The neighbor is tearing down an asbestos cement roof!

[Tomtom79]

I have read the thread and there are many good points. I fully understand that the risk is directly linked to the degree of exposure. What I want to know is more about experiences and the like concerning how much dust is released when removing asbestos roofing. THAT it is released we know. The question is how much and how dangerous it is 80 meters away.

Just because it's extremely dangerous to skydive without a parachute doesn't mean all other risks and dangers are worth exposing yourself to. Concerns about things are rarely based on exact statistics. For example, people worry almost to death about the Coronavirus even though it's very unlikely that you will die from it. Comparing asbestos exposure to carrying your own child is just irrelevant.

With that said, let's keep a good tone. I don't want to get into the "my grandfather ate asbestos for breakfast and he lived to 92" discussion because it is fruitless.

What is relevant is that there IS a greater risk that your child will be harmed if you carry it than it will be harmed by your neighbor's asbestos roof removal. The likelihood of your child being harmed by Corona is, on the other hand, many, many times greater, although even that risk is very, very small.

 

[Svampe]

A colleague lives in a city area with plots that are 3-500 square meters and houses that are certainly 100-180 square meters, so the houses are very close to each other. He had an asbestos facade that he had removed last summer, and the company that did it only put up protection for windows and doors and had protection themselves. No measures were taken to prevent asbestos fibers from being released into the air, and they even said that the children could play outside if they wanted to, but the colleague felt it seemed unnecessary for them to play on the same side of the house where they were currently demolishing.

Then I also think that there is likely no difference in the amount of asbestos fibers one is exposed to whether the asbestos panels are on the house or on a pallet. As long as they are not broken, that is.

So the risk is probably considerably greater that you are exposed to a harmful amount of particles/fibers if the neighbor decides to burn plastic, impregnated wood, or similar, and that is also forbidden, but many do it anyway.

 

[MagHam]

OK, we're thinking in a completely different way:
If the asbestos roof remains for another 20 years, during your child's upbringing, it will regularly release a little little amount of fibers. When cones fall, when it hails and rains for example. Most of it goes down into the surface layer of the ground right by the building. Then it can be stirred up when you rake, for instance.
Now you get rid of the roof at once and the wind blows away from you. It almost sounds good if you look at it that way.

 

[greenhouse]

As mentioned, there is no danger. The neighbor has not exposed anyone to danger. Even asbestos removers remove eternit outdoors without any protection for the surroundings. The difference is that their personnel, who work with this daily, protect themselves with appropriate respiratory masks.

That was a good point that I hadn't thought of! The question is whether asbestos removers cordon off around the object to be decontaminated within a certain radius or if they, for example, spray water?

 

[GK100]

That he has been exposed to something harmful due to my neighbor's negligence and stinginess.

From what you describe in #1, it seems quite the opposite, that your neighbor is doing a good and sensible job in every way. Detaching them and sliding them down to the eaves to load onto pallets is fantastically gentle compared to many common ways of removing an asbestos roof. This, together with the minimal risk in itself regardless of the method at that distance, should reassure you if you think it over, preferably with some small calculation/estimate.

 

[Pin]

You have already started almost ten other asbestos/eternit threads where the concerns have been addressed.

 

[greenhouse]

I mean that the Internet gives kreti and pleti the opportunity to spread any disinformation. The worst example of that, is probably "Familjeliv". Before the internet, one had to seek information in professional literature at the library. A significantly safer source, than random statements from imaginative amateurs who are more interested in collecting likes and reading their own text, than conveying relevant facts. That your concern for the neighbor's roof is "obvious", is not the least bit obvious, but self-inflicted. Despite our reassuring comments, you continue to worry. Which I believe is because you prefer to trust ignorant doom-mongers, who thrive on collecting likes, rather than us. Staffan

Staffan. I completely agree that the Internet is a "tyckokrati".

 

[greenhouse]

Assuming you mean cubic centimeters.
Calculation based on that:
A human breathes about 25,000 liters of air a day
100 cm2 = 1 liter
0.0001 * 100 * 25000 = 250 fibers per day we consume "naturally"

Surely we inhale asbestos when we breathe. But this research likely applies to large cities and not a village with 10 houses in the middle of the forest in northern Sweden. It's probably a large international study equivalent.

 

[greenhouse]

Well, it depends.
If you jump from a thousand meters high, it's extremely dangerous. But if you jump from a height of one centimeter, the risk is greatly reduced. And that is the height at which you and the blondie find yourselves.

Staffan

You probably understood my point. However, you also have a point that it may very well be that we've ingested little or nothing at all. And that's when a parachute jump from 1 cm makes sense.

 

[greenhouse]

A colleague lives in the city in a residential area where the plots are 3-500 sqm and the houses are surely 100-180 sqm, so it's very close between the houses. He had an asbestos facade that he had taken down last summer, and the company that did it only put up protection for windows and doors and had their own protection. No protection was used to prevent asbestos fibers from getting into the air, and they even said the children could be outside playing if they wanted, but the colleague felt that it was a bit unnecessary for them to play on the same side of the house they were currently tearing off.

Then I also think that there is probably no difference in how much asbestos fibers you are exposed to whether the asbestos panels are on the house or on a pallet. As long as they are not broken, that is.

So the risk is probably significantly greater that you will be exposed to a harmful amount of particles/fibers if the neighbor decides to burn plastic, impregnated wood or similar, and that is also forbidden to do, but many do it anyway

Good answer! This is the kind of information I am looking for. Facts from (albeit via representative) professionals in a similar situation.

 

[greenhouse]

OK we think in a completely different way:
If the eternit roof stays for another 20 years, during your child's upbringing, it will regularly release some little fibers. When cones fall, it hails, and rains, for example. Most of it goes down into the ground surface right by the building. Then it can be swirled up when raking, for example.
Now you get rid of the roof at once and the wind blows away from you. Sounds almost good if you look at it that way.

Sure it's good to get rid of the stuff now, but they could have told me beforehand so I could have stayed away from the yard while they work.

 

[greenhouse]

From what you describe in #1, it seems quite the opposite; your neighbor is doing a good and sensible job in every way. Loosening them and sliding down to the eaves to load onto pallets is remarkably gentle compared to many common methods of stripping an asbestos roof. That, along with the inherently minimal risk regardless of method at that distance, should put your mind at ease if you consider the matter, preferably with a small calculation/estimate.

Yes, he does handle it quite neatly. However, the roof should be watered down, and it wouldn't hurt if he informed you in advance that he planned to tear down the roof. Additionally, the waste should be wrapped in plastic and labeled, which is not happening. The risk is, of course, low but ideally, it would be zero.

 

[greenhouse]

Du har ju redan startat nästan tio andra asbest/eternit threads where the concerns have been addressed.

No, different questions/materials. Clearly, I am anxious when it comes to asbestos. I won't deny that.

 

[Nyfniken]

The question is whether asbestos removers cordon off around the object to be cleaned within a certain radius or if they, for example, spray with water?

Just call and ask.

 

[C.Lundin]

I can guarantee that more than half of those who have responded in this thread are more competent to speak on the matter than any asbestos remover.

It seems like you want agreement so that you can take another round with the neighbor and complain unjustly.

As everyone has said before, it is completely harmless.
Highly unlikely that you would have had any issues even if the neighbor had carried over all the tiles and thrown them in through your kitchen window...