Friday, 29 Mar 2024

What are the potential risks of asbestos in your home?

What are the potential risks of asbestos in your home?

Your home is one of the most expensive purchases of your life and it is vital to check for issues or defects with the property. Some problems may be expensive or an inconvenience; other issues could impact your health. Asbestos is an example of a problem that could be seriously damaging to your health, so let’s look at what asbestos is and the potential risks.

What is it asbestos?

Asbestos is a material that was commonly used in the first half of the 20th century in house building for insulation and strengthening. It is made up of microscopic long, thin and flexible fibres. Naturally resistant to fire, heat, corrosion and electrical damage, asbestos seemed ideal to use in roofing; flooring; behind fuse boxes, boilers or fires; or around wiring or pipes. If a property was built before 2000, it is possible that the building contains asbestos. Certain types of asbestos were banned in the 1980s in the UK, but white asbestos was not banned until 1999.

What is the danger of asbestos?

When asbestos is disturbed or damaged, minuscule fibres are released that can be easily inhaled into the lungs, causing a range of serious respiratory-related diseases including:

– Asbestosis – non-malignant scarring of lung tissue.
– Non-malignant pleural disease – thickening of the lung lining.
– Mesothelioma – cancer that affects mainly the lung lining.
– Asbestos-related lung cancer.

What to do if you have asbestos

If you have asbestos in your property, rest assured that it can be dealt with by an expert. When purchasing a property, it is always advisable to have a homebuyers survey to pick up any issues with the building; for example, a homebuyers survey will be able to detect any asbestos so that you are fully aware of the situation. Asbestos can be safely removed, but this is something you will need to budget and plan for. You can click here for a homebuyers survey if you are purchasing a property so that you are fully informed of all possible issues.

The effects of asbestos can be fatal; however, if homebuyers and homeowners are aware of the dangers, they are better placed to deal with the issue and can arrange to have the asbestos safely removed so that they can enjoy their home safely.

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