Asbestos in the apartment? What to do?

[Walle99]

I'm in the process of tearing down an interior wall (brick) in the apartment. Adjacent to this is an old ventilation duct that is not in use. I was planning to leave it for now because it may contain asbestos. Unfortunately, bricks came loose during sawing next to the ventilation duct, exposing a larger hole in it. I haven't sawed into the duct itself, but there's a black material inside it, which I suspect is asbestos.

My question is: what should I do now? Is the apartment uninhabitable until someone has tested and decontaminated it? I have covered the affected area with plastic and taped it carefully. The ventilation duct is perhaps two meters long, so what price range can I expect for decontamination?

Any tips are welcome on how to handle the problem. I assume that if asbestos has spread in connection with the brick loosening (which can't be much if so), it should settle eventually (I'm away for the weekend anyway), and then what should I do? Clean the whole house?

 

[Lärospånet]

Ventilation ducts with asbest are made of eternit and are rectangular in shape and concrete gray in color. You wrote black?

 

[Lärospånet]

This is how they look

 

[Demmpa]

There is nothing to worry about. It doesn't become "dangerous" with just a few exposures, but after many years of daily exposure.

Of course, you should try not to be exposed unnecessarily, but there's no need to be scared and overreact.

Did the channel break or is it the black stuff you think is asbestos? What does the black stuff look like?

Picture(s) are not wrong.

 

[Walle99]

Ventilation ducts with asbestos are made of eternit and are rectangular in shape and concrete gray in color. You wrote black?

It is rectangular on the outside just like your picture, but the outer layer can hardly be asbestos. It can hardly be allowed to let an asbestos duct remain if you just paint a little bit on top?

The black is most visible at one end of the duct. There is plaster on the outside of the end, and this came loose a bit during the demolition of the brick wall, and inside this is a black material that does not appear in the brick wall otherwise.

 

[Lärospånet]

The entire pipes (that I'm talking about) are made of asbestos cement - that is, Eternit. They are no longer manufactured but are still in many houses. But they never were black - unless, of course, someone painted them.

 

[Walle99]

The entire pipes (which I am talking about) are cast from asbestos cement - that is Eternit. They are no longer manufactured but are still found in many houses. But they were never black - unless someone painted them, of course.

Okay, no, this is some special material that is (or has become) black. It isn't painted but is located behind the plaster. I've just heard that ventilation ducts can contain asbestos and the house is old. My thought was that it might be some kind of asbestos insulation.

It's nothing to worry about. It doesn't become "dangerous" with just a few exposures, but only after many years of daily exposure.

Of course, you should try not to be exposed unnecessarily, but there's no need to be scared and overreact.

Did the duct break, or do you think the black material is asbestos? What does the black material look like?

Pictures are not wrong.

The black material is most visible at one end; the duct ended against a brick wall that I removed. During this process, some plaster or similar came off the duct, and underneath was this black material. I didn't look that closely, but the texture somewhat resembled rough asphalt. I have no idea what it might be, but I thought it might be some sort of insulation, and since ventilation ducts in old houses can contain asbestos, I became uncertain.

Besides this, there was a hole on the side. The ventilation duct is directly against the brick wall I'm removing, and when I sawed directly underneath it, a couple of bricks came loose into a hole. I didn't look closely beyond noticing that there also seemed to be some black material inside there.

I'll take some pictures next time I'm there.

 

[Johan456]

If you want to remove it, I've ordered quite a bit of decontamination work. The area needs to be sealed with plastic, then the duct has to be demolished and the area should be under negative pressure for a certain number of hours. After that, the surface is vacuumed and wiped before the plastic is removed. The decontamination workers are often two people, and they need at least 4 hours. But don't be surprised if it takes two people 8 hours since they will also have to travel to dispose of waste. 2 people 4-8h = 4400kr-8800kr. You can get ROT on this. Additional costs may include a dust trap with a HEPA filter, vacuum cleaner, disposable overalls, and waste disposal costs. This can amount to another 1000kr. Additionally, there might be a setup fee. It can be up to 1500kr. Call a decontamination company and request a fixed price. It might be that they are not allowed to provide a fixed price; whether this is true, I don't know. However, you should be able to get information on their fixed costs. They may also charge a fee for the application they must make to the Swedish Work Environment Authority at least 48 hours before they can start.

However, this varies from company to company and how professional they are. A few years ago, I read in a trade magazine that 8 out of 10 decontaminations are carried out incorrectly...

 

[Leif i Skåne]

Put it in a garbage bag and throw it away at a recycling center; they have a container for eternit. If you want to increase safety, wet it with water first to reduce the risk of dust. (You have to handle the pipe daily for 30 years to get damaged from it.) Wherever you are on the globe, you breathe in 20-100 fibers of asbestos every hour, and humanity hasn't died out from it. It's only when the concentration is as dense as smoke at a concert that asbestos is dangerous.

https://www.byggahus.se/forum/threads/asbest-fakta-om-verkliga-risker.249301/

 

[useless]

The material is completely harmless as long as you don't saw/drill into it or crush it. Carefully detach the pipes, wrap them in plastic, and take them to the dump.