Cutting Concrete Asbestos Siding

Performs work on asbestos cement ac pipe.

Cutting concrete asbestos siding.

The intention of these work procedures is to provide a guideline for performing the work in a manner which will protect workers from airborne asbestos fibres. As a rule the greatest hazards occur in enclosed or indoor spaces. Cut asbestos cement corrugated roofing material with a pair of heavy dolphin nosed tin snips. You seriously could run yourself into a lot of legal and expensive trouble.

When cutting fiber cement siding with circular saw use a blade that has only four or six teeth. Remove asbestos cement siding. Disturbance of asbestos cement pipe through cutting drilling and other activities may result in elevated levels of airborne asbestos fibres. Mark the cut line with a pencil and straightedge.

Line up the nail holes between the old upper layer cement asbestos shingles and the new fiber cement shingles to be secured underneath. While these are obviously terrible diseases the risk associated with exposure from asbestos cement siding isn t that great unless you re cutting drilling or removing damaged siding. To keep dust to a minimum use a circular saw that s equipped with either a dust collection bag or electric fan that blows dust into a bucket. There is no legal requirement to do so nor is there significant real estate benefit.

Don t cut it just break it up with hammer. Cutting sanding or breaking asbestos cement tiles poses a distinct health hazard. Asbestos siding as it is on a house is perfectly safe. Cement asbestos siding tiles do not need to be removed simply because they contain asbestos.

Once cut open the concrete will release mineral fibers into the air exposing any unprotected workers or bystanders to significant health risks. Wet the surface down and use the tin snips to cut and break off small sections at a time. However the situation changes when a repair removal or modification job calls for the cutting of asbestos impregnated concrete. For a slow but virtually dustless way to cut siding use power shears.

According to the epa exposure to asbestos can lead to lung diseases like lung cancer mesothelioma and asbestosis. If you absolutely have to cut it do not use power tools. Smooth off jagged edges with a sharp carpenter s rasp to keep asbestos particle sizes as large as possible. Asbestos dust which is what would be created by sawing it is the dangerous part.

This is because exposure happens when the fibers are inhaled into the lungs. If cement shingles have to be cut use the manufacturer s recommended cutting tool not a power saw that will make a lot of dust.