Asbestos Dangers When Buying Second Hand

Asbestos is now banned in the UK so we would think that we are safe from asbestos dangers or buying products that contain asbestos. Think again!

Selling a Boiler Riddled With Asbestos

In recent years a licensed asbestos removal company was fined after it had sold a boiler containing asbestos. The Health & Safety Executive told the court that the company had removed 2 boilers from a boiler house at Princess of Wales Hospital as part of asbestos removal and demolition works.

The removal company had sold one of the boilers to a boiler hire company. This boiler contained asbestos, likely to be insulation or lagging.

The demolition company was fined £2750 and an additional £1716 in costs after pleading guilty to the breach.

Asbestos Containing Materials Must Not Be Sold

The HSE inspector reiterated the dangers of asbestos fibres and warned that any item that has asbestos added to them cannot be sold in the UK as set out in REACH regulations. This includes offering items free of charge or making available to a third party. This applies to every level of the supply chain. Items containing asbestos fibres must not be sold or given away. They are to be disposed of properly by a specialist company.

Asbestos Surveyors Northern Ireland

It is worrying that second hand items can still be sold to the unsuspecting buyer. We would recommend being vigilant when buying old boilers or retro items that may contain asbestos. It is common to find items being sold as vintage (Fire Blankets, Boilers, Toasters, Hair Dryers, kids toys, irons and more).

Always be aware of this for own safety and do not hesitate to contact us for all asbestos testing. We can take samples and test these at a UKAS accredited lab right here in Northern Ireland. The samples are personally transported there for a full analysis and we will report back with the findings asap.

Contact Us today to book a local Northern Ireland asbestos survey.

**The full article can be found here from the HSE.