Asbestos

Air Systems Duct Cleaning do not remove Asbestos from ductwork.

Should suspect asbestos be found in a system it will closed down and a sample sent for testing.

Should it prove to be asbestos the site will be shut down until the Asbestos is removed by a specialized asbestos removal company.

Asbestos was used widely in building materials until approximately 1984. It had the advantages of being extremely resistant to heat and fire and allowed products such as compressed cement sheeting (fibro) to be manufactured without developing brittleness.
Researches discovered Asbestos is not only an upper respiratory irritant, but it could kill those who breathe in its fibres. The tiniest fibres when breathed in can lodge in the lung.

There is no safe level for Asbestos.

Asbestos fibres are even more insidious due to their ability to "hang" in the air (friable).

An Asbestos particle released at one metre from the floor, may never actually reach the floor. Potentially deadly particles that do not necessarily ever settle, and are not removed by vacuuming, can be re-circulated repeatedly.

Australian companies have spent billions of dollars removing Asbestos from building structures to reduce the risk of death from this substance. When this occurs, the air handling systems are often neglected and fibres find their way into the duct work, and remain present even after the building is declared free of Asbestos. Additionally, a very high proportion of air handling systems have Asbestos built into them in non-obvious locations.

Many high-rise office buildings use the ceiling space as the air-conditioning return air plenum. Quite a number of these have had Asbestos insulation sprayed on steel beams as a fire retardant. These buildings will most certainly have Asbestos particles circulating throughout the air-conditioning system.

Air-conditioning systems often have electric heaters contained in an Asbestos lined duct section. Often referred to as "Millboard", and resembles compressed cement sheeting (fibro). If the air-conditioning system is more than 10 years old, it may well contain Asbestos. Asbestos particles can be released from the Millboard during routine maintenance, through plant vibrations, and by the rubbing movement of heating elements in the air stream.