Hi Orangelime. Welcome to the forum.

I'm not a doctor nor am I an expert on asbestos. However, this question pops up regularly on this forum. 

The asbestos in Artex was Chrysotile, or white asbestos, and it made up about 2% of the mix. Whilst white asbestos cannot be called "safe", it is definitely the least hazardous form.  Furthermore the body will naturally clear out a small number of white asbestos fibres over time.  The low concentration of asbestos means that the number of fibres released will be quite low if you cut or drill it, with many fibres remaining trapped in the other 98% of material that fell to the floor and got swept up. 

You asked about the risk to your family.  Perhaps not surprisingly, there are no figures for the number of people who have died due to exposure to asbestos in decorative products.  However in 2016 there were 2,197 male deaths and 398 female deaths from mesothelioma. I hate to use gender stereotyping, but I suspect that few of those women were exposed at work, which means they must have been exposed to asbestos elsewhere. In the home, perhaps?  Now 398 sounds a lot, but to put it in context, 3500 people die in the home each year from simple accidents; 1800 die each year in road accidents; 1500 die from accidental poisoning; 1500 die each year from falling in the home; 5-10 die each year putting on their socks.  

So, although you're kicking yourself that you disturbed the material, you have done what most other householders (including me!) have done at some time - disturbed the Artex in the ceiling and possibly breathed in the fibres. But the extra risk to your family appears to be minimal and definitely nothing to panic about. It most certainly isn't a death warrant that will be hanging over everyone's head for years to come. You're getting expert advice on what to do next, but maybe sealing the damaged areas and being more asbestos aware is all that you'll need to do. Almost certainly removing the Artex would be more dangerous than leaving it in place and keeping it properly sealed. 

I'll also add one further point. Smoking and asbestos are a lethal combination. If you or any of your family are smokers, then now might be a good time to quit. 

So I guess the take home message is Don't Panic. 

Thank you for this. Really appreciate you replying. I do feel reassured now! 

[@ccastell70]‍ Did you get any response to your question? I am also worried about this. I wasn't in the room when a small part of the ceiling was scraped so I think the initial exposure, if it did contain asbestos, would be small but I didn't get it professionally cleaned so does this count as prolonged exposure if the fibres are still in the air or is it still part of the initial small exposure? Does anyone know? Thanks.

Hello,

Sorry to jump on this post but after hours of googling I needed some advice/reassurance.

a few years ago my husband and I renovated our first home - a 1940s semi. Our home buyers report stated there was potential for asbestos in textured walls throughout & ceilings - walls were "popcorn" walls & ceilings were the standard swirled design. 
 

naively  , and now looking back very stupidly, despite the home buyers report we never got a professional test done to test for the presence of asbestos. Not being fully aware of the dangers , we removed all of the downstairs ceilings ourselves & my husband kango drilled the bottom 1m of the walls to allow for a damp proof course to be installed. We weren't living in the property at the time but spent a considerable portion of our days there working & the removal of the ceilings / walls took about 4 weeks. We used masks during the demolition - just your standard b&Q job nothing substantial

the remaining walls were skimmed over following the DPC 

judging by the condition  of the property our estimation is that the Artex was done around the 1970s/80s so I'd say a good chance it contained asbestos although obviously we can't tell for certain  

i am now  extremely worried about the potential health reprucussions. I have read that the percentage of asbestos in Artex is quite low but we I imagine we're potentially exposed to quite a lot given the removal of all ceilings and the drilling of the walls to allow for the DPC

any advice or reassurance is much appreciated! 
 

 Thanks in advance 

Do you know if Jak99 ever revealed the names of the expert witness/other experts he spoke to? I have been exposed by neighbours negligently storing asbestos for 6 years against my fence. It fell through my fence eventually. The big reveal! I am trying to find real advice on risk. 

I wonder if you could share the details of your asbestos experts as I have had significant exposure due to a negligent neighbour.

We could of course look at all the paranoia another way.  The vast majority of UK homes have asbestos-bearing Artex, it was in fashion until the early nineties, and so most people have lived in such houses.  All of these houses have had people doing DIY, and bashing holes in ceilings for years.  I don't think you'd be able to find many people (can anyone find anyone?) in the UK who have died from Asbestos related illness who didn't acquire the asbestos from somewhere else.  The people who contracted asbestos related illnesses got it from working in industrial settings where there was clouds of the stuff.  It settled on peoples clothes, who then brought it home. People in the building industry come across it a lot, but usually only binders of some sort.

 people misunderstand risk and assume that if a risk exist it will happen to them.  There is a risk you could be struck by lightening, but don't stay indoors all your life for that reason.  No one on this forum is frightened about getting into a car.  Every year thousands of people are admitted to A&E after falling out of bed !

Hi there Chris. Just wondering if you could help as I’m having real asbestos anxiety. 

When we bought the house, the homebuyers survey said there was asbestos tiles on the ceiling. We then contacted a surveyor who confirmed that it was asbestos but couldn’t see anywhere else visually that could be asbestos. we changed the ceiling before we moved in.

But I only read something about asbestos over the weekend and am stressing myself out now. All this after a new loft has been put in and walls knocked over.

I called an asbestos surveyor who instilled the fear of god in me … a 1935 property could contain asbestos in plaster etc “You should have done a full renovation and demolition survey.”

So here I am completely freaked out that I’ve had the children living in a house as asbestos was flying around!

Here are the details
- house built in 1935
- owned by same owner until 1997. Quite miserly from what we’ve heard and didn’t spend so wouldn’t have put in extra bits in between.
- next owner put in a conservatory but that’s it
- no Artex, can’t see any boards
- ceiling looks like lath and plaster (I can see strands of brown hair)
- walls were cinder blocks
- both walls and ceiling were “layers” of plaster if I’m describing it right. So cinder block/brown plaster/white plaster or wooden slats / light brown plaster : white plaster

Builder says he hasn’t come across asbestos in the build. But can he really tell that?

I just need some rational thought please. Do I need to change carpets in the house? Do I need ti throw out all my clothes? 

Hi there. We have just had a loft conversion. The ceiling where the stairs were added was knocked through. This was covered in artex. We live in a victorian house. Never had artex tested. Now I'm worried about exposure. We were out when the hole was knocked through and dust was contained well by builders. Carpets were protected etc and windows opened. Worried about any dust in the air if was asbsetos in the artex? Also smoke alarm have been drilled into artex in our hallway.Any advice? 

Hi Jak99, 

This post is a life saver to my sanity! We bought a house 2.5 years ago and although the surveyor said we should get the ceilings checked, we never did. My husband said not to worry, so I didn't. Recently I watched a program and it raised alarm bells again, so we've decided to get it all checked. I'll be honest I have been racked with worry, not sleeping and so anxious for our little boy (3 years old), particularly as we also drilled the ceiling (not realising) and had a wardrobe built as well. We have some open holes in the artex as well, where cables are coming through. This post has made me feel so much better! Would you mind sharing any links you have to the info so I could read more? 

Hey Jac 99

I have just come across your post regarding asbestos. Any chance we can have a chat. I have been screwing over something related for the last two weeks. 

Hi Jac

Of course, feel free to add me and private message

Hi Jac

Of course, feel free to add me and private message

How do i add you?

I've sent you a friend request, but to save time, just ask me what you want on here. 

Hey Elena,

Stressed out of my head. My son and pregnant wife just bought a house-  built in late 1930’s. They had door frames ripped out and used a steamer to remove the 4 layers of wallpaper in the living room.

My son removed the bathroom and kitchen tiles and they’ve been in and out for last 3-4 weeks getting builders and plasters in. Lots of debris from wall stripping and plaster and cement from where architrives and door frames removed.

Three  questions- 

House is very warm despite the cold outside - The walls seem very solid. Could there be asbestos insulating board in the walls??

Risk of asbestos exposure from the work they’ve carried out? 

Asbestos from wallpaper removal and cement and plaster.? 

Thanks

By "in the walls", if you mean in the cavity it is almost certain that nothing is there. Most cavity wall insulation was done from the 90's onwards and asbestos was not used for that. Asbestos was widely used after WW II, but not used much in housing before then. It is very common in houses built in the 60's and 70's.  Asbestos Insulating Board was more likely to have been used in an industrial setting. The biggest risk for asbestos usage will have been decorating in the 60's and 70's, and applying Artex to the ceilings.