Health and safety
Asbestos
What is asbestos?
Asbestos is a natural, fibrous material. It’s been used in building materials and other products for many years. There are 3 main types of asbestos, commonly known as white, brown and blue asbestos.
Why was it used?
Asbestos has many useful properties, for example heat resistance. Asbestos cement was the most common form and was used until 1999. Examples of use include:
- sheds and garages – flat or corrugated sheets
- for walls and roofs
- cold-water storage tanks
- down pipes and guttering
- flue pipes.
Asbestos may also be found in:
- insulating board used for fire protection
- building board
- ceiling tiles and textured coatings such as artex
- pipe lagging
- plastic floor tiles
- roofing felts
- some warm-air heating systems, and
- storage heaters.
Some household equipment may also contain asbestos, for example:
- ironing boards and pads
- oven gloves
- fire blankets
- simmering pads.
What does Enfield Homes do to manage asbestos in properties?
Enfield Homes has arranged for our specialist Environmental Services Asbestos Team to carry out a regular survey to a sample of homes we manage. These surveys identify materials containing asbestos and assess the condition they are in. Enfield Homes maintains a record of all the survey results.
What happens if there are materials containing asbestos?
If you have asbestos in your home, leave it alone. Don’t drill, saw, sand or scrub it. As long as the asbestos is undamaged, it’s safe. When asbestos products are damaged, they release fibres into the air, which can potentially be harmful if breathed in. Diseases from asbestos mainly affect people who work or used to work with asbestos and have had a high level of exposure to the fibres over many years.
If asbestos is in poor condition, the asbestos co-ordinator at Enfield Homes will arrange to remove or seal it. If you suspect there is damaged asbestos in your home, please contact the Enfield Homes repairs4you centre by phone on freephone 0800 40 80 160 or email housing.repairs@enfieldhomes.org.