We are all aware that asbestos is an extremely dangerous material, especially when it ages or becomes damaged. When it does age or become damaged it releases small fibres into the air. These fibres can then be breathed in, and may settle for a long time in the lungs.
If large amounts of fibres are breathed in they can cause diseases such as lung cancer or Mesothelioma. Both diseases are extremely dangerous and can be fatal.
Asbestos, although extremely dangerous, can take from 20-40 years to show its symptoms. This means that you could have come into contact with the disease a long time ago. Here at The Injury Lawyers we know how severe the disease can be and how it can affect the lives of thousands of workers in the UK. We want to make you aware or what types of material that may contain asbestos you come into contact with.
Insulating board: this was used mainly in the 1960’s and 1970’s. It provided heat and sound insulation and was used mainly in houses, and could be found in bath panels, wall lining, ceiling tiles and infill panels.
Asbestos Lagging: This material was widely used in public buildings and system-built flats during the 1960’s and the early 1970’s. It was used as a thermal insulator for pipes and boilers.
Sprayed coating: These contained up to 85% asbestos, so although unknown at the time were of a high risk. They were mainly used for fire protection of structural steel and can be found in flats built around the 1960’s. Coatings were mainly applied around the core of the building such as service ducts, lift shafts, etc. Use of this stopped in 1974 and become prohibited in 1986. Since then a lot of sprayed asbestos has been removed from buildings to prevent the fibres being released.
Asbestos cement products: this is the most used asbestos material. Use of it since 1976 has decreased but it is still being used today, particularly in roofing and cladding products. Used more widely in buildings as profiled sheets for roofing and wall cladding, in flat sheets and partition boards for linings to walls and ceilings, in bath panels, soffit boards, fire surrounds, flue pipes, cold water tanks and as roofing tiles and slates. It has also been used for roofing and cladding for garages and sheds and in guttering and drainpipes.
Domestic equipment: It has been used in domestic equipment such as oven gloves, ironing boards, seals on cooker doors and fire blankets and in brake linings and pads. However the use of it has now been banned in such products.
Heating appliances: It was used in some warm air heating systems, electric storage heaters, in flameless catalytic gas heaters and some early coal effect gas heaters. The use of asbestos in appliances in any of those products was banned in 1988.
Source of information: ‘Asbestos in the Home’ published by the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) 1999.
In the past thirty years, manufactures have become more aware of the dangers asbestos exposure can cause. Since 1976 British manufacturers have put labels on their products to show they contain asbestos, and since 1986 all products containing asbestos carry the European label. If you think there maybe asbestos in your home or fear you may be being exposed to it at work, your local council may be able to give you more information.
If you have suffered illness or disease from asbestos exposure and would like free legal advice on whether or not you are entitled to try for a Mesothelioma compensation claim you should contact a personal injury law firm such as The Injury Lawyers. We will be able to give you guidance on pursuing a claim, and if you do choose us to follow up a claim on your behalf we will do everything within our power to get you the compensation you and your loved ones deserve.
Call us 0800 634 7575 to get your claim started today.
