Welcome to the forum Mishmash although I'm sorry for the reason you're joining us.

I just wanted to make you aware of this website as it has information and advice about asbestos that I hope will answer some of your questions and put your mind at ease.

It may be worth having a quick chat with your doctor about this as well.

Kind regards,

Steph, Cancer Chat Moderator

Hi there, 

We've just been through a very similar situation with our house and asbestos and in the end we paid to have an air reassurance test done. This basically tests the air in your home and picks up any dust. It's then examined under a microscope to check for any asbestos. 

Thankfully the air reassurance test came back fine. We actually had the nasty type of asbestos in our home (AIB) and the workman had left chunks of it around our property! Black mastic is not considered a friable material unless you are sanding it. The fibres are bound very strongly to the mastic, so don't worry. I'm convinced you won't have had any exposure from the black mastic. It's also a very low percentage of asbestos in black mastic.

So rest assured, we had friable asbestos badly handled in our home and we've been told it's okay. Enjoy the house renovation. 

P. S. If you are still worried to put your mind at ease, contact the Testing Lab and they will perform an asbestos air reassurance test for you. It costs around £260...not cheap, but worth it for peace of mind if you're worried.

Hope this helps, 

Kind regards, 

Emma x

I'm a plumbing and gas engineer .I was working in a domestic kitchen homeowner had removed ceiling and floor tiles, we found out later there was aib packers on joists i spent 2 days there i did not break any asbestos ,but it was friable asbestos ,it does worry me slightly could I ask what the air tests came back as  ,was there a high presence of fibres in air?

Could you tell me how they test the air and how much was present in the air ?

Asbestos air testing is where a known volume of air is drawn through a filter over a certain period of time. During this time, airborne particles are collected on the filter which is then examined under a microscope.

There can be up to 10,000 asbestos fibres per m3 of air and this would be deemed as acceptable and pass the test. 

Hi,

So we had a piece of AIB broken and taken through our livingroom. it's worth noting the AIB was broken outside and then carried through into our house.

The air reassurance test uses high powered pumps which filter 200 liters of air. Once 200 liters has passed through the pumps the filter is then examined under a microscope for asbestos fibres. 

We ony had 4 fibres come back from the test, which was a massive relief. You can only have 20 asbestos fibres per m3 for it to pass as safe. I'm not sure where the figure of 10,000 fibres per m3 has come from, but that would be extreamly dangerous and classed as a high exposure. 

The guy who did the test for us was very experienced and knowledgable. He said that because asbetos is a natural mineral there is always asbestos present in the air around us, hence why 20 fibres per m3 is classed as safe. He really stressed that the danger is when you breath in a high concentration of asbetos dust e.g. from drilling or sanding.

I've lost so much sleep over asbetos and worried myself sick, but I would be very confident to say that in your case you would have been safe. Even AIB is only a harzard when it is being disturbed. So as long as you weren't bashing it, sanding it, drilling it, you will have been absolutely fine. Keep safe. 

Mine might be a little different to yours I was working in kitchen ,there was about 20/ pieces of aib packers on joists ,even though I did not disturb them ,previous work had been carried out before I attended ,I'm almost sure there would have been relatively high concentrations in room ,ever since working there I've had some minor symptoms .each piece was about 4 inch square ,

Try not to worry. First thing I would say is, were the AIB packers badly damaged? Secondly, was the environment dusty at all? 

Asbestos can be such a worrying thing, but one thing to remember is that symtoms would not show for many many years. It is most probably anxiety making you feel as though you have symptoms. 

Asbestos fibres are very sharp and therefore if they make it into the deeper part of the lungs, they can pierce the lining of the lungs. The human body is amazing at filtering out all kinds of dust and that's why the breathing in of asbestos dust in a high concentration is dangerous, as there is greater chance of some of the fibres entering into the deeper part of the lungs. If that does happen, the fibers scar the lungs which can lead to asbestos related lung problems. The scaring of the lungs takes many years to happen, some experts believe even upto 50+ years. 

It's also worth noting that you would probably need to see visable dust in the air for you to have had a high concentration of exposure. If you didn't personally touch the AIB, your exposure was most probably very minimal if at all no more dangerous than being in a building that contains asbestos e.g. schools etc.

Also, asbestos dust settles within 72 hours of being distrubed, so if the previous work was done a couple of days before you went into the kitchen, chances are the majority of any disturbed dust would have settled on the floor.  

I spent a week in a confrence room, only to later discover that the celing was made of AIB, which was in awful condition with big holes in it! This made me worried sick and made me very anxious, so I completely understand your concerns.

This is where it get worse for me as when I noticed the asbestos ,I got a asbestos man to attend the next day,.only to be greeted by homeowner and plasterer who had broke a small piece of aib .it was just hanging there by its fibres ,I must admit the asbestos bloke did not wear a mask, and he pointed out it was aib ,we was probably in room 5 to 10 minutes.it was only one piece that had just been broke probably no bigger than 4 to 5 inch I'm not sure how much fibres that would release into room  ,but like I say we was in room no longer than 10 mins

The asbetos man should have worn a mask because if he's doing that everyday then over time his exposure will mount up. But if the piece was no bigger than 4 to 5 inches then it will not have released a significant amount of fibres into the air. Yes it will have disturbed the asbestos, but not what you would class as a high, intense exposure. Plus you were in the room for such a short period of time, that I really wouldn't worry about it.

I think it's really good that you're concerned about asbestos, as sadly many tradsmen do come into contact with it on a regular basis. So it pays to be cautious and aware. 

But I really wouldn't worry. Going back to the air reassurance test we had, the guy told us so many stories. One which I think might help, is that a school with AIB ceiling tiles is constantly having air reassurance tests, because the kids are always bashing them, hitting them, damaging them. He said he doesn't know how the school gets away with it, but the air tests do pass. So yes it releases fibres, but not massive dangerous amounts. I hope that gives you some reassurance.