Asbestos in Thailand.

[96tehtarp]

Does anyone know if the very common roofing tiles used everywhere in Thailand contain asbestos? They are often colored on one side , however the base material is grey and on close inspection contains a fibrous material that looks a lot like asbestos.

I have been told by professionals (westerners) in the environmental business that asbestos is perfectly safe if it is bound in roofing tiles and left undisturbed, that it is only the dust produced e.g. from cutting asbestos shingles with a saw that poses a health risk when the dust is inhaled. Is this true or not?

[AYJAYDEE]

yes

[Crossy]

Yes, it's safe if undisturbed and not creating dust.

It's also true that some (but not all) Thai products of this type contain asbestos. The info. should be on the product page (if it says nothing assume asbestos).

Moving to the DIY forum, there's another asbestos topic here somewhere.

[monk213]

Thanks OP as I have been directed here, I have been living with pic related in one section of a back room and it also covers the section outside the front door to my gate. Is it safe? It has drill holes in it obviously when it was put in place but since then not touched, it's an old house and I have rented here for half a year. Cheers

[96tehtarp]

Thanks OP as I have been directed here, I have been living with pic related in one section of a back room and it also covers the section outside the front door to my gate. Is it safe? It has drill holes in it obviously when it was put in place but since then not touched, it's an old house and I have rented here for half a year. Cheers

The photo shows the typical roofing tiles used everywhere in Thailand. I think it is safest to assume they contain asbestos.

Asbestosis is caused by the inhalation and retention of asbestos fibers. It usually occurs after high intensity and/or long-term exposure to asbestos (particularly in those individuals working on the production or end-use of products containing asbestos) and is therefore regarded as an occupational lung disease. (wikipedia)

If you leave the tiles alone alone, it's relatively harmless as they will not produce large quantities of dust. If you hire workers to do a job that creates dust take some precautions.

[monk213]

Thanks OP as I have been directed here, I have been living with pic related in one section of a back room and it also covers the section outside the front door to my gate. Is it safe? It has drill holes in it obviously when it was put in place but since then not touched, it's an old house and I have rented here for half a year. Cheers

The photo shows the typical roofing tiles used everywhere in Thailand. I think it is safest to assume they contain asbestos.

Asbestosis is caused by the inhalation and retention of asbestos fibers. It usually occurs after high intensity and/or long-term exposure to asbestos (particularly in those individuals working on the production or end-use of products containing asbestos) and is therefore regarded as an occupational lung disease. (wikipedia)

If you leave the tiles alone alone, it's relatively harmless as they will not produce large quantities of dust. If you hire workers to do a job that creates dust take some precautions.

Thanks, I knew that asbestos is only really dangerous when broken or disturbed, but did not know what I had above my head in that particular space. There are drill holes of course to mount the stuff, I wonder how the Thai laborers are fairing after installing countless sheets of the stuff? Anyway I am moving out soon so I will be glad to get away from the stuff, however maybe one exposure is enough. At the end of the day I still stand by the fact that Thais NEED to be educated on the severe dangers of this stuff, my neighbor was chucking out broken slabs of it outside waiting for the waist pickup, back home this would be insane

[bkkjames]

In the back of my mind when I look at the 30 yr old sun baked asbestos tiles + the amount of rain we get, some of this crap must run off into the streets and elsewhere. Perhaps not to be inhaled, but I suspect probably not that good overall.

[monk213]

In the back of my mind when I look at the 30 yr old sun baked asbestos tiles + the amount of rain we get, some of this crap must run off into the streets and elsewhere. Perhaps not to be inhaled, but I suspect probably not that good overall.

In Hua Hin I remember walking along a street that was fairly central and outside a building under refurbishment was a stack of asbestos, some of which were broken. I could even see tiny 1 inch pieces next to it. I tried to hold my breath and every time I think of it I shudder because those Thai workers probably have no clue. like my GF who didn't know anything about the stuff and I had to pull up loads of info online to show her, why do they wear bio-cemical warfare suits when removing it? i think the Thai population do not know because they have not been told, why because sooooo many structures house the stuff and it would cost so much to remove professionally.

On a similar note and this is no joke, my GF recently has become ill, she never gets sick and if she does it is only a day or 2, but she started with a bad fever and then started coughing up blood and phlegm, she went to the doctor who said 'a bad cold' yea right, and 8 days later still has a bad cough and feels weak as hell. She is going to a different doctor on my demand tomorrow, it seems like a lung infection though, I had one as a kid due to being out in the rain with a cold, but I never had blood in my mucus...

please, everyone, try to educate Thais on the dangers of asbestos,. that construction site down the road from you could easily be angle grinding the stuff right now

Edited August 22, 2014 by monk213

[BudRight]

In the back of my mind when I look at the 30 yr old sun baked asbestos tiles + the amount of rain we get, some of this crap must run off into the streets and elsewhere. Perhaps not to be inhaled, but I suspect probably not that good overall.

In Hua Hin I remember walking along a street that was fairly central and outside a building under refurbishment was a stack of asbestos, some of which were broken. I could even see tiny 1 inch pieces next to it. I tried to hold my breath and every time I think of it I shudder because those Thai workers probably have no clue. like my GF who didn't know anything about the stuff and I had to pull up loads of info online to show her, why do they wear bio-cemical warfare suits when removing it? i think the Thai population do not know because they have not been told, why because sooooo many structures house the stuff and it would cost so much to remove professionally.

On a similar note and this is no joke, my GF recently has become ill, she never gets sick and if she does it is only a day or 2, but she started with a bad fever and then started coughing up blood and phlegm, she went to the doctor who said 'a bad cold' yea right, and 8 days later still has a bad cough and feels weak as hell. She is going to a different doctor on my demand tomorrow, it seems like a lung infection though, I had one as a kid due to being out in the rain with a cold, but I never had blood in my mucus...

please, everyone, try to educate Thais on the dangers of asbestos,. that construction site down the road from you could easily be angle grinding the stuff right now

You can tell them, but they'll think you either don't know what you're talking about or they just won't care.

Ignorance in Thailand is willful. It's not a lack of education (I don't mean schooling), but rather ambivalence or even hostility to it.

[Mrjlh]

This may help answer your question about the safety issue. http://www.asbestos.com/asbestos/types.php

[cooked]

In the back of my mind when I look at the 30 yr old sun baked asbestos tiles + the amount of rain we get, some of this crap must run off into the streets and elsewhere. Perhaps not to be inhaled, but I suspect probably not that good overall.

In Hua Hin I remember walking along a street that was fairly central and outside a building under refurbishment was a stack of asbestos, some of which were broken. I could even see tiny 1 inch pieces next to it. I tried to hold my breath and every time I think of it I shudder because those Thai workers probably have no clue. like my GF who didn't know anything about the stuff and I had to pull up loads of info online to show her, why do they wear bio-cemical warfare suits when removing it? i think the Thai population do not know because they have not been told, why because sooooo many structures house the stuff and it would cost so much to remove professionally.

On a similar note and this is no joke, my GF recently has become ill, she never gets sick and if she does it is only a day or 2, but she started with a bad fever and then started coughing up blood and phlegm, she went to the doctor who said 'a bad cold' yea right, and 8 days later still has a bad cough and feels weak as hell. She is going to a different doctor on my demand tomorrow, it seems like a lung infection though, I had one as a kid due to being out in the rain with a cold, but I never had blood in my mucus...

please, everyone, try to educate Thais on the dangers of asbestos,. that construction site down the road from you could easily be angle grinding the stuff right now

It is very unlikely that asbestos would cause health problems just by walking by a pile of the stuff. Asbestos workers take years to develop symptoms.

There are asbestos free products, where it is replaced with glass fibre. A quote from the Shera Plank site:

SHERA plank, is an ideal fiber cement siding from Mahaphant. It’s a unique composite of natural fibers bonded tightly in a high-grade silicate structure. This autoclaved wood-grain fiber cement siding is a tough, yet flexible and dimensionally stable building material.

Natural fibres means asbestos.

Very difficult to get sense out of anyone selling cement fibre materials. I can only suggest sealing the stuff in with some kind of spray or paint.

[nanapong]

In the back of my mind when I look at the 30 yr old sun baked asbestos tiles + the amount of rain we get, some of this crap must run off into the streets and elsewhere. Perhaps not to be inhaled, but I suspect probably not that good overall.

In Hua Hin I remember walking along a street that was fairly central and outside a building under refurbishment was a stack of asbestos, some of which were broken. I could even see tiny 1 inch pieces next to it. I tried to hold my breath and every time I think of it I shudder because those Thai workers probably have no clue. like my GF who didn't know anything about the stuff and I had to pull up loads of info online to show her, why do they wear bio-cemical warfare suits when removing it? i think the Thai population do not know because they have not been told, why because sooooo many structures house the stuff and it would cost so much to remove professionally.

On a similar note and this is no joke, my GF recently has become ill, she never gets sick and if she does it is only a day or 2, but she started with a bad fever and then started coughing up blood and phlegm, she went to the doctor who said 'a bad cold' yea right, and 8 days later still has a bad cough and feels weak as hell. She is going to a different doctor on my demand tomorrow, it seems like a lung infection though, I had one as a kid due to being out in the rain with a cold, but I never had blood in my mucus...

please, everyone, try to educate Thais on the dangers of asbestos,. that construction site down the road from you could easily be angle grinding the stuff right now

You can't educate pork.

[mikehock]

In the back of my mind when I look at the 30 yr old sun baked asbestos tiles + the amount of rain we get, some of this crap must run off into the streets and elsewhere. Perhaps not to be inhaled, but I suspect probably not that good overall.

In Hua Hin I remember walking along a street that was fairly central and outside a building under refurbishment was a stack of asbestos, some of which were broken. I could even see tiny 1 inch pieces next to it. I tried to hold my breath and every time I think of it I shudder because those Thai workers probably have no clue. like my GF who didn't know anything about the stuff and I had to pull up loads of info online to show her, why do they wear bio-cemical warfare suits when removing it? i think the Thai population do not know because they have not been told, why because sooooo many structures house the stuff and it would cost so much to remove professionally.

On a similar note and this is no joke, my GF recently has become ill, she never gets sick and if she does it is only a day or 2, but she started with a bad fever and then started coughing up blood and phlegm, she went to the doctor who said 'a bad cold' yea right, and 8 days later still has a bad cough and feels weak as hell. She is going to a different doctor on my demand tomorrow, it seems like a lung infection though, I had one as a kid due to being out in the rain with a cold, but I never had blood in my mucus...

Your GF may have contracted

Pneumonia which is a lung infection that can make one very sick.

The symptoms you describe, coughing up blood , running a fever, and having a hard time breathing are typical.

Suggest you seek expert medical advice asap.

Good luck..hope she gets well soon.

[SOTIRIOS]

....standing under such tiles.....the smell is detectable....thus it is airborne...

....the extreme heat...poor manufacturing....poor handling...poor installation...poor or non-existent standards.......just make it worse.....

[Mudcrab]

In the back of my mind when I look at the 30 yr old sun baked asbestos tiles + the amount of rain we get, some of this crap must run off into the streets and elsewhere. Perhaps not to be inhaled, but I suspect probably not that good overall.

In Hua Hin I remember walking along a street that was fairly central and outside a building under refurbishment was a stack of asbestos, some of which were broken. I could even see tiny 1 inch pieces next to it. I tried to hold my breath and every time I think of it I shudder because those Thai workers probably have no clue. like my GF who didn't know anything about the stuff and I had to pull up loads of info online to show her, why do they wear bio-cemical warfare suits when removing it? i think the Thai population do not know because they have not been told, why because sooooo many structures house the stuff and it would cost so much to remove professionally.

On a similar note and this is no joke, my GF recently has become ill, she never gets sick and if she does it is only a day or 2, but she started with a bad fever and then started coughing up blood and phlegm, she went to the doctor who said 'a bad cold' yea right, and 8 days later still has a bad cough and feels weak as hell. She is going to a different doctor on my demand tomorrow, it seems like a lung infection though, I had one as a kid due to being out in the rain with a cold, but I never had blood in my mucus...

please, everyone, try to educate Thais on the dangers of asbestos,. that construction site down the road from you could easily be angle grinding the stuff right now

It is very unlikely that asbestos would cause health problems just by walking by a pile of the stuff. Asbestos workers take years to develop symptoms.

There are asbestos free products, where it is replaced with glass fibre. A quote from the Shera Plank site:

SHERA plank, is an ideal fiber cement siding from Mahaphant. It’s a unique composite of natural fibers bonded tightly in a high-grade silicate structure. This autoclaved wood-grain fiber cement siding is a tough, yet flexible and dimensionally stable building material.

Natural fibres means asbestos.

Very difficult to get sense out of anyone selling cement fibre materials. I can only suggest sealing the stuff in with some kind of spray or paint.

Fibre cement products have been around for decades without containing asbestos.

The Mahaphant website says their products contain Portland cement, sand, cellulose fibre and water. Much the same as the product made in Australia.

Looks like there is still a lot of discussion going on over the use of asbestos in Thailand but from what I can see it is still allowed to be used.

The sooner it is banned the better - but that is only for new product - the old stuff will still be around for many,many decades to come.

The easiest way to reduce risk is the seal it somehow. I've seen professionals treat it with normal wood glue watered down and sprayed on. Cheap paint will do the job as well.

The latest info I have is that the Oz authorities are looking at all forms of asbestos - the J shaped fibres and the needle shaped fibres as both types have been found to lodge in the lungs leading to mesothelioma many years later.

They are also looking at fibreglass as it has a similar shape to the needle shaped asbestos fibres, and is often cut or ground in a similar manner.

I can never remember which asbestos fibre is which, chrisotile or amosite.

[jacky54]

Go to any new moo bahn and you will see these tiles being sawn up and nailed or drilled into place, no safety procedures. Also they use sheets of it around extensions.

[Strangebrew]

You should be more concerned about getting across a street safely than that.

[jacky54]

I'm not sure white asbestos is so deadly. When I was a kid we used to have it as fencing, a shed made of it, on the ironing boards and elsewhere. I remember breaking up sheets of it to see the bits fly about, that was about 55 years ago.

[thailand49]

I never really thought about it? It always just looks like made of cement? with a glaze color size.

When people talk about dust etc... if the titles are? I would be concern because if the finish product is like in my house there is plenty of dust... and broken pieces laying just above the so call sheetrock. Find your ceiling opening to crawl into and with your flash light you will see lots of dust and brother pieces from the roof tiles when they placed the roof. If my roof is any indication I would not be surprise base on the workmanship in Thailand everyone roof would look the same?

I might take a piece home with me next time and ask my cousin who works for the health department and have it checked out?

[rucus7]

I'm not sure white asbestos is so deadly. When I was a kid we used to have it as fencing, a shed made of it, on the ironing boards and elsewhere. I remember breaking up sheets of it to see the bits fly about, that was about 55 years ago.

Maybe it is not so deadly. After all, asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral. I had extensive exposure in the building trades to asbestos. Starting in 1970.It was taken out of most of the products I was using by 1975. I have no lung problems. But I attribute that to my cessation of smoking unfiltered cigarettes 28 years ago. Not to trivialize the true dangers that are inherent in those that mined asbestos, or worked in factory production. A phenomenal amount of money has been generated in asbestos abatement in many countries.

Those corrugated roof will not be any problem. The sky is not falling.

[myluckythai]

put a black board under your roof and see how it looks after a few months of wind and what not. Yes it is dangerous

[crank]

Shera is a non asbestos product. It says that on the packaging and their website. Ive used it recently as new cladding on my house

[jacky54]

Thais like asbestos over shera as it's cheaper, can you get shera tiles?

[Pattszero]

Just as a side issue - a friend of mine is going through a twelve week lung washing treatment to remove asbestos particles ( as I understand it ) - I thought he was for the steak pie before he was diagnosed - and even now, every day after the treatment you'd be a kind man to shoot him.

[rhythmworx]

When you are walking down the street that has cars driving alongside you are breathing asbestos from brake pads.

[rhythmworx]

Just as a side issue - a friend of mine is going through a twelve week lung washing treatment to remove asbestos particles ( as I understand it ) - I thought he was for the steak pie before he was diagnosed - and even now, every day after the treatment you'd be a kind man to shoot him.

I hope your friend isn't paying for that as it is total nonsense.

[tigermoth]

In the back of my mind when I look at the 30 yr old sun baked asbestos tiles + the amount of rain we get, some of this crap must run off into the streets and elsewhere. Perhaps not to be inhaled, but I suspect probably not that good overall.

In Hua Hin I remember walking along a street that was fairly central and outside a building under refurbishment was a stack of asbestos, some of which were broken. I could even see tiny 1 inch pieces next to it. I tried to hold my breath and every time I think of it I shudder because those Thai workers probably have no clue. like my GF who didn't know anything about the stuff and I had to pull up loads of info online to show her, why do they wear bio-cemical warfare suits when removing it? i think the Thai population do not know because they have not been told, why because sooooo many structures house the stuff and it would cost so much to remove professionally.

On a similar note and this is no joke, my GF recently has become ill, she never gets sick and if she does it is only a day or 2, but she started with a bad fever and then started coughing up blood and phlegm, she went to the doctor who said 'a bad cold' yea right, and 8 days later still has a bad cough and feels weak as hell. She is going to a different doctor on my demand tomorrow, it seems like a lung infection though, I had one as a kid due to being out in the rain with a cold, but I never had blood in my mucus...

please, everyone, try to educate Thais on the dangers of asbestos,. that construction site down the road from you could easily be angle grinding the stuff right now

You can tell them, but they'll think you either don't know what you're talking about or they just won't care.

Ignorance in Thailand is willful. It's not a lack of education (I don't mean schooling), but rather ambivalence or even hostility to it.

[tigermoth]

In the back of my mind when I look at the 30 yr old sun baked asbestos tiles + the amount of rain we get, some of this crap must run off into the streets and elsewhere. Perhaps not to be inhaled, but I suspect probably not that good overall.

In Hua Hin I remember walking along a street that was fairly central and outside a building under refurbishment was a stack of asbestos, some of which were broken. I could even see tiny 1 inch pieces next to it. I tried to hold my breath and every time I think of it I shudder because those Thai workers probably have no clue. like my GF who didn't know anything about the stuff and I had to pull up loads of info online to show her, why do they wear bio-cemical warfare suits when removing it? i think the Thai population do not know because they have not been told, why because sooooo many structures house the stuff and it would cost so much to remove professionally.

On a similar note and this is no joke, my GF recently has become ill, she never gets sick and if she does it is only a day or 2, but she started with a bad fever and then started coughing up blood and phlegm, she went to the doctor who said 'a bad cold' yea right, and 8 days later still has a bad cough and feels weak as hell. She is going to a different doctor on my demand tomorrow, it seems like a lung infection though, I had one as a kid due to being out in the rain with a cold, but I never had blood in my mucus...

please, everyone, try to educate Thais on the dangers of asbestos,. that construction site down the road from you could easily be angle grinding the stuff right now

You can tell them, but they'll think you either don't know what you're talking about or they just won't care.

Ignorance in Thailand is willful. It's not a lack of education (I don't mean schooling), but rather ambivalence or even hostility to it.

Almost all countries manufacturing fibre sheets or tiles do not use asbestos. It is banned by the world health organisation and Thailand is the only civilised,(western, democratic???)style nation to still use it. The correct product is now made out of cement as is termed fibre cement sheet or tiles. Also brake pads for vehicles are not made of asbestos.

[Peterphuket]

In the back of my mind when I look at the 30 yr old sun baked asbestos tiles + the amount of rain we get, some of this crap must run off into the streets and elsewhere. Perhaps not to be inhaled, but I suspect probably not that good overall.

In Hua Hin I remember walking along a street that was fairly central and outside a building under refurbishment was a stack of asbestos, some of which were broken. I could even see tiny 1 inch pieces next to it. I tried to hold my breath and every time I think of it I shudder because those Thai workers probably have no clue. like my GF who didn't know anything about the stuff and I had to pull up loads of info online to show her, why do they wear bio-cemical warfare suits when removing it? i think the Thai population do not know because they have not been told, why because sooooo many structures house the stuff and it would cost so much to remove professionally.

On a similar note and this is no joke, my GF recently has become ill, she never gets sick and if she does it is only a day or 2, but she started with a bad fever and then started coughing up blood and phlegm, she went to the doctor who said 'a bad cold' yea right, and 8 days later still has a bad cough and feels weak as hell. She is going to a different doctor on my demand tomorrow, it seems like a lung infection though, I had one as a kid due to being out in the rain with a cold, but I never had blood in my mucus...

please, everyone, try to educate Thais on the dangers of asbestos,. that construction site down the road from you could easily be angle grinding the stuff right now

It is very unlikely that asbestos would cause health problems just by walking by a pile of the stuff. Asbestos workers take years to develop symptoms.

There are asbestos free products, where it is replaced with glass fibre. A quote from the Shera Plank site:

SHERA plank, is an ideal fiber cement siding from Mahaphant. It’s a unique composite of natural fibers bonded tightly in a high-grade silicate structure. This autoclaved wood-grain fiber cement siding is a tough, yet flexible and dimensionally stable building material.

Natural fibres means asbestos.

Very difficult to get sense out of anyone selling cement fibre materials. I can only suggest sealing the stuff in with some kind of spray or paint.

Fibre cement products have been around for decades without containing asbestos.

The Mahaphant website says their products contain Portland cement, sand, cellulose fibre and water. Much the same as the product made in Australia.

Looks like there is still a lot of discussion going on over the use of asbestos in Thailand but from what I can see it is still allowed to be used.

The sooner it is banned the better - but that is only for new product - the old stuff will still be around for many,many decades to come.

The easiest way to reduce risk is the seal it somehow. I've seen professionals treat it with normal wood glue watered down and sprayed on. Cheap paint will do the job as well.

The latest info I have is that the Oz authorities are looking at all forms of asbestos - the J shaped fibres and the needle shaped fibres as both types have been found to lodge in the lungs leading to mesothelioma many years later.

They are also looking at fibreglass as it has a similar shape to the needle shaped asbestos fibres, and is often cut or ground in a similar manner.

I can never remember which asbestos fibre is which, chrisotile or amosite.

It is unbelievable that it is still alowed in Thailand, when you look to western countrys where it is totaly forbidden to use it. When you look back to all the lung dissease it can bring.

If they don't stop to use it, soon or late they get of course the same problems or worser.

It has to be mondial forbidden.

[Pattszero]

Just as a side issue - a friend of mine is going through a twelve week lung washing treatment to remove asbestos particles ( as I understand it ) - I thought he was for the steak pie before he was diagnosed - and even now, every day after the treatment you'd be a kind man to shoot him.

I hope your friend isn't paying for that as it is total nonsense.

It's on the NHS - I'll let them know you say it's nonsense.