Rank: Forum user 
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Hi everyone
I hope you're all ok.
A friend of ours has recently been having his kitchen/other rooms re-modelled, and decided to do some extra work in the living/dining room. He asked his builder to carry out this work, and the builder has now ripped the artex from the ceiling. Apparently his control measures consisted of a White suit, and shutting the doors. :(
Our friend is now very concerned about this. He has been traipsing through his dining room, into other rooms, and wherever he has been, including going to work.
This is quite an old house, and the artexed ceiling has been there ever since he has lived there (so a good 10 years or more), so my questions are: What should be do to counteract any potential contamination, and what can he do to protect himself/find out if he's been exposed? and lastly, what should be done about the Builder?
My knowledge of asbestos is limited, but I am aware that asbestos was quite common in artex, so want to give him some good practical advise without scaring the living daylights out of him, so any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
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Rank: Super forum user 
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Any textured coating after Year 1999/2000 should be asbestos free.
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Rank: Super forum user 
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Ron Hunter wrote:Any textured coating after Year 1999/2000 should be asbestos free.
Ron, I think you have misread the question.
First, the builder should have been aware that in an old building (built pre 2000) the artex ceiling may have contained asbestos and therefore a sample taken and analysed would have provided the evidence. The builder is in breach of the law and specifically CAR 2012 and HSWA s3.
Restrospectively this is going to be a difficult and costly exercise and not one I have dealt with before, depending of course whether asbestos was present in the ceiling. Your friend can only call in a licensed asbestos contractor to check the material, decontaminate the property if necessary, provide a clearance certificate and dispose of the waste as hazardous material.
See HSE guidance:http://www.hse.gov.uk/ASBESTOS/essentials/index.htm#a2
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Rank: Forum user
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Nikki
As RayRapp says a sample should have been taken to determine if the Artex contained asbestos.
Is there still any laying around or has the builder taken it away.
If the Artex did contain asbestos it is likely that the removal work would have fallen under the title of NNLW (Notifiable Non-Licensed Work), meaning that he would not have had to be a licensed asbestos contractor, but he would have had a legal obligation to report the work to the HSE. (providing that he removed the Artex using the wet method with gel or steam to avoid dust during the process).
The HSE should be notified prior to the removal process.
Providing that he did remove the Artex in this manner, the dust release should have been avoided and not become airborne. He should of course have the correct training to carry this out correctly.
He should have also bagged up the waste correctly and taken it to a licensed disposal site.
Although the risk of the fibres becoming airborne is low the builder should still have worn the appropriate PPE and RPE as a precautionary measure.
With this in mind I would enquire with your friend how the Artex was removed etc
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Rank: Super forum user
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RayRapp wrote:Ron Hunter wrote:Any textured coating after Year 1999/2000 should be asbestos free.
Ron, I think you have misread the question.
No, just attempting to offer a crumb of comfort. We know what SHOULD have happened. After the fact though, if this was ACM, a proper decontamination of the house would be VERY expensive.
Not all textured coating prior to '99 had asbestos though (and it wasn't all called artex). If there's any left, the householder could get it sampled. Then again, if it were me, I'd rather go with ignorance being bliss, taking comfort that the fibre count within artex is extremely small.
As for the old-school method, builders used to remove it from ceilings and walls using the back of a sharpened shovel. Probably the method employed here.
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Rank: Super forum user
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I should have added of course that "decontamination" of carpets, curtains, clothes, bedding, soft toys and the like is simply not possible. In the event of contamination, all of that has to go (properly wrapped of course) into the skip. Same goes for computers, laptops, TVS etc which have ventilation holes - can't be cleaned.
Decon would also involve emptying all cupboards, drawers and other storage spaces to clean hard surfaces - anything that can't be wiped has to go in the bin too.
Your Insurance Company may hesitate to accept a claim in the circumstances...............
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Rank: Forum user
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Sorry I missed a bit of the end of the last post, I got a bit eager with the reply button.
So if the Artex did contain asbestos and he did remove the asbestos just by ripping it down as you say, It's likely that fibres may have been released.
It's also likely that he did not notify the HSE, I personally would report the guy.
It would also be beneficial as RayRapp has said to get the air monitored to identify if there has been any release, and get the house decontaminated and the all clear given
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Rank: Forum user
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Thanks all for taking the time to reply. I appreciate that.
Unfortunately, the Builder just ripped it off the ceiling. :( I had a very good idea of what was going to come from this thread, based on what I'd read up on and sadly, you've all confirmed what I thought.
Our friend is contacting the local authority, (as a direct result of this thread, and what's come from it) and is going to speak to the person who is going to have to sign off the work. He has a lot of artexed ceilings in his house, all of which he wants to remove, but for now, he has to deal with this issue first.
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Rank: Forum user
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No problem,
I suppose the only positive is that asbestos in Artex is relatively low risk compared with lagging etc.
Typically dry powdered mix for trade use Artex contained about 3.8% w/w of chrysotile asbestos and the ready mixed DIY product (known as W14) contained somewhat less - 1.8%.
This guy was definitely a COWBOY!!!
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