Asbestos in Plaster wall?? I think Im screwed :(

[dka1]

So I live with my aunt and uncle, and we got somebody in to decorate my room. When he came in, he said two walls plaster walls had to go down and subsequently knocked them down.

It is only after that I stumbled across a page detailing the dangers of DIY rennovations on old properties, which discussed lead and asbestos. I presume the decorator knew about this but thought the wall did not contain asbestos. I did some tests for lead paint and Im pretty confident there is none inside.

So alot of pieces from the walls he knocked contained animal hair and clearly had no asbestos. But then some parts have white looking strands of "hair" and Im really beginning to suspect it is asbestos. Im thinking perhaps some parts were plastered later and had asbestos mixed in.

Im attatching photos showing it, but if it is asbestos Im completely screwed because the dust got everywhere and I still left a few items in the room

Thanks for the help!

 

[JohnD]

How old do you think the plaster is?

What reason do you have for thinking it contains asbestos?

Are you near a shipyard or a place that had large factory chimneys with steam boilers?

Try lighting those fibres with a match. What happens?

 

[dka1]

How old do you think the plaster is?

What reason do you have for thinking it contains asbestos?

Are you near a shipyard or a place that had large factory chimneys with steam boilers?

Try lighting those fibres with a match. What happens?

Hi thanks alot for replying!!

I have no idea, I presume the bulk of it was done in the 19th century? The house is an old red brick terrace, the decorator said its likely to be victorian or edwardian and the walls are lath and plaster. But parts of the wall seem to be plastered more recently as the plaster is different.

There's also plaster covering the old fireplace, Im guessing that was done later on, but Im unsure which decade it was likely to have been done.

As for why I think it contains asbestos? Im just being extremely worrisome (blame my OCD), its just the animal hair I can understand, but I have no idea what the white strands are, although they are rather long.

No I don't live near a shipyard, there was an old red-brick factory, but that was converted to some kind of Islamic centre, and if it had a chimney it is long gone (probably before I was 8 or so).

I will try that, if its asbestos the it won't burn at all right?

I was thinking it could possibly just be goats hair but, it is really finely clumped together.

 

[^woody^]

Plaster did not contain asbestos, and you would need a microscope to see the fibres anyway. It's not like [horse] hair - which was used in plaster.

 

[noseall]

FFS!
You need to get yourself one of those sterile bubbles. A bit like a space suit for the home. Your mates will love it.

 

[dka1]

^LOL! That would be soo cool the ultimate OCD tool .

Thanks woody, noseall and JohnD, seems I was worrying for nothing, I'll do the burn test just to put me totally at ease!

EDIT: Out of interest though, what could those white fibre things be? Goat hair? They do look rather long I think.

 

[WabbitPoo]

Out of even more interest,...did you say your DECORATOR said walls had to come down, and then proceeded to knock them down?!? Do you mean he took the plaster off the wall or that he really knocked down the walls?!?!?

Oh, and please don't start a sentence with the word "So"...it is a really annoying trait that seems to be creeping into the language. That's my OCD for ya!

 

[lostinthelight]

The render and mortar in the older part of my house has some hair that looks like cow hair.
In the newer part built in the 1970's there were some textured ceilings that were skimmed over but before we touched them samples were sent to http://www.passukltd.co.uk/asbestos-testing.html and the results were negative.
Well worth the fee for piece or mind?

 

[garyo]

Oh, and please don't start a sentence with the word "So"...it is a really annoying trait that seems to be creeping into

I find it slightly more annoying than asbestos actually.

 

[dka1]

Out of even more interest,...did you say your DECORATOR said walls had to come down, and then proceeded to knock them down?!? Do you mean he took the plaster off the wall or that he really knocked down the walls?!?!?

Oh, and please don't start a sentence with the word "So"...it is a really annoying trait that seems to be creeping into the language. That's my OCD for ya!

So sorry about that

Sorry, I should've said plaster on the walls.

Oh, and please don't start a sentence with the word "So"...it is a really annoying trait that seems to be creeping into

I find it slightly more annoying than asbestos actually.

So you should, Ive heard that its more fatal. Seeing a So at the beginning of a sentence just once is guaranteed to cause long term health problems. It's a hard knock life

 

[Nige F]

Ah So - is that OK?

 

[gregers]

SO you think youve cracked the problem then?

 

[chappers]

Guys, this isn't a laughing matter, my Great Uncle died of asbestosis, and it took them three weeks to cremate him