The neighbor is tearing down an asbestos cement roof!

greenhouse · 2020-05-26T11:36:00+00:00

Hello! We live in the countryside, and our neighbor has an outbuilding with an asbestos roof. Today, when I was about to bring in our 14-month-old son from his nap, I saw the neighbor was taking down the asbestos roof! I immediately ran inside with our son and closed all doors and windows. The neighbor's house is about 80 meters from where my son was sleeping and about 25 meters from our house. I called him, and he said they're removing the tiles one by one and sliding them down the battens onto a pallet they've lifted with a tractor at the bottom of the roof. He said some break in the middle, but otherwise, they're taking them down whole. However, he's just placing them openly on a pallet in the yard until he disposes of them instead of putting them in plastic bags. I asked him to at least spray water on the roof while removing the tiles, but I haven't checked if he's doing this. Of course, he says there's no dust, but I know it always dusts when you demolish, so it's clear there's dust, even if not nearly as much as when cutting asbestos, for instance. He claims there's more dust from the road, which is probably true, but the road is made of gravel, not asbestos! I know he can't possibly know how much dust he's releasing when removing the tiles. If the wind was blowing from our house, it would be less dangerous, but the wind direction is impossible to figure out. For myself, I'm not particularly worried, but our little son was outside sleeping and was also outside the day before when they were tearing down the roof (without me knowing). How dangerous can this be?! I understand it's impossible to answer how much my son has inhaled, but it would be reassuring if someone knows more about this. How long does asbestos dust remain in the air, i.e., when can we go out again? Could it blow in through natural ventilation in windows and doors? Should we evacuate the house until he's finished? Risking my son's health because a 74-year-old man is careless with asbestos is NOT an option!