Materials containing asbestos were used in many homes before they were banned from use in Queensland in 1990. So when renovating with asbestos please take note of the following.
Asbestos was typically used in fibro roofs, walls and soffits. In many houses fibro was also used internally for wet areas such as kitchens, bathrooms and laundries. Asbestos cement can also be found in flat sheets, profiled sheets, corrugated sheets, shingles, compressed sheets, rigid board insulation and building products such as pipes and guttering.
Second hand materials or products containing asbestos can also have been installed or used after asbestos was banned and may be found in newer homes. An extensive list of examples of asbestos-containing materials is available in Appendix A of the asbestos management code.
Renovators
It is often very difficult to identify the presence of asbestos by sight. The only way to be certain is to have a sample of the material analysed by a laboratory. Sampling of anything you suspect may contain asbestos is itself hazardous and should only be done by a competent person, and analysed only in accredited laboratories.
Householders and renovators can manage the risks of asbestos by:
- Being aware of what asbestos is and where it can be found when renovating with asbestos.
- Having suspect materials tested or by treating suspect materials as if they contain asbestos.
- Being aware if the responsibilities of clients and the responsibilities of asbestos removalists under the asbestos removal code.
- Ensuring that work removing any amount of friable asbestos is done by a certified asbestos removalist.
- Ensuring that from 1 July 2006 removal of 10m2 or more of bonded asbestos is done by a certified removalist. ( holder of a “B” class licence)
- Ensuring that removal of less than 10m2 of bonded asbestos is done as described in the asbestos removal code.
- Ensuring that any work performed with bonded asbestos is as described in the asbestos management code.