Where is Asbestos Found?

• Home
• Environment and Planning
• Environmental Health
• Pollution Including Noise
• Asbestos in the Home
• Where is Asbestos Found?

Building materials containing asbestos were widely used from 1930 to around 1980, particularly from the 1960's onwards. So houses and flats built or refurbished at this time may contain asbestos materials. However homes built since the mid 1980's are very unlikely to contain asbestos.

The types of asbestos materials that may be found in homes are:

(asbestos content mainly 10-15%, but sometimes up to 40%)
Asbestos cement is the most widely used asbestos material and numerous enquiries are received by the Environmental Health Service each week from residents seeking advice. It is found in many types of building as profiled sheets for roofing and wall-cladding, in flat sheets and partition boards for linings to walls and ceilings, in bath panels, soffit boards, fire surrounds, flue pipes, cold water tanks and as roofing tiles and slates. It has been commonly used as roofing and cladding for garages and sheds and also in guttering and drainpipes. Asbestos cement products are less likely to release high levels of fibres because of the way they are made, unless they are subject to extreme abrasion. Damage from weathering may also release a small amount of fibres.

(asbestos content 20-45%)

Insulating boards have been used for fire protection, heat and sound insulation. It is particularly common in 1960s and 1970s system-built housing and is found in materials such as ducts, infill panels, ceiling tiles, wall lining, bath panels and partitions. It is unlikely to be found in buildings constructed after 1982. You should not be attempting to work on insulating board yourself

(asbestos content 55-100%)

Asbestos lagging has been used for thermal insulation of pipes and boilers. It was widely used in public buildings and system-built flats during the 1960s to early 1970s in areas such as boiler houses and heating plants. Asbestos lagging is very rarely found in homes, especially those constructed after the mid 1970s. The use of asbestos for thermal insulation was banned in 1986. Any material of this nature in your home should be left undisturbed; removal should only be carried out by a licensed contractor.  

(asbestos content up to 85%)

Sprayed asbestos coatings were used for fire protection of structural steel and are commonly found in system-built flats during the 1960s. The coatings were mainly applied around the core of the building such as service ducts, lift shafts, etc. Use stopped in 1974 and the spraying of asbestos has been prohibited since 1986. Sprayed asbestos has since been removed from many buildings, or sealed to prevent fibres being released.

You are unlikely to come across material of this nature unless undertaking structural work. Any asbestos spray coating should be left undisturbed and removal must only be by licensed contractor.

Asbestos was used in some warm air heating systems, electric storage heaters (up to 1976) and in flameless catalytic gas heaters (up to 1988) and some early „coal effect‟ gas fires. It has also been used in domestic equipment, such as oven gloves and ironing boards, seals on cooker doors and fire blankets. Asbestos has also been used in brake linings and pads. There is advice later in this document regarding the disposal of small items of asbestos.

Asbestos has been used in a variety of other building materials, for example, in decorative coatings such as textured paints and plasters. These are still widely in place but supply and application has been prohibited since 1988. Plastic floor tiles, cushion flooring, roofing felts, tapes, ropes, felts and blankets can also contain asbestos. Loft or cavity wall insulation does not contain asbestos.

• Indoor Asbestos Cement

  
  Indoors, asbestos cement should be sealed by painting with an alkali-resistant paint such as PVA emulsion, or primed with an alkali-resistant primer and then covered with normal undercoat and gloss paint. Asbestos cement or board should not be sanded before painting.

• Textured Coatings
  

  If you have textured coating containing asbestos, it is best to leave it alone and cover it with a coat of emulsion. Whilst there is no legal obligation to use licensed contractors to remove Artex finishes stripping it off is difficult and potentially dangerous so it is strongly advised that this work is only to be done by licensed contractors. However, small quantities can be soaked so that they become a soggy mass before being gently scraped off.

• Storage Heaters
  

  Some electric storage heaters, generally those manufactured before 1975, contain asbestos. Please contact this Department to check whether your heater has been identified as containing asbestos. Do not dismantle the storage heater to check whether this is the case. Generally the heaters are perfectly safe as long as they are not damaged or tampered with. If you wish to have the heaters removed this must be done by licensed contractors.

• Catalytic Heaters
  

  Some catalytic heaters, burning butane and propane without a visible flame, may contain an asbestos panel if manufactured before 1983. Contact the manufacturer of the appliance or your gas supplier for advice.  

• Brake Linings

  
  Car brake and clutch linings and disc brake pads in older cars contain asbestos. It is now illegal in the UK to install asbestos brake linings in vehicles. Replacing brake linings can release a high level of fibres. If you decide to carry out the work yourself you are recommended to wear a disposable dust mask „CE‟ marked to EN149 with FFP2 particulate filters (see Contact List) and to carry out some face seal leakage testing to ensure you have the mask fitted correctly. Use a damp cloth to wipe dust out of the drum. Do not blow it out. Put the cloth in a sealed and labelled plastic bag for disposal (see How should I dispose of Asbestos below).

• Cookers

  
  Some older cookers may have asbestos filler ropes around the inside of the oven door. If it appears to be in a poor condition contact the manufacturer for advice.

• Gutters And Corrugated Roofs
  

  Keep gutters and drains serving asbestos roofs clear of debris. Silted up gutters can contain a high percentage of asbestos fibres. Do not sweep with wire brushes to remove moss, as you will be sweeping off fibres as well.

Remember:

It is not always easy to tell whether a product contains asbestos, as modern asbestos-free materials often look similar. Remember it is usually older products that contain asbestos.

Asbestos materials in good condition that cannot readily be damaged are often best left where they are because removal can lead to higher levels of fibres in the air for some time afterwards. Check the condition of asbestos materials from time to time to make sure they have not become damaged or started to deteriorate. If you are planning home improvements or maintenance and have asbestos in your home, always inform builders, maintenance workers or contractors before they start work.

Asbestos materials that are badly damaged or deteriorating can release dust and should be removed. Some asbestos materials must always be removed by contractors with a special licence issued by the government. These licensed contractors have to follow regulations to ensure asbestos is safely removed.

Asbestos materials that are slightly damaged can sometimes be repaired by sealing or enclosing the material – SEEK ADVICE on the most appropriate action.

Asbestos materials were often used for their fire resistance properties. If you are having the asbestos removed you may need to replace it with another suitable material in order to maintain the fire integrity of your home.