Sheep and Asbestos....

[T_K]

I was walking across a field on a public footpath a few weeks ago and noticed lots of asbestos tiles piled up, there were also several broken tiles scattered around the field.....there were no animals in the field at the time but I noticed this weekend there were sheep in the field....are the sheep at risk...and if they have lambs are the people who eat the meat at risk?? Should I notify an authority?

 

[nicnag]

There will be a lot of sheep out there housed in sheds with Asbestos roofs. I'd imagine they are at a slight risk , I'd give a local authosiry a call anyway as it will need to be cleared up professionally.

 

[golddustsara]

As long as the sheep don't go up and breathe the asbestos they should be ok but it is a hazard to have broken asbestos right by a footpath so I would be inclined to notify the authorities. It certainly won't pose any risk to the meat....

It really annoys me when people are not careful with asbestos. My old horse reared through his asbestos stable roof when being vetted, showering the YO and vet with dust (I was right outside the stable at the time). They were unaware of the hazard so I had to shout at them to get out of there. Only stuck at that yard for a week or so after this as YO didn;t get the roof fixed and put other horses in there?!!!!!!! Hooved my car out and washed my clothes 3 times after I left that yard but have now been left paranoid about the stuff as I must have breathed a tiny bit in and lordy knows about the vet. Apparently YO still not sorted it out and there are children on this yard!!!!!!!!

I now hate any use of asbestos for stable rooves as horses are unpredictable animals.

Right rant over - yes I would notify authorities if right by a footpath.

 

[T_K]

Thanks guys

 

[Box_Of_Frogs]

There's 2 different types of asbestos and it's a real shame they called the safe one "asbestos" coz it's harmless. Can't remember which is which (someone on here will know!) but one is white asbestos and one is blue. Or possibly brown. Anyway, the tiles may be "safe" asbestos. The dangerous kind is dangerous as even a minute speck of it, breathed in, can cause a highly aggressive form of lung cancer. I doubt if sheep live long enough to develop that, bless 'em x

 

[golddustsara]

I think the corrugated white/grey stuff that they use on farms and stables is the less harmful kind but I was under the impression that it was still harmful if breathed in large quantities.

 

[Shay]

Asbestos is a "catch all" phrase for stuff made from 6 different types of minerals commonly groups into "white", "brown" and "blue". All are dangerous but it is the white form which is banned in Europe and the EU - although not in the US. Asbestos was widely used in the building industry until the 1980s although anything built before about 2000 can contain asbestos.

It is only dangerous if the fibers become airbourne and are inhaled. This happens when the item is broken. They do cuase an agressive form of lung cancer - mesothilioma - but it takes years to develop. I don't think anyone has done any research on its affects on animals but on basic principles I wouldn't think it would do any mammal any good.

Material containing asbestos must be disposed of properly. This costs money so some people just dump it instead. If it is dumped on a right of way then the county must clean it up and decomtaminate the site as much as they can. If it is dumped on private property then the costs of this falls to the poor owner and it can be expensive. The HSE has a lot of info on how to deal with fly tipped asbestos.

I suggest you call your local council and report it. Even if it is on private land the owner will need to know it is there and will need assistance in removing it. I'm not sure the sheep are at risk - but longer lived animals like us, and possibly our horses, are.

 

[T_K]

Well, the land it's on belongs to the farm that is has come from, I presume - there's a small roofless garage backing onto the field. But the farm is in a state of disrepair - I actually thought it was derelict until I saw a car parked outside. There are mini shetties on another part of the farm - I guess they would be at risk if they were put in that field, and there are also a lot of cats!!