What is Asbestos

Asbestos became increasingly popular among manufacturers and builders in Australia from the 1940’s to late 1980’s until it was finally banned in 1989. However, it is possible that buildings built after 1990 may contain asbestos as second hand materials containing asbestos may have been used. It was commonly used in many products due to its resistance to fire, heat, electrical and chemical damage as well as its sound absorption and tensile strength. This means that asbestos is often found in old fences, roofing, building insulation, wall sheeting, vinyl floor tiles, meter boars and lagging on pipes.

   

Once these Asbestos fibres are disturbed they can propose sizeable risk as they become airborne and are inhaled. The inhalation of these asbestos fibres can cause serious illnesses including lung cancer and asbestosis to name a few.

Often these asbestos-related illnesses take a long time to become symptomatic so victims are not usually aware that they are being exposed to these respirable fibres. This means that victims are subjected to long exposure of asbestos fibres without knowing it and with prolonged exposure comes greater health risks.

Types of Asbestos

Asbestos is commonly referred to by three types:

• chrysotiles – This fibre belongs to the serpentine class and has curly fibres opposed to the other classes which are needlelike. This fibre is mostly found in cement roof sheets, ceilings, walls and floors.
• crocidolite – These fibres are brittle, yet flexible and are naturally formed in bundles. It’s commonly called blue Asbestos because of its colour and was often used in Australia.
• amosite – This fibre was commonly produces in the Asbestos Mines of South Africa and was used in ceiling tiles and in thermal insulation products.

Asbestos Containing Materials

Under Queensland Law, asbestos-containing materials (ACM) are divided into two types:

Bonded asbestos (non friable asbestos) fibres were used to reinforce bonding compounds like cement, vinyl or resin. Over 97% of the asbestos in Australia was regarded as bonded asbestos and was commonly used in many building materials. Once the bonded asbestos is disturbed it releases a few particles but then will not generally continue to do so.

These materials include:

• cement sheeting (fibro)
• corrugated roofing
• profiled sheets used on roofs and walls
• imitation brick cladding
• roof shingles
• water of flue pipes
• plaster patching compounds
• textured paint
• vinyl floor tiles
• Friable asbestos can easily be crumbled and reduced to powder by hand when its dries. This is extremely hazardous as it can easily become airborne. Friable asbestos was extremely versatile and can be easily molded, painted, cut or drilled.

Common forms of friable asbestos materials found in Australia include:

• thermal insulation
• sprayed on fireproofing, sound proofing and thermal insulation
• acoustic plaster sound proofing.

Asbestos Management Plans

If you are purchasing a property which was constructed during this period it may be prudent to have an asbestos inspection carried out on the property. This asbestos testing will confirm the presence of any asbestos as analyzed by a NATA accredited laboratory and an asbestos management plan will be provided.

This asbestos management plan defines roles and responsibilities for decisions and addresses appropriate methodologies for the implementation of these decisions.

The National Occupational Health and Safety Commission guide states that the following must be considered:

• Asbestos Register. This includes details of the location and the condition of the known or presumed asbestos containing materials and the level of risk posed by the identified ACM
• Mechanisms for passing information about the location and condition of asbestos containing materials
• Decisions about management options including the rationale;
• A timetable for action, including priorities;
• Monitoring arrangements;
• The responsibilities of all persons involved;
• Training arrangements for employees and contractors; and
• A procedure for review, including a timetable.

Use the form to the right to get a quote on asbestos testing.