council would have removed it for freee then anyway.[/QUOTE

A couple of years ago I attended an Asbestos awerness course as part of the work I do.

When the very word asbestos is mentioned there is always a degree alarm involved.

Asbestos comes in a variety of forms some a serious health hazard but most have an insignificant health hazard.

A scale of hazard is usualy based on the colour of the asbestos.
Blue Asbestos being the most hazardous ( with a direct link to mesothelioma)

Ranging down to white Asbestos with an insignificant risk to health.

Its important to verify the type of asbestos that was removed from your property and the length of exposure of its airborne state ie was it removed from cielings or walls.

[asbestos-dog]

Hello all 0/. This is my first post and as you can tell from my tag I'm mainly interested in asbestos. There does seem to be an undue amount of worry about asbestos but that isn't to say there is nothing to worry about. I've seen the asbestos removal industry blamed for creating hysteria but check out the response from the National Union of Teachers: Teachers sue over fears of asbestos dust in schools - Thames Laboratories
and
NUT calls for action on asbestos in schools - Thames Laboratories

Anyway - simonjohn is right about establishing the type of asbestos before you start to panic. Information-wise I've always found this site very helpful (hence the above links) Asbestos Surveys - Asbestos Consultants -Thames Laboratories. They have pretty regular news and a forum (they could do with monitoring it better but posts do get a reply eventually). Plus there's the HSE Information about health and safety at work (follow link use the search box to find asbestos info)

NB: I've just checked the Thames Laboratories site and news search doesn't work properly. The results come up but the links don't work. You can see the news article id number (bottom of you browser) if you hover over the link - if you do the same on the news pages you can find the story your after pretty quickly but this is still annoying

[JonCris]

Pete if you are now aware you may have been exposed to any type of asbestos you must seek legal advice now. If, God forbid, you or a member of your family are found later to have plural plaks on the lungs then if 3 years have passed you may be too late to seek compensation.

[asbestos-dog]

JonCris - are you sure that pleural plaque sufferers still get compensation? Last I saw they were still appealing the case Pleural plaque ruling to be appealed - Thames Laboratories

Admittedly this was some time ago...

[JonCris]

As No I'm not but the original ruling was, like much else that goes before the High Court these days, very bad law & contrary to all that had gone before

I'm suggesting that anyone knowingly exposed to asbestos should submit a claim now in order that they don't fall foul of the Statute of Limitations 3 year limit on personal injury claims

[petethemanc]

I have been away for a while and just re-visited this thread out of interest. Can i make a claim even now?

[blitz]

You have 3 years to make a claim so yes, just make sure you do the background work, check what type of asbestos it was and what the risk associated with it was. Also try and contact the an environmental health department from yours or another council.