The film contains microconductors which monitor buildings’ surfaces and sound an alarm if any asbestos fibres are disturbed before they enter the atmosphere.

Asbestos only becomes dangerous when it is disturbed and inventors of the Asbestos Disturbance Automated Alert System (ADAAS) believe it is a viable alternative to complete removal of the material from buildings.

The system is linked to a central control centre which instantly notifies building owners if they have an asbestos problem.

Inventor Datatecnics said: “In our view, safe removal and disposal of asbestos should be the principal aim of any responsible property manager.

“But the time and expense involved both make this an outcome that’s unfortunately rarely achievable.

“So safe encapsulation is a practical alternative, but as we’ve seen, not necessarily a lasting solution.

“With ADAAS you get a three layer protection- encapsulation, real time monitoring and automated alert management and embedded security.”

The firm said the cost of installing ADAAS can be as little as £10 per sq foot, in comparison to removal costs which can be as much as £260 per sq ft.