Asbestos in Floor Tiles over 'fungal growth'.

[Letitbnown]

I am attempting to decorate/renovate my early 1960s house.
The downstairs floor area has been completely covered in tiles since it was built, the first owners apparently having a choice of tiles in the kitchen area only.
Before commencing any work a while ago, I pulled back the carpet in the dining room to check what appeared to be a floor damp problem by the rear French doors. In this area, and in other areas around the walls, there is white fungal looking breakout from the concrete itself. This seems to be 'capped' by the thick brown floor tiles of the room. It now looks as if this damp/fungal problem is over the whole of the ground floor of the house, except the kitchen.
The kitchen is the one room I have been able to begin working in. Before this happened I took samples of the floor tiles from this room, where there were two old 'stick on' types, one on top of the other, and the other rooms, that were covered in the thick brown and brittle type. These samples were tested locally, and it was found that the kitchen tiles were harmless, whilst the brown and brittle ones contained 1% asbestos.
Now 1% does not sound a great deal, but it is still asbestos and dangerous.
I now have the double problem of these tiles, breaking up under the carpets, and the dampness (sodium breakout?) in the concrete beneath.
Had I not felt suspicion in the tile content originally, I would have simply attempted to remove them myself, with probably just a face mask as protection. But I do realize that asbestos fibres, when released, can have deadly consequences, should they be inhaled by anyone in the locality.
Does anyone have a safe and sensible solution to my problem please? It is a problem right now, just because of the brittle state of some of the tiles.

 

[galliano2001]

Letitbnown - firstly, relax, asbestos containing thermoplastic floor tiles are not a health hazard. I work as an asbestos consultant for a large engineering consultancy so this is not random information

The asbestos in your floor tiles will be in all probability chrysotile asbestos (white) which will be well trapped within the matrix of the tile itself, even though they are getting old.

Removal of this type of asbestos containing product does not require you to employ an HSE licensed contractor and is well within the remit of a DIY job.

Use a scraper to lift the tiles up, you want to break them as little as possible to be extra safe, though don't panic as lots will break! Place the tiles in strong polythene sacks and dispose of as asbestos waste at your local site, phone in advance to make sure they accept this domestic waste! They will normally take plastics, cement, resins etc with no problem.

There is a good chance that the adhesive will also have contained asbestos in trace quantities (is a very dark black thick adhesive?). You wont get this up without using some serious chemicals or having the floor 'scabbled' to remove the surface, dont bother, just have your new floor laid over the top.

Any questions, just ask. If you are feeling paranoid wear a disposable dust mask that is P3 rated and disposable overalls that you will add to the tiles when you throw them away. Both can be obtained from large B&Q type stores.

 

[Letitbnown]

galliano2001, I cannot thank you enough. Your reply has certainly changed the whole complexion of the home situation, and both my wife and I feel a great sense of relief and appreciation. I will be tackling the tile removal as you have suggested, and will be using the precautionary measures as mentioned.
There is just one question that I feel needs to be asked, and that is with regards to clearing up after the tiles have been removed. There will be an amount of material that will require either sweeping or vacuuming. Will it be okay to use an ordinary household vacuum cleaner for this?

 

[galliano2001]

Vacuum cleaner - in a word no. What the pros use is an H-Type vacuum cleaner that has its waste removed under controlled conditions. You can rent these, but its overkill for your situation. I would use a damp broom to keep the dust down and dispose of that broom along with the other waste.

The key aim is to minimise dust, and importantly airborne dust.