Blue Mountains City Council

Asbestos

Asbestos is the generic term for a number of fibrous silicate minerals. There are two major groups of asbestos:
  • the serpentine group contains chrysotile, commonly known as white asbestos and has been used in the manufacture of:
    • asbestos cloth, tapes, ropes and gaskets for packing, and in thermal and chemical insulation;
    • asbestos cement sheets and pipes for construction, casing for water and electrical/telecommunication services;
    • rubber, plastics, thermosetting resins, adhesives, paints, coatings, caulking compounds and sealants for thermal, electrical and insulation applications
    • fire-rated doors, equipment and structural beams of buildings;
    • fillers and filters; and
    • until recently, chrysotile was used almost exclusively in the manufacture of packing and friction material, such as gaskets, and brake and clutch linings.
  • the amphibole group contains amosite (brown asbestos) and crocidolite (blue asbestos), as well as some other less common types. Until the early 1980s, amosite and crocidolite were used in many products but, in the mid-1980s, the use of all types of asbestos in the amphibole group was banned. The products included:
    • asbestos cement sheets and pipes for construction, casing for water and electrical/telecommunication services; and
    • thermal, acoustic and chemical insulation - eg fire-rated doors, limpet spray, lagging and gaskets.
     

Since 31 December 2000, using all forms of asbestos has been banned.

Asbestos is formed in fibre bundles and, as it is further processed or disturbed, the fibre bundles become progressively finer and more hazardous to health. The small fibres are the most dangerous.
They are invisible to the naked eye and, when inhaled, penetrate the deepest part of the lungs.

Australia has the largest number of asbestos related deaths in the world and by 2020 it is expected that more than 40,000 people will have asbestos related diseases in this country.

Most houses built prior to 1990 have asbestos products used in their construction. Australia had the highest per capita use of asbestos in the world following the Second World War until the 1980's, and as a result has the highest known rate of mesothelioma in the world.

For further information please click on the Asbestos Awareness website or the publications in the downloads to the right.

Further information:

WorkCover NSW 13 10 50
Environment Protection Authority 13 15 55
Ministry of Health
NSW Government
Safe Work Australia
Asbestos Education Committee

 

Downloads:

Working with asbestos guide
Fact sheet - bonded asbestos
Fact sheet - asbestos disposal
Fact sheet - asbestos NSW Government