Asbestos

What is Asbestos?

Asbestos is a naturally forming mineral, which has been commercially mined for its useful properties such as:

• Resistant to Chemicals
• Heat Resistant
• Low Thermal Conductivity
• Flexible
• High Tensile Strength

There are three main types of asbestos which were used in commercially extensive quantities:

Chrysotile or “white” asbestos

It is cream, white or pale green in its raw state and it’s soft curly fibres, when processed, make it ideal for spinning and weaving. It was used in materials such as Asbestos Cement Products and various insulation materials, papers, gaskets, textured coatings and floor tiles.

Amosite or “brown” asbestos

Amosite fibres are brown or black when raw and when processed appear to be grey or brown. Typical applications for brown asbestos were pipe lagging or mixed as an Asbestos Insulation board (AIB).

Crocidolite or “blue” asbestos

In its raw state the fibres are very dark in appearance and when processed appear a distinctive blue. Commonly used as sprayed insulation, Crocidolite is seen as one of the most deadly forms of asbestos.

There were also three other forms of mined asbestos namely Anthophylite, Tremolite & Actinolite. These forms are quite rare and are only occasionally found within the UK.

History

Asbestos has been used in fire resistance applications, such as crematoriums, for centuries but was first used in building and construction as far back as the late 1800’s. Extensive usage occurred within the construction of buildings, between the late 1940’s until the mid 1970’s. However, some asbestos products were still being installed in buildings as late as 1999.

Legislation is based on a new duty to manage asbestos, The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 (CAR 2006). This new regulation gives specific guidance on who the duty holder is and their responsibilities. Principally the duty holder must find out the location and quantity of all asbestos materials in their building and the condition of that asbestos must also be assessed.

Hence the requirement to undertake an asbestos building survey, and from the resulting survey report, a written management plan can be put in place and implemented. Such a plan is also a requirement of the new regulations. This management plan must be reviewed and updated on a regular basis, and this information must be made available to all employees, contractors and emergency services who are on site.

Common Asbestos Products

Although not entirely comprehensive the below list gives an indication of the common forms of asbestos and where it can be found. For a more complete list refer to HSG264 or the HSE document “Asbestos Essentials”.

Asbestos in its natural form

Asbestos in its natural form

Asbestos fibers under a microscope

Asbestos removal in an old factory