Asbestos in plaster ?

[nick6]

Hi
I was working in a mates house (old house) before chiseling out and one of the walls was different. The plaster was really tough (my sds drill struggled with it) and it appeared to have little white crystals in the plaster. It was only after i did a small amount of it i thought it could be asbestos and now im a little worried.

So is it asbestos or has anyone else experienced anything similar ? And what should i do if it is asbestos ?

 

[SaladFingers]

Plaster in old houses is very tough as in the old days they used to use a cement mix instead of bonding coat.

As for wheather or not it's asbestos, asbestos is a fibre, not a crystal as far as I know. It's possible that it may be a reaction with something.

 

[Adam_151]

As salad says, its a fibre and not a crystal, and the fibres are too small to be seen.

You cant rule out asbestos in plaster all together but it would not be usual practice, though it does sometimes turn up in places where it wouldn't normally be, heard of one site where bits of AIB ended up in the floor screed from offcuts being dumped there from work elsewhere on the site as the floor was being poured, etc.

If it doubt have it sent for analysis.

Domestic is a bit of a dodgy ground, in commerial and industrial settings the duty holder is required to have a level 3 (now called construction and demolition) survey prepared