ASBESTOS IN PECULIAR PLACES: ANTIQUES
ASBESTOS IN PECULIAR PLACES: ANTIQUES
Asbestos has been in use for centuries leading up to its ban in the UK until 1999. For many years, Asbestos was regarded as an exceptional building material. This is down to its durability, fire resistance, and electrical insulating properties.
In our previous blogs we’ve mentioned the use of Asbestos in the construction of industrial, commercial and residential buildings. We have also went through Asbestos Surveying and inspection and how to safely remove and deal with Asbestos. However, the use of Asbestos wasn’t only limited to construction.
An example of its other uses recently came to light in the form of a 1.3 million-dollar antique table, which was auctioned off by Sotheby’s, New York.
Would you spend £1,000,000 on a table? What if it was created with a substance that can cause cancer? Sotheby's New York recently sold not one, but two tables designed by Jean Prouvé composed of fibrated Granipoli concrete — a phrase used in French to describe a combination of cement and Asbestos, a fibrous material that is known to cause Lung Cancer, Asbestosis, and Mesothelioma (Cascone, 2022).
The works, referred to as the refectory tables, are a group of 30 tables that Prouvé created in 1939 for the canteen of La Pierre Attelée, a French summer camp on the coast of Saint-Brevin l'Océan.
Luckily, it is illegal to import or export products containing asbestos in the UK. Nevertheless, Asbestos is still prevalent and was linked to approximately 5000 deaths in the UK during 2021-2022 according to the latest statistics by the HSE.
If you're interested in learning more about Asbestos check out our blog posts here or if you're working somewhere where asbestos exposure might be a concern, contact us for emergency response.
Our local teams can assist with any of the following asbestos-related works -
Asbestos Surveys near me
Asbestos Removal near me
Asbestos Sampling near me
Asbestos in Soils
Re-Inspection and maintenance near me