Builder smashing up asbestos garage roof

Builder smashing up asbestos garage roof

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CoolHands

Original Poster:

18,498 posts

194 months

Friday 29th July 2016
quotequote all
ok next door neighbour-but-one is having a (6m!) kitchen extension, the builder has to remove the old fashioned garage to do so. The roof is thought to be the usual corrugated asbestos / concrete board type as it is of an era. The reason I know this is because the neighbour in between us & them had discussed it with the builder / home owners as they were worried about how it was going to be taken down, and came round to me to tell all (a couple of weeks ago). I ummed and errrd and listened to (her).

Today (while the immediate neighbour is out!) the builder has successfully removed the roof, and currently I can hear him destroying the walls too. The manner of his removal of the roof though, is err... not one that has health & safety in mind. I have of course managed to get video of the act in the best curtain-twitchy style of little englanders wink

So should I report him? To whom? Is it worth it? He's already done the 'damage'. After it was down I could hear them smashing it up into small pieces and shovelling it (I presume into bags, or perhaps just one big pile, I can't see). There is clearly nothing I can do to avert the situation as it's already happened; I've currently made sure all my windows are shut! idea

vid:
https://youtu.be/1Ag1_jFZM4w

edit:
https://youtu.be/lXuupjrskUM

added video of sound of them smashing it into smaller pieces and shovelling it!

the garages are of this old style at end of shared drives:



Edited by CoolHands on Friday 29th July 14:56

silvagod

1,052 posts

159 months

Friday 29th July 2016
quotequote all
Your first port of call if you want to report it (and personally I think you should) would be both the Health and Safety Executive and the Local Authority Environmental Health Department.

The guy is an idiot, he is not only spreading fibres around by smashing the sheets (contrary to the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012) but he also is not wearing any protective gear himself. He should at the VERY least be spraying the sheets to dampen them and wearing a disposable suit and mask. The HSE only condone breaking the sheets in this manner if other fibre suppression methods are in place and there is NO other way of doing it.

There is also the matter of where he is taking his bags of 'rubble'.

From the looks of it, it's a typical garage where the sheets can be taken off almost whole. This would prevent 'Hi Ho Silver' from putting them in his van though as they probably wouldn't fit. He'd also need a mate to help him lift them off and carry them and that's no doubt more unnecessary expense for him.

What a tt.

Foliage

3,861 posts

121 months

Friday 29th July 2016
quotequote all
HSE now

If you believe you may have been exposed, see your GP and get it entered on your file for future reference.

stevesingo

4,848 posts

221 months

Friday 29th July 2016
quotequote all
Too late now, it is done. What did you do to stop him? Nothing?

All you can prevent right now is the improper disposal of the waste.

Soov535

35,829 posts

270 months

Friday 29th July 2016
quotequote all
Jesus T1ttyfcensoredg CHRIST.

yikes

CoolHands

Original Poster:

18,498 posts

194 months

Friday 29th July 2016
quotequote all
there was not much I could have done. I heard general smashing clattering etc and after a couple of minutes went to have a look, and that is what I saw. I didn't want to go round there and breath the st in directly! It was too late!

I might go and stay in my flat tonight (elsewhere) and hope it rains...

kowalski655

14,600 posts

142 months

Friday 29th July 2016
quotequote all
Other people may not have the luxury of buggering off! And thats not counting the people near where it will inevitably be illegally dumped.
Get it reported

CoolHands

Original Poster:

18,498 posts

194 months

Friday 29th July 2016
quotequote all
silvagod said:
Your first port of call if you want to report it (and personally I think you should) would be both the Health and Safety Executive and the Local Authority Environmental Health Department.
seems noone want's to know. There is no method via hse (they seem to try to put you off)

http://www.hse.gov.uk/contact/
http://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/faq.htm#asbestos-he...

and local authority only has four options (pest control etc)!
http://www.harrow.gov.uk/info/200040/environmental...

edit although just found this if I want to arrange hazardous waste collection)
http://www.harrow.gov.uk/info/200084/rubbish_and_r...

a7x88

776 posts

147 months

Friday 29th July 2016
quotequote all
Holy crap. The cement sheets are one of the *safer* forms until you start smashing them to pieces. I had a similar garage in my back garden that I took down, but;

A) continuously kept them soaked with water and washing up liquid mix
B) kept them whole
C) wore a disposable suit and asbestos suitable dust mask
D) double wrapped it all and had an appointment booked with our recycling centre to get rid of it safely

Report him.

Soov535

35,829 posts

270 months

Friday 29th July 2016
quotequote all

He's fcensoredd.




Muncher

12,219 posts

248 months

Friday 29th July 2016
quotequote all
The Environment agency is your first port of call I think.

Tom_C76

1,923 posts

187 months

Friday 29th July 2016
quotequote all
On your Environmental Health link, click on H&S Control.

Zoon

6,654 posts

120 months

Friday 29th July 2016
quotequote all
Yes EA as an environmental incident.
That is both very dangerous to him and his workers plus everyone in the area.

Stupidity at it's finest.

Triumph Man

8,670 posts

167 months

Friday 29th July 2016
quotequote all
Take him to the cleaners, that is not on at all. As above, if this is his method of removal, his method of disposal will be similarly underhand

SAB888

3,232 posts

206 months

Friday 29th July 2016
quotequote all
Just a thought, has the material been identified as not containing asbestos? If it is asbestos he will almost certainly have breathed in loads of fibres that he won't even see. He may well have consigned himself to a shorter life. Asbestosis is bloody nasty. Local authority environmental health would be a place to call, and you don't need to give your name.

PostHeads123

1,042 posts

134 months

Friday 29th July 2016
quotequote all
Cant understand why he would smash them up more work for him, these type of roof sheets are held on by a few nuts and bolts, undo these and lift them out in one piece. My local council like many councils will take a number of sheets away for free if you double bag.

Some roofs sheeting does look like asbestos and aren't, I had it a mine survey said it was asbestos but after tests it wasn't.

CoolHands

Original Poster:

18,498 posts

194 months

Friday 29th July 2016
quotequote all
Yeah I don't care about him dying I care about us. The sheets were complete and could have been undone with minimal damage. I believe they are likely to have contained asbestos as they are of the right period they're probably 50's 60's and the immediate neighbour has had many discussions with them about it as they were worried. He / they had reassured them they would do it carefully (I think) as I know they spoke about grinding the bolt heads off, and she was even worried about the dust from that.

Anyway I've managed to find an online reporting form on H&S so I've done that. Can't see it going anywhere though I don't even know the name of the builders (all unsign-written). And by the time they investigate the material will be long gone.

roofer

5,136 posts

210 months

Friday 29th July 2016
quotequote all
The area he smashed them up is now classified as contaminated, and will require an environmental clean.

All that jazz

7,632 posts

145 months

Friday 29th July 2016
quotequote all
SAB888 said:
Just a thought, has the material been identified as not containing asbestos?
This ^. There seem to be a lot of people out with their pitchforks without any actual evidence or proof that they were asbestos sheets. One would like to think that a builder would be familiar with such things and already checked what it was before pricing the job and agreeing to remove it.

CoolHands

Original Poster:

18,498 posts

194 months

Friday 29th July 2016
quotequote all
True but most builders in London are shysters so I wouldn't set much store in that. I saw him using a massive stihll saw to cut through the iron works without safety goggles on - squinting to protect his eyes! I know we've all done things like that on occasion but he is clearly neglectful by nature just by spending 10 mins watching him.

With regard to whether it really is asbestos obviously we don't know. However the immediate neighbour have lived there for 20+ years and I know had their own similar garage taken down years ago (before we were here) so that is why I assume they know what they're on about. The husband is a self employed electrician & is well used to being on building sites and house renovations so on balance I would say it's certainly 'likely' rather than 'unlikely' it is an asbestos roof.