Newsletter
Green Deal
You may have heard information about this in the press, it is something that we are monitoring closely, so if you need any information about this, please get in touch and we'll do our best to keep you informed.
Workers drop asbestos 120ft onto nursery children during botched demolition of Red Road flats 8 June 2011
Workers on the 12th floor of a block of flats dropped asbestos on to the grounds of a nursery school as children played outside.
And days earlier, a window was dropped from the same condemned tower block.
The accidents happened while workmen were dismantling Glasgow's Red Row flats.
Furious city council bosses have reported the bungles to health and safety bosses.
Artex & Textured Coatings
Are there any textured coatings in your house?
If the textured coating was applied after the mid 1980s, then the chances are good that there is no asbestos present in the artex / textured coating. If it is older than that, then it is likely that asbestos is present. Although the above guidelines cannot be guaranteed, it is a guide of what to expect. So what are your options if you suspect that you may have asbestos in your textured coating?
Have the coating removed. A guide price would be £1000 - £1600 for a typical sized room
Paint over it. The HSE produce documents to guide you safely through this process. Contact me and I'll e-mail you a free copy of the relevent guide.
Plaster over it. This is a good option where you want to revert back to a flat ceiling and relatively inexpensive.
NEVER scrape it off or even worse - sand it flat. If there is asbestos present, this is the worst thing you could possibly do, you would be putting yourself and your family at great risk.
New Radon Maps & Information now available, see Radon Section
Did you know that there are more people dying from asbestos related diseases every year than are killed on our roads?
Check the latest data from the Health & Safety Executive click here
What is an Energy Performance Certificate ?
An Energy Performance Certificates tell you how energy efficient a home is on a scale of A-G. The most efficient homes - which should have the lowest fuel bills - are in band A.
The Certificate also tells you, on a scale of A-G, about the impact the home has on the environment. Better-rated homes should have less impact through carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
The average property in the UK is in bands D-E for both ratings. The Certificate includes recommendations on ways to improve the home's energy efficiency to save you money and help the environment.
Sellers of newly built homes will have to provide a predicted assessment of the energy efficiency of the property, but a full Energy Performance Certificate should be provided to the buyer when the home is completed.
Radon gas linked to cancer deaths
Domestic exposure to radon gas is responsible for a significant number of lung cancer deaths, research has found.
The risk appears to be much higher for smokers.
The researchers conclude radon in the home causes approximately 20,000 lung cancer deaths in the European Union each year - about 1,000 in the UK.
The British Medical Journal study, funded by Cancer Research UK and the European Union, is the largest ever of its type.
The researchers found lung cancer risk to be raised by 16% for every 100 Bq/m 3 of radon present in the home.
Professor Darby said: "We also found that there is a detectable risk even in homes with levels below 200 Bq/m 3, which is the currently recommended 'action level' in the UK.
"Indeed we estimate that about ninety per cent of radon-induced lung cancers occurred in homes with levels of radon below 200 Bq/m 3."
Source - BBC News
Canada: Support for asbestos, but not for victims
The Canadian government spends millions promoting its asbestos exports, but isn’t so forthcoming when it comes to its own victims of asbestos disease. Almost 1,000 of the 1,500 people in Ontario who developed the asbestos cancer mesothelioma between 1980 and 2002 weren't compensated, according to a new research paper, which says this allowed the province's Workplace Safety and Insurance Board to shortchange victims of the disease, and taxpayers, out of hundreds of millions of dollars.