Asbestos wave – asbestos in old buildings

The Industriegewerkschaft Bauen-Agrar-Umwelt (IG BAU) warns of a new danger from asbestos in buildings. With the imminent major renovation wave for modernization, conversions and energy saving, an“asbestos wave” threatens to hit the construction industry in the coming decades. Construction workers and DIY enthusiasts will be exposed to major health risks if they inhale the asbestos fibers that are released.


Health hazard due to inhalation of asbestos fibers

Asbestos or material containing asbestos was often used in buildings because of its ideal properties such as resistance to fire, weathering and insulation. Asbestos has only been banned in Germany since 1993. If released, asbestos fibers can also enter the respiratory tract and lungs and cause cancer and other respiratory diseases even after decades of prolonged exposure . Possible sources from which fibers can be released from asbestos-containing materials include heating seals, pipe cladding, older parquet adhesives, floors, tile adhesives, window putty, shafts in buildings, roof and façade panels and plaster.


Release of hazardous fibers when working in old buildings

According to IG BAU, which carried out a study via the Pestel Institute, asbestos is thought to be present in around 9.4 million homes built between 1950 and 1989. Asbestos has only been banned throughout Europe since 1993. It can therefore be assumed that buildings constructed before October 1993 still contain asbestos.

If the asbestos-containing materials release their asbestos-containing fibers due to ageing or, for example, due to renovation work, there is a risk to health. They can be released into the air and inhaled from screeds, tile adhesives, fillers, putties, plasters and other materials during such work.


Carsten Burckhardt (on the federal board of IG BAU for the construction industry and occupational health and safety) warns of the“invisible danger” posed by asbestos: it all starts with building dust and inhaling the asbestos fibers. In this context, construction workers and DIY enthusiasts have little chance of recognizing this danger. It can take around 30 years for diagnoses such as asbestosis or lung, peritoneal and laryngeal cancer to develop. Mr. Matthias Günther, Pestel Institute, also considers the risk of asbestos in buildings to be particularly high. Furthermore, three quarters of the asbestos products used are still lying dormant in buildings, even if the asbestos has already been removed from many buildings. This means that renovations, conversions for age-appropriate or family-friendly living, energy modernizations, additions to apartments and other work can become a health problem.


Sprayed asbestos – problematic in tall buildings

Larger residential buildings with several floors were often equipped with elevators from the post-war years onwards. The proportion of residential buildings with 13 or more apartments built between 1950 and around the beginning of 1990 is around 7.6 percent. It is very likely that asbestos-containing materials were also used to install the elevators and shafts in buildings from this period.

The sprayed asbestos used for the elevators is considered particularly problematic. It was often used to clad elevator shafts and supply shafts. The dangerous thing about sprayed asbestos is that its fibers are only slightly bound and can be released into the air more easily due to vibrations and material aging. They are therefore also harmful to health. In Berlin, the situation is particularly acute because many of the shafts for elevators and for supply and disposal were lined with sprayed asbestos, especially in the 1960s. The asbestos fibers contained therein can be released more easily than, for example, from asbestos cement, which is generally strongly bound. According to the Pestel study, there are still around 17,688 residential buildings in Berlin in particular, which are particularly tall buildings with more than 13 apartments and can be problematically contaminated with asbestos.


Demands of IG Bau – due to impending asbestos wave

IG BAU wants to counter the impending “asbestos wave” in the construction industry with the package of measures by presenting an “asbestos charter“. This should help to better protect people from the dangers of asbestos. It is intended to achieve the following goals:

  • Consistently enforce occupational health and safety
  • Better information on asbestos hazards in buildings for construction workers and DIY enthusiasts
  • Promote asbestos removal


IG BAU Bau is also calling for better protection against the dangers of asbestos :

Pollutants building passport

  • with different hazard levels – depending on a building’s asbestos exposure. Construction workers and DIY enthusiasts should be able to recognize the dangers they may be exposed to from asbestos deposits.

Asbestos summit

  • more governmental and overarching cooperation between the federal, state and local authorities. This is intended to tackle the asbestos problem and the financing of contaminated sites on a broad scale.

State renovation premium

  • The federal government should set up a KfW funding program for “asbestos remediation” to make it easier to finance high additional costs such as for energy-efficient or age-appropriate building renovation in asbestos-contaminated residential buildings. This program should also help to ensure the disposal of old asbestos building materials.


GSA measuring devices SG12 – Fibre measurements of asbestos fibers

The GSA measuring devices SG12 with power supply is especially suitable for stationary sampling as well as for fibre measurements according to VDI 3492 for the measurement of asbestos fibers and KMF as well as other inorganic fibrous particles according to VDI 3492 and ISO 14966 in indoor and outdoor air. The nominal volume flow rate for fibre measurements in accordance with VDI 3492 is 8 l/min. In addition, particle measurements of the various dust fractions such as A-dust or E-dust can be carried out with the SG12. With these technical possibilities, the GSA measuring devices SG12 is also suitable for stationary measurements of workplaces or stationary sampling of hazardous substances.

Our sister company carries out asbestos measurements on site and the associated analysis and advice for you. Here you will receive competent help – even without prior knowledge or your own equipment.


Sources:

Image source: 123rf.com © uschidaschi, image no. 136711409

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