There are many instances when one flat roof needs replacing with another, often because of age or damage from a fire or storm.

However, one of the most important reasons to undertake such work is because the old roof has asbestos in it.

Asbestos roof removal is not something you should ever undertake yourself. It should always be done by a specialist.

Once fitted as standard in buildings as fireproofing, but subsequently discovered to pose a huge health hazard, asbestos is now subject to strict laws. This means that, as well as the actual dangers, if you are responsible for any incident in which people may be exposed, you could end up in court.

Examples of recent prosecutions by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) include the case of a construction site supervisor at a school in Bristol, who was carrying out renovation work when a circular saw he was using cut through an insulating board containing asbestos, leading to the potential exposure of staff and pupils to airborne fibres.

The contractor was heavily fined, with HSE inspector Ian Whittles noting that over 5,000 people a year die from asbestos-related diseases.

In this case, he noted, “wholly unacceptable exposure to asbestos fibres occurred as a result of an individual employee not following instructions and procedures designed to prevent such occurrences.”

The greatest health threat from asbestos is that fibres are inhaled and cause mesothelioma, a deadly form of lung cancer. According to NHS figures, over 2,700 people are diagnosed with it in the UK every year. It can take many years after exposure for symptoms to emerge, so the consequences of an exposure incident may not be known for decades.

For all these reasons, you need to make sure you hire the experts for removing any asbestos roofing, to be legally compliant and to ensure the safety of anyone using the building or present in the vicinity.