Even a single airborne fiber of the most dangerous types of asbestos can eventually cause a particular form of lung cancer if inhaled.
Danger of asbestos siding.
While older homes will likely contain asbestos in roofing insulation and tiles it can also be present in exterior siding.
Asbestos cement can be dangerous if pulverized by sawing sanding breaking etc.
And make no mistake asbestos is dangerous.
Asbestos cement siding is very brittle and can be easily chipped cracked or broken.
The reported costs for such projects range from 500 to 4 500 while the typical cost for asbestos siding removal is generally between 1 000 and 2 500.
If you suspect that your siding may contain asbestos there is no need for alarm.
Cutting asbestos siding is the only danger which is minimized with use of specialized tools that shear rather than cut the shingles.
Care and proper procedures should always be taken during removal and disposal but in general asbestos siding ranks very low on the list of materials that contain asbestos as far as danger.
The use of a pressure washer for maintenance can crack the siding and lead to moisture intrusion if the pressure setting is high enough.
Also i recommend against installing new siding over top of the existing asbestos material as the process will damage the latter and cause asbestos fibers to be released.
Asbestos siding is far less dangerous due to the fact that it installed outside and very few fibers are released even when siding shingles crack and break.
The issue here is asbestos and the risks of serious lung diseases it can cause.