Asbestos Awareness – Where Is It Found?
While some asbestos containing products are fairly obvious and easily recognised, there are others that are not so obvious and may require specialist testing to identify. So what does asbestos look like and where is it found? The list below gives some details of the most common products in which asbestos can be found, and it is ordered roughly according to the amount of asbestos found in each product.
Sprayed asbestos – This is usually found around structural steelwork or as a lining in air ducts, where it was used to protect against fire and heat damage. Sprayed products usually contain the highest proportion of asbestos, with some containing as much as 90%.
Loose asbestos – Lofts, wall cavities and floor cavities are places where loose asbestos may be found, especially in older properties.
Moulded asbestos – These products are commonly found around heating pipes and boilers, where they reduce heat loss, protect against cold and help to maintain the efficiency of the system. It is easily missed in this form as it is often painted over or protected by an outer cover.
Insulation boards – These are used to protect against fire, insulate against heat loss, partition rooms or create ducting. In buildings they are usually found against the outer walls and underneath the internal plaster, or the panels of fire doors in older commercial buildings. Some types may also be found as external cladding, especially around windows.
Ceiling tiles – Many of the thin, square ceiling tiles produced from the 1950′s onwards contain asbestos in order to insulate against both heat loss and noise.
Millboard and paper - Older electrical systems often used this as insulation and shielding for electrical equipment and wiring. Fuse boxes may use asbestos flash guards, and the panels behind the fuse box may also be made of asbestos. Asbestos paper has been used in the past as a fireproof covering for wooden boarding.
Asbestos cement – This form of asbestos is probably the one that is the most familiar. Asbestos cement products can be seen as flat or corrugated sheets used as roofing tiles or walls, especially on older outbuildings and garages. It has also been used in the manufacture of water tanks and guttering.
Textured coatings – Artex coverings were fashionable in many homes throughout the 1960s and 1970s, and many remain in place today. Asbestos was included in relatively small proportions due to its flexibility and insulating properties.
Roofing material – Bitumen roof felt used to contain asbestos, and is often found lining roofs. It may be a separate lining underneath tiles on a sloping roof, or it may be seen as the outer surface on flat roofs.
Flooring tiles – Asbestos was also incorporated into vinyl or thermoplastic floor tiles.
Household items – Some older household items may also contain a low proportion of asbestos. Oven gloves, ironing boards, and black ‘Bakelite’ type toilet seats and cisterns may have been made using asbestos.
Take time to browse local companies located near you on our asbestos removal home page, should you have come across asbestos near you or inside your home.