Asbestos Roof Refurbishments & Painting
Dealing with Residential, Commercial & Industrial Asbestos.
About Asbestos
When exposed to Asbestos, it could have devastating health implications, particularly to your lungs if its fibres have been inhaled.
When hearing the word Asbestos, there is an immediate type of fear response associated with the word, but what is asbestos and what can be done if it is discovered in your home, commercial property or factory.
What is Asbestos?
There are several types of asbestos, however, generally speaking asbestos is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate material.
It has long fibrous crystals which on a microscopic level have tiny fibres that are released into the air if the material is disturbed or has started to show wear and tear.
Properties of Asbestos
It is used generously as a building material, is resistant to heat, fire, acid, alkalis and is extremely strong, flexible and durable.
It was a convenient and desirable building material before its health hazards were discovered.
What is Asbestos used for?
- It was mainly used for building materials, roofing, walls, floors, tiles and even asbestos cement products.
- It’s been used for many years and as a result, millions of homes, factories and buildings contain it.
- It is generally discovered on roofs. It is challenging and expensive to do asbestos roof repairs.
- As a large majority of buildings have been built with using asbestos, it would appear almost impossible to get rid of it. However, there is a way to make it safe!!
Health affects of Asbestos
Asbestos is a dangerous substance and should be avoided. But people who have contact with asbestos do not always develop health problems. The risk of disease depends on many factors:
- How much asbestos is in the air
- How often and for how long exposure occurs
- How much time has passed since exposure began
- Whether the person already has lung or breathing conditions and
- Whether the person smokes tobacco
Asbestos-related diseases
Breathing asbestos can cause tiny asbestos fibres to get stuck in the lungs and irritate lung tissues. Scientific studies have shown that the following non-cancer diseases can be caused by breathing asbestos:
Asbestosis is scarring in the lungs caused by breathing asbestos fibers. Oxygen and carbon dioxide do not pass in and out of scarred lungs easily, so breathing becomes harder. Asbestosis usually occurs in people who have had very high exposures over a long time, but years may pass before any symptoms appear.
Pleural disease is a non-cancerous lung condition that causes changes in the membrane surrounding the lungs and chest cavity (pleura). The membrane may become thicker throughout (diffuse pleural thickening) or in isolated areas (pleural plaques), or fluid may build up around the lungs (known as a pleural effusion). Not everyone with pleural changes will have problems breathing, but some may have less efficient lung function.
Asbestos exposure also increases the risk of developing certain cancers:
Lung Cancer is a malignant tumour that invades and blocks the lung’s air passages. Smoking tobacco combined with asbestos exposure greatly increases the chance of developing lung cancer.
Mesothelioma is a rare cancer of the membrane that covers the lungs and chest cavity (pleura), the membrane lining the abdominal cavity (peritoneum), or membranes surrounding other internal organs. Signs of mesothelioma may not appear until 30 to 40 years after exposure to asbestos.
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Asbestos Roof Solutions
Asbestos Abatement Regulations and Employer Obligations
The Asbestos Abatement Regulations were published on 10 November 2020 by the Department of Labour and place certain obligations on Employers including Self Employed business owners.
The regulations are aimed at eliminating environmental health hazards that are caused by asbestos products in workplaces.
Within the workplace, the employer now has a duty to identify asbestos and/or asbestos products, whereupon such identification requires the engagement of suitably qualified personnel and contractor (“a competent person”) to do the asbestos materials inventory as well as the asbestos risk assessment.
Competent person means a person who has, in respect of the work or task to be performed, the required knowledge, training and experience and, where applicable, qualifications specific to asbestos work or related tasks. Provided that, where appropriate qualifications and training are registered in terms of the National Qualifications Framework Act, 2008 Act 67of 2008, those qualifications and that training must be regarded as the required qualifications and training; and (b) is familiar with the Act and the applicable Regulations made under the Act.
Asbestos Risk Assessment
An Asbestos Risk Assessment must categorise the risk associated with the identified asbestos materials in terms of:
Health impacts
Persons potentially exposed
Potential for damage or disturbance of Asbestos containing materials
Condition and state of deterioration of the Asbestos containing materials
Asbestos Management Plan
Reviews must be done within periods that do not exceed 24 months. Furthermore, as per Regulation 6, suitably qualified personnel must be engaged to compile an asbestos management plan that addresses key issues such as:
The removal of asbestos
Alleviation of hazards in asbestos work and the
Discontinuation in use of asbestos products
Where Asbestos may be located in a typical home
The result is that hundreds of thousands of commercial, industrial and residential buildings now contain millions of tons of asbestos containing products.
The dangers of mining, manufacturing and construction with asbestos forced the banning of this material worldwide, and in South Africa, asbestos was banned in 2008.
This means that replacing broken asbestos sheeting with new is no longer possible. Repairing and maintenance activities on asbestos roofs come with strict requirements to prevent occupational exposures to, and environmental pollution from, asbestos.
This is because asbestos cement sheets may pose a severe health hazard to workers and the environment during installation, demolition, renovation or cleaning.
Asbestos Encapsulation is better than Asbestos Replacement
Besides the huge capital cost of replacing asbestos roofing sheets, there is also a significant regulatory compliance cost associated with the safe removal & disposal of asbestos roof sheets.
Asbestos encapsulation seeks to restore the integrity of the asbestos roof sheeting by applying a bonding layer over the entire roof. The primer sealer is designed to soak through the lichen and degraded, unstable surface layers, re-sealing the loose asbestos fibres in the roofing sheets.
Extend the life of your Asbestos roof
This means that the asbestos roofing acquires a much longer life extension and obviates the need to replace the sheeting. The total cost of encapsulation is much less than the alternative cost of replacement.
So there really is no need to replace a good asbestos roof if encapsulation can halt degradation and make it safe.
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The System
The primer soaks through the lichen and degraded asbestos down to the sound base material, binding the unstable elements.
The Super Acrylic Topcoat is then applied to the primed surface to provide a durable, decorative, resistant protective coating.
Active ingredients in the Primer and Topcoat also resist the growth of moss and lichen.
The system has been specified and used extensively throughout South Africa for over 20 years in areas such as Government, Local Councils, Commercial Industry and Schools and Private Dwellings as a Home Owner selling wanting to sell your house with an Asbestos Roof.
In Summary
Binds unstable Asbestos fibres
Prevents spread of airborne asbestos fibre
No downtime or expensive shutdowns
No high pressure cleaning required
Low cost vs expensive replacement and the proper asbestos disposal costs
Installed by certified installers only
10 year guarantee.
Other Services We Offer
Waterproofing
Waterproofing of concrete decks with 4 mm heat fuse malthoid system, waterproofing of parapet walls, box gutters, chimneys, exterior walls and side and headwall flashings.
Painting
Interior Painting
Exterior Painting
Roof Painting
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