Asbestos 'only a risk if disturbed' says Housing Executive
- Published
Asbestos was once widely used in the construction of public buildings
Asbestos is present in a total of 47,442 Housing Executive properties in Northern Ireland, according to government statistics.
The greatest number of homes affected are in Belfast, where a total of 12,662 contain the banned substance.
Last week, the Department of Education (DE) confirmed that the vast majority of schools in Northern Ireland contain asbestos.
Out of about 1,100 schools, 975 have been identified by the department.
Asbestos is present in many public buildings constructed before the material was banned in 1999
In a statement on Tuesday, the Housing Executive stressed that asbestos only posed a risk if disturbed.
"We have a programme to manage asbestos in our properties," a spokesperson said.
"As part of that, we inspect all our properties and as part of our planned upgrade schemes we will remove asbestos where it is impacted by the upgrade work.
"We advise tenants of necessary processes, what happens if asbestos is found and if any action is required.
"This also includes advice around house sales and home improvements."
Housing Executive tenants are advised that they should not make changes to their properties without approval and that the executive will check if asbestos survey details are available.
If not, they will acquire a survey relevant to the works.
When asbestos fibres are inhaled they can cause serious diseases
Asbestos was banned in the UK in 1999 because the fibres were linked to diseases including cancer.
However, it can be found in many public buildings, including schools and hospitals, built or refurbished during the second half of the 20th century.
It was widely used as it had significant heat and fire retardant qualities.
The presence of asbestos in a building can be managed, however, as fibres must be disturbed and inhaled to cause harm.
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