The post-war years brought a boom in building to Essex. Unfortunately, it also bought a boom in the use of asbestos.

Making lives better by building

The building boom was done with the best possible motives, like many other problems. It had two aims: to improve the lives of locals by giving them better housing, and improve the lives of Londoners by moving them out of London into Essex.

The needs of locals were met by building lots of new housing, mostly council housing, throughout the county. The needs of Londoners were met by the new towns of Harlow and Basildon, which were but from scratch.

Neither the new towns nor the new estates have gone as the planners imagined. Today they have more than their fair share of social issues such as crime and anti-social behaviour.

Asbestos : the wrong choice, for the right reasons

The use of asbestos was also done with the best of motives. At the time it was widely seen as a great building material. It was cheap, light and strong. It did not rot or rust. It did not need painting or maintenance. And, of course, it was completely fire proof.

Unfortunately it was also dangerous. It’s fibres cause cancer. it can be many years between someone being exposed to asbestos and the first symptoms showing, so it took a long time for the connection to be made.

Asbestos everywhere

The town planners were thorough. As well as the housing they built everything else people need: offices and factories, shops and leisure facilities, schools and hospitals. And all of them used asbestos. Leaving Essex with a massive problem.

Solution step 1: an asbestos survey

The first step to solving a problem is to fully understand it. The first step to solving the problem of asbestos in a building is an asbestos survey. The survey will tell the person responsible for the building if asbestos is present, where it is, and in what quantities. It will help them understand how severe the problem is, and how urgent.

Of course, the entrepreneurial spirit of Essex has risen to the occasion and met the new need. We recommend Global Environmental. As well as surveys they provide help with training and developing the Asbestos Management Plans every affected building needs.