The following precautions should be followed when removing asbestos cement roofing, wall sheeting or other "fibro" products from the home:
- Keep all windows and doors of the house closed.
- You must wear a half-face particulate filter or a half-face respirator fitted with a dust/particulate cartridge appropriate for asbestos (a class P1 or P2 filter cartridge). There are also disposable class P1 and class P2 respirators. The respirators must comply with Australian Standard 1716. Wear disposable overalls to prevent contamination of any clothing. After work is complete, remove overalls and disposable mask, seal in a container and mark "Asbestos contaminated clothing" for proper disposal. Thoroughly wash hands.
Warning on dust masks: Do not use the simple disposable dust masks - these provide no protection against asbestos fibres. Disposable dust masks (also called 'nuisance' dust masks) are useless against hazardous substances and should not be used. These are not really protective devices: they perform badly and should not be used for protection against fine dusts, welding fumes, asbestos, fine sand, paint spray, gases, vapours or aerosols, and other hazardous substances.
- You must wet down the material thoroughly before you start work, and keep it wet while working. This reduces the release of dust during handling. Do not use high pressure water jets as this may increase the spread of any loose material. Do NOT wet down sheets if it creates a high risk of slipping from a roof.
- Pull out any nails first and remove the asbestos cement sheeting with minimal breakage. Carefully lower, but not drop, the sheets to the ground. Minimise cutting or breaking up the sheets.
- Stack the sheets on a ground sheet. Do not leave them around the garden where they could break or be crushed, or where children may play around them.
- Do not re-use asbestos cement sheets.
The Queensland government has produced a video:
Working safely with asbestos - for the home renovator which provides advice to home owners to ensure that any removal work done by non-professionals is done in a manner that does not create a risk. Remember, however, that if the work is being done by a
paid worker, then that
Part 4.3 (Asbestos) of the regulations must be complied with.