Asbestos Waste

What is Asbestos?

Asbestos is a natural mineral made up of many small fibres.  Asbestos was commonly used as an acoustic insulator and in thermal insulation, fire proofing and other building materials and many products in use today contain asbestos.

There are three main types of Asbestos:

Blue Asbestos - Crocidolite

Brown Asbestos - Amosite

White Asbestos - Chrysotile
  

Asbestos Risks?

Asbestos can be harmful if dust containing the fibre is inhaled.  Accordingly, bound asbestos where such fibres are not loose (e.g. asbestos cement) presents significantly less risk than fibrous asbestos (e.g. in crumbly or loose-fill asbestos type products).  However, all asbestos products, as potential sources of fibrous dust, should be treated with caution and handled carefully. 
  

Where can Asbestos Products be found?

Asbestos has been used about the home in building materials and consumer goods, particularly to resist heat and to give fire protection.

Asbestos was most commonly used:

  • as insulation lagging in buildings and factories, on pipe work and for boilers and ducts;
  • as asbestos insulating board, such as Asbestolux and Marinite, used as wall partitions, fire doors, ceiling tiles, etc;
  • as asbestos cement products such as sheeting on walls and roofs, tiles, cold water tanks, gutters, pipe and in decorative plaster finishes; and
  • as a spray coating on steel work, concrete walls and ceilings, for fire protection and insulation.

Asbestos material can be inadvertently disturbed during maintenance, repair or refurbishment work on building.  Drilling, cutting or other disturbance of existing asbestos materials can release asbestos fibres into the air.  Accordingly, asbestos products should always be handled carefully.

If there is uncertainty about whether material contains asbestos, expert advice can be sought from asbestos monitoring/surveying companies.
  

If you need to remove Asbestos there are a number of stages in the process:

  1. Removal or dismantling of the asbestos containing material from a building
  2. Preparation of the Asbestos for transport
  3. Transport of the Asbestos to a authorised transfer station or disposal facility
  4. The actual disposal of the Asbestos

This guidance document will highlight some of the issues associated with these different stages.
  

Handling of Asbestos

The Health & Safety Authority (HSA) is the appropriate body to contact with regard to the handling of asbestos.  Significant information relating to the handling of asbestos is freely available from the HSA website at http://www.hsa.ie/eng/ Any queries concerning working with asbestos should be directed to the Workplace Contact Unit at the Health and Safety Authority:

Health & Safety Authority (HSA),
The MetropolitanBuilding,
James Joyce Street,
Dublin 1
D01 K0Y8 

Telephone:  1890 289 389
Fax:  01 6147020

  

A specialist contractor should be engaged to carry out work on asbestos products or to demolish asbestos products, particularly where significant amounts of asbestos are present or where asbestos products are worn or damaged.

In the case of asbestos products where the asbestos fibres are tightly bound, (e.g., asbestos cement roofs) and the material is in good condition, specialist asbestos removal contractors may not always be necessary.  Nonetheless, stringent precautions (available from the HSA) must be taken in such instances.
  

Disposal of Asbestos Waste

Asbestos waste is a hazardous waste, which must be disposed of properly. Waste disposal comes under the remit of the provisions of the Waste Management Acts 1996 (as amended).  Asbestos cement waste is classified as hazardous waste under European waste legislation, and a specific code applies to waste construction material containing asbestos (LoW Code: 17-06-05*).

Once the asbestos cement is removed safely, it should be wrapped in heavy gauge polythene (labelled “Asbestos”).  Again, reference should be made to the Health & Safety Authority regarding such work with asbestos.  There must be strict adherence to any instructions given by a Local Authority or waste collection permit holder regarding the packaging of asbestos waste for removal.

Asbestos cement waste must only be surrendered to a waste collection permit holder authorised under the Waste Management (Collection Permit) Regulations 2007 (as amended), to collect this type of waste.  Therefore Sligo County Council advise that the public ask to see and note the contractors waste collection permit number.  The validity of any permit may be checked with Sligo County Council. A list of permitted Waste Collectors is attached for your information.

Within the State, asbestos cement waste can only be disposed of at a waste facility licensed by the Environmental Protection Agency.  Asbestos cement waste can also be accepted at a hazardous waste transfer station licensed by the Environmental Protection Agency.   Hazardous waste transfer stations accept asbestos waste and then arrange to have the waste disposed at an appropriate facility either in Ireland or abroad.

As a hazardous waste, the movement of asbestos cement waste within the State is subject to a notification procedure, involving the provision of consignment notes to the Local Authorities of despatch and destination.  This can be organised by the authorised waste collector.

Hazardous Waste Transfer Station

Licensed to accept asbestos cement waste

Rilta Environmental Ltd,
Block 402, Grants Drive, Greenogue Business Park,
Rathcoole, Co. Dublin,
D24 AP04
Waste Licence Register Number W0192-03

Telephone: 01 401 8000

Email: info@rilta.ie

The export of waste from the country is also subject to control procedures under EU and national legislation, Waste Management (Shipment of Waste) Regulations 2007.

Sample of AuthorisedAsbestos Waste Collectors:

(For full list go to www.nwcpo.ie/permitsearch.aspx and search for LoW code 17-06-05*)

  

Authorised Asbestos Waste Collectors

Permit NumberCollector NameContact
Permit NumberCollector NameContact
NWCPO-10-01264-02 Harrington Precast Concrete Ltd.

Unit 73
Grange Close
Baldoyle Industrial Estate
Dublin 13

01 832 6292

NWCPO-09-06379-02  John Tinnelly & Sons Ltd.

Newtowncloughague
Forkhill Road
Newry
Co. Down
BT 35 8LZ
048 302 65331 

NWCPO-14-11460-01 McCormack Haulage Services Ltd.

Donore
Streamstown
Mullingar
Co. Westmeath
057 93 35142

NWCPO-09-01192-02 Rilta Ltd. t/a Rilta Environmental Ltd.

Block 402, Grants Drive
Greenogue Business Park
Rathcoole
Co. Dublin
D24 AP04
01 401 8000

NWCPO-13-11154-01  P & D Lydon Plant Hire Ltd.

Gortacurra Cross
Cong
Co Mayo
094 954 6099

NWCPO-15-11608-01 Frank Higgins (Ardrahan) Ltd.

Ardrahan
Co. Galway
091 635238
087 2583848

NWCPO-14-11283-01  McBreen Environmental Drain Services Ltd .

Lismagratty
Cootehill Road
Co. Cavan
049 432 6306
1890 66 33 33 

NWCPO-15-11560-01 Asbestos Transport Ltd.

Unit 44A Moyle Road
Dublin Industrial Estate
Glasnevin
Dublin 11
01 860 3857

Companies who assess material to see if it contains Asbestos and can provide further information –

  1. Phoenix Environmental, Kilkenny     
    Telephone Number:  056 883 2414
  2. OHSS, Balbriggan
    Telephone Number:  01 690 5907
National Waste Collection Permit Office - http://www.nwcpo.ie/permitsearch.aspx

For further information contact:

Barry Guckian 
Waste Enforcement Officer 
Environmental Services Section
Sligo County Council 
071 911 1026
bguckian@sligococo.ie

Seamus McGourty 
Waste Enforcement Officer 
Environmental Services Section
Sligo County Council 
071 911 1460
smcgourty@sligococo.ie

Sharon McKeon
Waste Enforcement Officer 
Environmental Services Section
Sligo County Council 
071 911 1461
smckeon@sligococo.ie