Disposal & recycling
Asbestos (Asbest)
Also known as: Asbest · asbestos survey · asbestos remediation · Asbestsanierung · suspected asbestos
Asbestos is a carcinogenic fibrous mineral that was used in Swiss building materials until 1990. Before clearance or strip-out work in older buildings, it must be established whether asbestos-containing material is present.
Where asbestos occurs
In buildings constructed before 1990, asbestos can be present in a great many places: in floor tiles and their adhesives, in tile adhesives and filling compounds, in fibre-cement (Eternit) facade and roof panels, in planters and garden slabs, in pipe and boiler insulation, in fire-protection cladding, in electrical distribution boards, in window putty, and in the seals of old heating systems and stoves.
Switzerland has had a comprehensive asbestos ban since 1990. In buildings constructed from 1991 onwards, asbestos is practically ruled out, unless older material was reused.
Firmly bound or weakly bound
This is the decisive distinction for the level of risk. Firmly bound asbestos — for example in fibre-cement panels or floor tiles — releases barely any fibres while it is undamaged and stays harmless as long as it is not worked on. It becomes dangerous when it is drilled, sanded, broken or cut.
Weakly bound asbestos — sprayed asbestos, insulation or lightweight boards — can release fibres from vibration or air movement alone. Material of that kind may only be removed by a remediation contractor recognised by Suva, the Swiss national accident insurance fund that supervises occupational safety.
What this means for a clearance
A pure clearance — removing furniture and movable contents — is unproblematic when the asbestos-containing material is intact. As soon as building elements are stripped out, however, the situation changes. For buildings from before 1990 we therefore investigate before any strip-out and, where there is a suspicion, only continue once an assessment is available.
This is not excessive formality: asbestos-related illnesses appear decades after exposure and are the most frequent cause of recognised fatal occupational diseases in Switzerland.
A real example
During a renovation clearance in a 1968 housing estate in Regensdorf, floor coverings are to be removed. A material sample shows asbestos-containing vinyl tiles with asbestos-containing adhesive. Clearing the contents continues as normal; removing the floor is taken over by a remediation contractor recognised by Suva, working behind sealed containment. Only afterwards do we resume the remaining strip-out work.
Services that cover this
Frequently asked questions about Asbestos (Asbest)
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