Asbestos? Found in school ...help!!!

[jackie123]

Hello all, hoping someone can help me. I found some material that I suspect could be asbestos. One sample is a section of broken piping that looks like cement but it has brownish grey spines or prickles that I could see on the rough broken edge, the other sample is like a white/grey sheet that has sort of spun white fairy floss texture over it, feels sort of like cement sheet but maybe a tad thicker but not much and maybe a little softer. The other material I found was sort of like hemp colour wise but more like a texture of insulation batts. I am stressing as to what to do as kids have been playing with all this material. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thx

[jaksam]

I think the best course of action would be to cordon off the area and prevent the kids from playing with it any further.

If this is a state school, I would be guessing that there is government education department who is in charge of the school and associated maintenance and they should be contacted. If it is a private school then they should be able to contact the relevant people to assess and remove the offending material if required.

There are a number of companies in the yellow pages across Australia that specialise in asbestos removal. I just entered in "asbestos removal" in the business type for Brisbane and it returned 188 results !

Somebody else may have a specific company they can recommend.

Good luck !

[jackie123]

Hi, I have been trying to get action but it appears to be no interest so I am sort of lost as to what to do next

[bullfright]

It isn't really possible to identify asbestos without proper lab testing so get a sample tested as soon as possible. It is not an expensive procedure.

[echnidna]

astbestos fibres are not brown

[jackie123]

The fibres are not an brown brown sort of greyish brown, like a mousy brown grey colour, quite spinny like a needle and appeared rigid & straight. These pipes did they just come in cement asbestos, pvc & metal. Was there any other types used?

[mikm]

Not having a go at you Jackie, but I reckon the first thing to do is not panic. Second thing to do is something along the lines of Jacksam's advice.
Best of luck with it and I hope it turns out OK for you.



A now for some general ramblings on this topic.

Since we became aware of the dangers of asbestos, people have become a too little paranoid about it. Yes, under certain circumstances it can be dangerous, but (and here's the clincher) the presence of materials containing asbestos in your immediate vicinity is not a signed death warrant. As far as I'm aware, the only danger is breathing asestos fibres. No danger exists from looking at it, thinking about it, skin contact or even eating it. If an accredited lab identifies material as asbestos, there may be cause for concern if it has been handled, but only if it has been damaged/cut/broken and the fibres actually taken into the lungs. In some cases, less fibres are released if the asbestos is properly sealed in place than if it's removed, but people usually panic and want complete removal. Asbestos used in construction usually only presents a danger when disturbed.

Keep in mind that up until recently in Australia, asbestos was used in brake linings (amongst other things), so anybody living in urban centres (and is old enough to go to school) has been exposed to some level of asbestos. I know of one study by a brake lining manufacturer where the air quality outside Flinders St train station in the Melbourne CBD about ten years ago was found to have levels of asbestos far in excess of that considered safe.

My point is: we should absolutely minimise exposure as much as is humanly possible without losing too much sleep if some is found in our general vicinity as odds are, we have all had some level of exposure already. Asbestos risk needs to be taken very seriously, all the while considering that one asbestos fibre is not necessarily going to kill you.

[jackie123]

Thank you so much for your response. To be honest I cant help but stress about it as this school had demolition work plus asbestos removal. There is all these broken fragements that are lying around and the kids have been playing with making different things. I am particulary worried about the broken pipe fragements and the sheet type that has all this cotton like fibres over it. I have a number of samples that I will get tested but I have so many possing questions to how did this occur when there is meant to be asbestos removal proceedures to follow. How long has it been there? what danger has the kids and general public been exposed to if this is Asbestos?. The fragements I found of the sheeting appear to be old deterioted sheets or maybe millboard, they appear quite friable and could be crumbled quite easy from what I can ascertain.

[adamskismith]

Dear Jackie,
it sounds like your kids might be dealing with asbestos.
It's quite easy to get rid of it: call some asbestos removalists, who will in turn wrap all materials in thick black plastic and take it to the tip. It will cost you between $50-150, depending on how much the tip charges.
If you're in WA let me know, as i have been dealing with asbestos for years.
regards,
Adam

[jackie123]

Thanks Adam, there's heaps of it!!! like the kids are making rock walls, throwing it, smashing it. What risks do you think the kids would have been exposed to?

[justinmcf]

hi jackie123, i am new member to this forum, very few posts, but i hope i can help you.

first thing to do, would be to buy yourself a respirator, sandwich/freezer bags.

take a small sample of the alleged asbestos and place in sandwich bag and then seal this bag. place in an envelope and prepare for postage.

the company i have been recommended by the HIA whom, btw, i got my class B asbestos removal licence from, is Parsons Brinckerhoff.
web address.. pb.com.au

they have offices/labs in every major city in australia and nz.

you will get all their contact details on their website.

i would also recommend taping off the area where you think the asbestos is, you can also use a spray bottle( from bunnings, very cheap), fill with one fifth PVA carpenters wood glue, four fifths water and mix thoroughly.
then you can spray affected pipes/sheets/materials.

this mixture will prevent any loose dust particles becoming airborne while you are waiting for the sample to be tested at the lab and until you get a licenced asbestos removal contractor to remove the asbestos.

hope this helps you, good luck , justin.

[jackie123]

Hi Justin, I tend to agree I think it is asbestos, trouble is I've already handled it myself, I carefully picked it up with my bare hands, I didn't break it they are relatively small fragements and it's quite fragile regardless. I just gently placed it into a bag well a couple of bags and sealed it and then washed my hands. Hopefully this was safe but really when you think of it I must of been walking through it as it's scattered under the dirt and on top of it. Do you think it would still be dangerous since I have bhandled it without any protection? oh my, I am starting to stress about all this. The other problem is I dont have any control to just tape it off as it is not my property but a government department

[justinmcf]

handling asbestos is not a major problem, as long as you have washed your hands, which you say you did, so dont worry.

the main problem with asbestos is the airborne dust, it only takes 1 particle to get lodged in your lungs and damage to be done. if i was you i would google asbestos removal in your city and call them tomorrow morning.

i would also be calling the builder that you say has been working there too, find out if the builder is licenced to handle/remove asbestos.

asbestos removal is expensive, a lot more than $50-$150 dollars.
asbestos skip would be a minimum $440. which does include heavy duty 200 micrometre polythene lining for the skip.

regards, justin.

[jackie123]

Apparently the removal of the abestos was contracted out to an Abestos remover and apparently there is compliance certificates etc but why would this material be left lying around? what is more bizare is that the director apparently has sent the piping material away more than a week ago but keeps saying the results are not back. I thought normally the results would be through in 24-48 hours

[justinmcf]

i would be calling the asbestos removal company and demand that they arrive on site tomorrow morning. if they were contracted to remove all the asbestos they should have removed that material also. surely that would have been included in their original contract.

as far as the sample that has been sent to the lab, some labs are fast, some slow, it all depends how busy they are.