asbestos in artex up to 2000?

Hi - We recently had a leak which caused an area of artex covered plaster board to come away. I pulled more of it away to make it safe and then got a visit in from a surveyor to fix the problem using our house insurance. He said that he'd need to have the artex tested for asbestos, as artex was used in very small amounts (0.01%) up until 2000. He did advise that the room should not be used until the test results were completed - however, it may be acceptable to seal it with polythene and tape. I've done this - what are your views on this?

It is possible that asbestos is present in your artex. As you say, low concentrations of white asbestos were used in artex up until 1999. You should have the material tested by an independent asbestos consultancy

We moved into a property 2 years ago which had a form of thick peaked artex on the walls. The plaster beneath was blown and we removed it back to the brick, and in order to have some areas replastered, we sanded it down. We did wear masks but these were not recommended for asbestos as we were completely unaware of the possibility of asbestos being present. I am really worried that we may have been exposed. What would you advise we do?

Given your discription of the material it is possible that the thick coating is not an asbestos containing product, although this would be difficult to confirm without a sample. Given the period that has elapsed since you did the work little can be done to confirm if asbestos was present.

As recommended above, we had our artex tested and fortunately it came back negative.