Can You Take Your Own Asbestos Samples?

If you suspect that you have asbestos in your home or work environment, having concerns about the risks it poses is not only understandable, but necessary for the health of anyone who frequents the premises. It can be easy to jump to quick fixes, and find the cheapest method of sampling possible to ease your peace of mind in the moment, however, these methods can be dangerous for everyone involved.

At Cordtape Environmental , we wanted to debunk the myth surrounding taking your own asbestos samples, and explain why it is not a safe practice so that we can protect more people from the risks of asbestos exposure.

Can you take asbestos samples yourself?  

 Although we’d love to give a straightforward answer to this question, it is not as simple as ‘yes’ or ‘no’, because the answer is that you can, but you absolutely shouldn’t .

Asbestos should only be sampled by licensed professionals who have the knowledge, skill and equipment to disturb asbestos without posing a risk to yourself, or the health of those around you.

Why is testing for asbestos at home unsafe?  

There are multiple reasons why you shouldn’t remove asbestos yourself, and this goes beyond it just being a complicated process. It is unsafe for individuals without a licence to handle asbestos containing materials (ACMs) for the following reasons:

1. You could release asbestos fibres into the air

Asbestos fibres linger and can remain in your home or commercial premises long after they’ve been released. Airborne asbestos can easily get into the lungs of anyone who enters the property and breathes them in, endangering yourself, friends, family, colleagues and even pets.

2. You won’t have access to the correct PPE

PPE is vital when removing asbestos, and the fibres are so small that they can easily penetrate standard dust masks, as well as linger on clothing, skin, hair, and other materials in the area.

Asbestos professionals have access to the very best protective equipment to keep themselves, and you, safe.

That’s not even mentioning that home testing kits won’t come with any of the personal protective equipment you need, or instruct you on the correct procedure.

3. Safe asbestos removal requires training

The reason why it is illegal for anyone who doesn’t hold a licence to remove asbestos is because those with licences are highly skilled and trained in carrying out the process safely. Survey and sampling of asbestos required the same level of professional diligence.

Licensed asbestos removal companies operate under strict regulations and guidelines who are well informed about the latest regulations and guidelines.

4. Once you send your sample away, it is out of your hands

At home sampling kits are often surveyed by UKAS accredited laboratories, but you have no control over the sample once it leaves your hands.

The process of transporting it can go wrong, the sample could get damaged in transit, and the number of people handling it during and after that point could be put at serious risk of harm. This is avoidable if licenced asbestos removal companies transport the sample themselves.

The sample could also become contaminated along the way, leading to false results.

5. You could put yourself at risk of legal repercussions

According to the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2022, you could face legal action for removing asbestos yourself. This might seem like an overreaction, but the act of releasing asbestos fibres into the air can cause risk to life and risk of harm to people in the area, and it is therefore not only ill-advised, but illegal to handle the following ACMs without a licence:

• Asbestos insulation
• Asbestos spray coatings
• Asbestos lagging
• Asbestos insulating board

These materials are considered high risk due to the quantity of asbestos fibres they are likely to release upon disturbance.

6. What about the rest of the room?

If you are suspicious that a material in a building contains asbestos, then you may only take a sample from that material, but what about the rest of the room? Or the building?

If there is asbestos within a property, then the safest course of action is to employ professionals who can conduct a full survey to make sure there are no other ACMs on the site. Asbestos exposure doesn’t disappear once you’ve sent your sample for testing.

The difference between intrusive and unobtrusive sampling

According to HSE, you can take an asbestos sample yourself if the sample has already broken off from the original structure. This is unobtrusive sampling, as you are not breaking into the material to access it.

Obtrusive sampling involves disturbing a material through invasive means like drilling, sanding, sawing, or any other act that would break apart one piece of the material from the rest. In this case, it is not legal to take the sample yourself.

At Cordtape , our team is fully qualified to manage all aspects of both licensed and non-licensed asbestos removal from initial Asbestos Survey and Sampling , to Asbestos Removal and Asbestos Waste Management . We will handle each step of the process including the identification of the type of work required, documentation, and notification to the appropriate authorities.

For enquiries regarding the safe disposal of asbestos containing materials, contact us today.