Asbestos in your house – Important CORRECTION and follow-up

A reader comments, corrects and adds the Golden Rules of Asbestos.
A reader (name withheld by request) comments on my asbestos posting “Asbestos and Your House ” of Jan 10.

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A Reader Comments
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Tim, 
Having some authority with your customer group and amongst your realtor colleagues  it is very important that you emphasis that there are a number of golden rules about asbestos.

1) DON’T DISTURB IT.

2) DON’T REMOVE IT YOURSELF.

3) Have a licensed professional TEST the substance.

4) Have a licensed professional remove the asbestos under controlled conditions.

5) Asbestos cannot be analysed just by looking at it. If a contractor/realtor or anyone else says they can tell you if a substance is asbestos by sight alone, fire them immediately. Find a professional who knows what they are talking about.

6) If asbestos is even a slight possibility  - GET A PROFESSIONAL TEST.

As far as recommendations go this is a difficult area. There is widespread misunderstanding regarding the nature of asbestos risks and how  the presence of asbestos should be handled even amonst those who say they are qualified to give advise in this area.  One company who I would recommended is Pinchin LeBlanc in Halifax. They do an excellent job in analysis and advice in my experience. I have examples of incidents locally where serious mistakes have been made concerning asbestos. This is a very difficult area for the average homeowner to find knowledgable and responsible professionals. The advise always has to be if asbestos is even suspected, get the substance tested by professionals.
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end of comment
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Post Script

I have done some further research and found a few web sites that may expand this topic even further. The first site is called “Asbestos Trouble ” it has a number of pages, some on how to identify asbestos, where to find a DIY tester. Another site is “Ineed2Know.org ” and lastly “Bambooweb “. All of these sites seem to be quite informative on the topic of asbestos.

As for asbestos removers in Nova Scotia: here is a web site of contractor in Yarmouth Co. -WoodCock Construction and to save space and time here is a Yellow Pages directory of asbestos removers in the province.

T.H.

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