Asbestos in an apartment during renovation - what to do?

Why asbestos is dangerous specifically during renovation

The European Commission explains that asbestos is dangerous when it is sawn, drilled or otherwise damaged: fine fibres get into the airways. In the European Union, the use of asbestos has been banned since 01.01.2005.

In a renovation, old materials are broken up, sanded and drilled. So the question about asbestos must be asked before demolition, not after it.

Where asbestos can be in an apartment

Asbestos was used as thermal insulation for pipework and boilers. Asbestos cement slate, pipes and boards can also contain asbestos. Vinyl floor tiles and their adhesive can also contain asbestos.

• Old pipe or boiler insulation.
• Asbestos cement pipes, boards or slate.
• Old vinyl floor tiles (asbestos tiles) and the adhesive under them.

This does not mean that every old apartment has asbestos. It means that these materials are worth checking before they are broken up. If it is not known when and from what the material was installed, treat it as suspect until there is a laboratory result.

How to find out whether a material contains asbestos

1. Do not touch the material Do not saw, drill or break a material you suspect.
2. Look for documents Ask the building manager or the previous owner whether it is known which materials were used.
3. Laboratory identification Asbestos cannot be reliably identified by appearance; it is determined in a laboratory, under a microscope.
4. Plan the demolition after the result If there is asbestos, Cabinet Regulation No. 852 applies to the demolition.

What Cabinet Regulation No. 852 requires

Cabinet Regulation No. 852 of 12.10.2004 on work with asbestos (“Darba aizsardzības prasības darbā ar azbestu”, Occupational Safety Requirements for Work with Asbestos) applies to employers, that is, companies whose employees work with asbestos. Work with asbestos means demolition, removal, transport, storage and waste management of materials containing asbestos. Compliance with the regulation is supervised by the State Labour Inspectorate (Valsts darba inspekcija).

• Before demolition or renovation in buildings built before the asbestos ban, the employer finds out whether materials that may contain asbestos are present.
• The employer submits an application to the State Labour Inspectorate 10 working days before work with asbestos; demolition may be carried out with the inspectorate's permission.
• Before demolition, the employer prepares a demolition work plan.
• Workers need training before work with asbestos, and a certificate is issued for it.
• Asbestos waste is collected in closed packaging marked as containing asbestos and managed according to the requirements for hazardous waste.

If a company is doing the renovation, ask how it meets these requirements. If the material does not contain asbestos, demolition is ordinary work.

How asbestos changes the renovation plan

Plan the check before demolition, because the order of work depends on the result. If the material has no asbestos, it is removed together with the rest of the finish. If there is asbestos and a company carries out the demolition, then as an employer doing work with asbestos it needs the permission of the State Labour Inspectorate, a demolition plan and an application 10 working days in advance. Plan this time into the renovation schedule.

Asbestos waste cannot be put with ordinary construction waste: it is collected in closed packaging marked as containing asbestos and managed as hazardous waste. For ordinary construction waste after demolition, see buvgruzuizvesanariga.lv.

What can go wrong

• Old floor tiles are sanded or torn up with a hammer drill without checking what they are made of.
• Pipe insulation is torn off and thrown in with ordinary construction waste.
• The sample is sent after the material has already been crushed.
• The material is assumed to be safe because “it's only linoleum”.

If you have a suspicion, write it in your request and describe the material and where it is. If the material contains asbestos, its demolition is work with asbestos under Cabinet Regulation No. 852, not part of the ordinary demolition estimate.