Who in Caithness would remove semi asbestos....

[Rosie 2000]

Does any one know who would remove semi asbestos tiles of my shower ceiling and dispose of them, in Wick, please pm,thanks.

[Better Out Than In]

Not sure what Semi-asbestos tiles means. If they are encapsulated asbestos and not fixed down then you can remove them yourself (lower level of hazard classification). Wear a disposable paper suit and a high quality, fine filter dust mask and bag these up after use. If possible ventilate room but also keep sealed from rest of house. Do not cut, drill, abrade or break the tiles. They need to be double bagged in heavy plastic. Each bag to be separately sealed and separately marked as containing asbestos. The outer bag should be red plastic but not always a problem as long as well marked (bags can be bought on-line). You can then fill in a form from Highland Council and dispose of them via SEPA but you may have to take them to "Seater Site" yourself. There should be a special container for this type of encapsulated asbestos. If they are fixed or glued in position then DO NOT remove them yourself. Locally I believe NORBLOC have an asbestos removal licence. Occassionally contractors appear at Dounreay and Vulcan who may be happy to take on a side job - but I doubt it. p.s. Keep a water spray handy. If you do break a tile keep it wetted and bag it.

[Rosie 2000]

Hi Better out than in, thank you for your reply. The tiles have a circle with c/u in it and asbestolux written on the under side, they are screwed to the ceiling, do you know any thing about them and are they to be treated the same? or are they not so severe?

[Alrock]

Asbestolux and Turnabestos (https://www.asbestoslawpartnership.co.uk/news/25/Asbestolux-turnabestos)

[Better Out Than In]

Hi Better out than in, thank you for your reply. The tiles have a circle with c/u in it and asbestolux written on the under side, they are screwed to the ceiling, do you know any thing about them and are they to be treated the same? or are they not so severe?

Asbestolux is a trade name for an encapsulated board style that was in common use - maybe from 1960 to 80's or there abouts. They were used because fire resistant and insulative. They are the type of asbestos enclosed in a matrix (mostly cement) and so meet the criteria of being domestic asbestos boards that you can dispose to SEPA - using form from Highland Council. To remove them do just as I said previously. However how easy depends on how screwed to the ceiling. For some boards the screw holes were pre-made during manufacture and so holes are reasonably well sealed. However your installer may have drilled and screwed them in-situ. Assume the latter until you have one tile off. To unscrew a test tile, keep spraying water around the hole as you unscrew it, this should prevent asbestos fibres going airborne.

So if pre-made holes then just unscrew and bag, but I would possibly spray just in case screws are rubbing edges. If not pre-made keep quite wet and take extra care. A second person with a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter may help to stop fibres spreading outside the bathroom. Airborn asbestos fibres can (easily) be small enough to pass through a HEPA filter so better way is to keep wetted to avoid airborn. When emtying hoover treat contents as asbestos contaminated.

I would also wipe the surfaces they were screwed to thoroughly with a wet cloth and dispose as asbestos waste.

The boards are quite brittle. As encapsulated, if you do break one, the amount of fibres released will be small. Spray along edges as you bag it. It may be worth sealing tile / broken edge individually and then you can carry on adding to bag. The risks are the same as handling asbestos roofing sheet so if you follow my guidance you can mitigate the hazards.

[Rosie 2000]

Better out than in, you are a gem, I feel better now knowing, I bought the house lately and decorating lead us to these tiles. Many thanks.