asbestos testing - diy asbestos testing kits and lab results

[homeraway]

hi

just wondered if anyone has used the diy asbestos testing process where you post off a sample of the possible asbestos material and have it tested in a lab and they send you the results back.

most likely will be using a local firm to come out and take sample and provide test results from lab analysis but I have also found a couple of companies on web providing test results direct from samples you send them and wondered what experience / views there might be on here.


costings so far approx £81 inc vat for local firm and £25 for postal lab result. (by Cornerstone asbestos testing on web)

we have about 9m2 of an older extension clad in what we believe to be asbestos based tiles/slates (they are about 3mm thick and similar in size to standard slate tiles.


thanks d

 

[footprints]

I used a company to come out and test for a couple of samples, then I contacted them and asked if they will test samples I took which they did.

I felt happier using them rather than an unknown company off the net. About £100 to come out and £42 for my own sample.

Try here for a company.

http://www.arca.org.uk/

 

[homeraway]

thanks footprints

that website looks a good start and at least the companies will be registered which is a bit more comforting to know.

ill check some out.

 

[Nozzle]

Let us say it is not asbestos. What is your disposal route? How will this change if it is asbestos?

Nozzle

 

[homeraway]

if it isn't asbestos then they will be put in a skip.

if its the cement asbestos - i intend looking into the disposal process for that, there are conflicting instructions for my local area as to whether they do provide a service for local disposal or not.
I have all the local council information available to me

if its the more dangerous asbestos (as in not the cement asbestos) then it will be a contractor to remove it.

The main thing is to get the correct information before taking any response from a contractor so that I know what I need to do (for responsible disposal) and at the right price and not what a contractor wants to sell me.

 

[Nozzle]

That is an excellent plan - if any of it involved taking it to the tip that is where the catch occurs - the tip wont take it whether it is plasterboard or plasterboard covered in artex which unfortunately makes the "proving it's not asbestos" bit a moot point.

Nozzle

 

[homeraway]

our local tip takes plasterboard

these are individual external tiles like slates so no gypsum in sight

im guessing if they are asbestos it was designed to cope with the heat from a meteor strike or something.

 

[YorkshireMidge]

The Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM) offer an asbestos lab testing service by post which I have used a couple of times, most recently in 2017 to check an Artex sample. https://www.iom-world.org/lab-services/asbestos-sample-testing/

It was more than £25. Have a feeling it was around £36+vat mark at the time and will likely have gone up since then, but I got two samples tested for that fee. I like the fact they are a reputable organisation with no links to companies who are trying to flog asbestos clean-up services.

Artex of a certain age typically contains white asbestos which is relatively low risk compared with other types, and I felt OK about taking a sample of that myself with a few sensible handling precautions (mask, dampen surface liberally with water so it releases little or no dust, double-bag sample etc.).