General questions about asbestos
What is asbestos?
Where is it found?
How do I know if my home/workplace/school
has asbestos?
How do I check for asbestos?
If my home/workplace/school has asbestos,
should the asbestos be removed?
Who do I contact to remove the asbestos?
Is it safe for me to remove any asbestos
from my home?
Is it safe for me to carry out simple
DIY jobs?
Answers
What is Asbestos?
Asbestos is a naturally occurring fibrous form of mineral
silicates belonging to the serpentine or amphibole groups
of rock-forming minerals, including actinolite, amosite (brown
asbestos), anthophyllite, crocidolite (blue asbestos), chrysotile
(white asbestos) and tremolite or any combination of these.
There are two main forms of asbestos, friable and non-friable:
- Friable asbestos is a material that when dry may be crumbled,
pulverised or reduced to powder by hand pressure when dry.
- Non-friable asbestos is a material in which the asbestos
fibres are bonded by cement, vinyl, resin or other similar
materials. Non-friable asbestos-containing materials such
as asbestos cement sheet or vinyl asbestos tiles, present
negligible asbestos hazard unless asbestos fibres are released
into the air by pulverising, grinding or cutting the material.
Small quantities of asbestos fibres are present in the air
at all times, and are being breathed by everyone. Biopsies
on the lungs of people who died of natural causes and had
no known exposure to asbestos found millions of asbestos fibres.
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Where is it found?
Asbestos has been used in a wide number of products due to
its excellent thermal, acoustic and mechanical properties.
Until the early 1980s, asbestos was commonly used in asbestos
cement sheeting (fibro), some vinyl floor tiles, fibro water,
drainage and flue pipes, roofing and guttering and flexible
building boards (e.g. Villaboard, Hardiflex, etc) and so
is found in many public buildings, schools and houses.
Similar cement sheeting products are used today, but are
asbestos free.
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How do I know if my home/ workplace/school has asbestos?
The most accurate way to find out if your fibro sheeting
contains asbestos is to have a licensed asbestos removal
contractor inspect and analyse it. You can't tell it's asbestos
just by looking at it.
If in doubt, assume asbestos is present and take the necessary
precautions.
- Check the building specifications. This may indicate
whether asbestos was used in the building material at the
time of construction.
- Carry out a walk-through survey to identify any visible
asbestos and any building materials made out of asbestos
cement products in roofs, wall cladding, some ceilings,
floor tiles or coverings etc.
- Check out all ceiling spaces and plant rooms for installed
acoustic or thermal asbestos. This is easily seen by carefully
lifting a few ceiling tiles.
- Check all riser shafts in the building for asbestos lagging
on pipe work and fire insulation between floors.
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How do I check for asbestos?
The best way to identify if you have asbestos on your property
is to have a licensed asbestos removal contractor undertake
an inspection. A list of current licensed asbestos removalist
is found on this website and in the Yellow Pages telephone
directory under "Asbestos".
There may be asbestos stickers placed on walls or ceilings
but don't rely on these stickers alone. Unless you are certain,
assume there may be asbestos.
In workplaces that contain asbestos in structures or fixtures,
there should be an asbestos register setup that identifies
the asbestos location.
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If my home/workplace/school has asbestos should it be removed?
No, provided that the material is in good condition (for
example, if asbestos is not badly weathered or damaged, it
does not need to be removed). There are risks associated with
the removal of asbestos and it should only be carried out
when it is absolutely essential. If doing major renovations,
you should consider replacing it at that time. This work should
be carried out by licensed asbestos removalists.
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Who do I contact to remove the asbestos?
A list of licensed asbestos removalist found on this website
and is also located in the Yellow Pages of the telephone directory
under "Asbestos".
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Is it safe for me to remove any asbestos from my home?
Only if done in accordance with the National
Code of Practice for the Safe Removal of Asbestos 2nd
Edition [NOHSC:2002(2005)].
It is recommended that you engage a licensed asbestos removal
contractor to undertake even minor work. If it is more than
10 square metres you should use a licensed asbestos removalist.
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Is it safe for me to carry out simple DIY jobs?
Providing you follow safe work procedures that minimise
creating dust, it is safe for you to carry out simple DIY
jobs. For example, if you need to drill a hole through a
wall that contains asbestos cement, wear a P1 or P2 respirator,
place a plastic cover sheet below the area where you are
working, keep the area to be drilled damp, use a hand drill
instead of a power drill and clean up the area and equipment
immediately using a damp cloth.
Guidelines for working with asbestos can be found in the National
Code of Practice for the Safe Removal of Asbestos 2nd Edition
[NOHSC:2002(2005)].
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Other FAQ Categories
Health risks
Handling asbestos
Testing for asbestos
Asbestos in schools including answers
for parents
Asbestos in remote communities
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