January 19th, 2007

A UK council has been warning local council tenants not to drill holes in the walls of their properties in case they release asbestos fibers and dust. Asbestos is a substance that was once widely used in buildings for a variety of applications such as tiling and insulation. It is a known carcinogenic, and can cause a range of health problems through exposure to dust and fibers, including the asbestos related cancer, mesothelioma.

Portsmouth City Council in the UK owns a number of properties in the local area, and after discovering that around 75 percent of them definitely contained asbestos officials issued the warning to residents living in their homes.

Warnings were sent out to over 15,000 residents, explaining that by drilling into the walls they could be exposing themselves and their loved ones to the deadly asbestos dust. It is thought that council tenants living in many other older council properties in other areas could be facing the same risks.

One asbestos contractor stated: 'It's quite common to find asbestos in social housing because the material was commonly used when many of these properties were built, after the Second World War.'