If you need an asbestos expert on The Gold Coast call the office on 07 55 703706 to book in an inspection for a quotation today! Or call into our office at 2/54 Newheath Drive Arundel QLD 4214

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In Queensland the building and construction industry is regulated and licensed by the QBCC it is a Queensland government business set up to be the watchdog of the industry. It is designed to give consumers a level of protection from unscrupulous and unqualified people and business operating in the industry.

One other focus they have is on making sure everybody who is qualified and licensed has protection under the QBCC act. Mostly these powers are to do with the security of payments, dispute resolution and construction law.

They are often putting warnings out about asbestos which is great to see the QBCC talking about asbestos, even though asbestos removal is not regulated by them. The QBCC doesn’t consider asbestos removal as building work and have no licensing requirements for asbestos removal companies.

This sounds a bit strange They have many other licensing gaps that are taken up by other government agencies.

Asbestos removal is licensed and regulated by the Department of justice and Workplace Health and Safety in Queensland.

In Queensland you are required to hold an A class or B class licence for your business as well as a personal qualification, you can’t operate just on personal qualifications. This is really important to note many people are trying to say things like:

None of these is correct and often this is what the Cowboys will tell you to trick you into thinking that they can be trusted

Asbestos was one of the most durable products known to man it’s a natural mineral that is mined for use around the world places like America, Russia, Africa, Canada, Brazil and Kazakhstan and Australia. Australia was the one of the biggest consumers of asbestos in the world per capita of the population and as a result Australia has a deadly asbestos legacy.

The word asbestos is derived from the Greek meaning inextinguishable or indestructible. Asbestos was known as the “Miracle mineral” and “The product that had a thousand uses” and it was used in over 3500 products. Some of the products that asbestos was found in you would never believe here is a short list.

Talc powderCosmeticsThe filters in cigarettesThe filters of gas masksLino flooringBakelite goodsFresh water pipesPutty for windowsCarpet underlayClothingCrayonsStipple compound for decorative ceilingsSpecialty paperFake snowAdhesives

Asbestos is banned or restricted in the following countries as of October 2018 !

Algeria,Denmark,Ireland,Monaco,Slovakia,Argentina,Djibouti,Israel,

Low density board or LDB or sometimes known as AIB ( asbestos insulating board ) was used in homes from the 1950’s right up to the early 1970’s . It was either a flat sheet or a perforated sheet that was used for sound proofing . I is a type of asbestos sheeting that was made up of a silicate plaster and up to 70% asbestos as opposed to cement sheeting which generally contains 10 % asbestos .

Some common brand names used for LDB are Asbestolux and Duralux not to be confused with Tilux which is a laminated version of asbestos cement sheeting .Be careful sometimes the label is not on this type of sheeting and this does not mean it is not LDB exercising caution and laboratory testing is still the best way to keep your family safe.

A highly trained and experienced asbestos expert can tell by a few tell tale signs weather sheeting is LDB or standard cement sheeting .Like all asbestos sheeting a B Class asbestos removal licence at a minimum is required to remove more than 10 square meters of non friable asbestos in Queensland .

Just like any asbestos products around the home there is no risk to your family as long as the sheeting is not damaged in any way . No sanding, water blasting , drilling or use of grinders is permitted of and asbestos products especially LDB. Precaution need to be taken at all times when working near LDB and we recommend calling an asbesto expert in to asses the risks befor work commenses.

DIY asbestos removal what could possibly go wrong? We get a lot of calls that start with “My husband has just cut into a wall and we think it might be asbestos, can you send somebody around to have a look at it for us?” It’s one of the many calls we are getting more and more of and to be honest they are the ones we wish we would never ever get we hate them!

We hate them because typically we are walking into a home and a family that has been totally contaminated with deadly asbestos fibres. We are in the business of keeping people safe that’s it, it’s our North Star nothing else is as important to us than keeping people safe. We blog, post on social media, network and engage with industry daily to get the message out Asbestos Kills.

The picture above looks just like a collection of photos of the contents of a family home ,it is in fact a catalogue of asbestos contaminated belongings that were disposed of as asbestos contaminated waste . This from the last DIY Disaster we were called in to rectify. This is the easy part we can decontaminate your family home that’s our skill set. DIY asbestos removal is not a great way to save money on a renovation, it’s reckless, it endangers your family and friends and it should be banned .

When we are called out to a DIY disaster the procedure we follow is like this . Once we are onsite we have a bit of a chat to the home owner to try to get to the truth we are not there to prosecute we are ther to make the family home safe . In a case like this we recommended moving out until the industrial hygienist had completed testing to see how far the contamination has spread in the family home .

Once we get the report from the hygenist we go about destroying all soft furnishings as contaminated waste this includes clothing , bedding,carpets, drapes anything we cannot wet wipe down . All the walls ceilings and floors are vacuumed with our asbestos approved vacuum cleaners then all hard surfaces are wet wiped down the hygents will insist on another round of tests before the home is ready for re entry. This is not covered by insurance usually and cost $1000″s of dollars one case we were involved in cost one hundred thousand dollars . Its just not worth it !