Important: From 1 January 2012, information on this website is being reviewed and must be read in conjunction with the Work Health and Safety Act 2011.
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What is asbestos?
Types of asbestos
Where is asbestos found?
Health risks of asbestos
Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral rock made up of strong fibres that have fire, heat and chemical resistant properties.
While asbestos is now banned from use, it was a component of thousands of different products used in the community and industry from the 1940s until the late 1980s. Some uses of chrysotile asbestos products, mainly friction materials and gaskets continued until 31 December 2003.
Asbestos can pose a risk if fibres of a respirable size become airborne, are inhaled and reach deep into the lungs in sufficient quantities. These respirable fibres are a major health hazard and can cause serious asbestos-related diseases that can take decades to become apparent.
The lack of immediate health effects has often meant that victims are unaware of the dangers they are exposed to, which means that exposure to the hazard can continue over a long period causing serious health effects.
Due to the health risks associated with asbestos, it is essential that exposure is effectively managed. Working on or near damaged asbestos-containing materials (ACM) without appropriate control measures in place increases the risk of exposure to airborne asbestos fibres.
Asbestos is commonly referred to by three types:
Under the law, asbestos-containing materials (ACM) are divided into two types:
Bonded asbestos can be found in products such as asbestos cement sheeting commonly used in building materials between 1940s to the late 1980s.
Other bonded asbestos products include:
Removal of 10m2 or more of bonded asbestos-containing material at a workplace can only be done:
'B' class certificates are issued to applicants who can demonstrate they are familiar with the practices and procedures for removing bonded asbestos set out in the asbestos removal code.
More information is available in Information Paper AR3: Approved criteria for a certificate to perform work to remove bonded asbestos containing material (PDF, 34 kB).
Competency can be demonstrated by:
A person who removes less than 10 m2 of bonded asbestos material does not require a certificate, however, that person must be a person possessing adequate qualifications, such as suitable training and sufficient knowledge, experience and skill, for the safe performance of the specific work, competent and comply with the practices procedures and requirements set out in the asbestos removal code.
Friable asbestos is easily crumbled or reduced to powder by hand.
Common forms of friable asbestos materials include:
Under the Workplace Health and Safety Regulation 2008, removal of friable ACM must be done:
Materials that contain asbestos can be found in buildings, workplaces and dwellings built before 1990. Even in buildings, workplaces and dwellings built after 1990 it is possible that second hand items installed within them could contain asbestos. Asbestos can also be found in products or materials, e.g. brake disc pads. An extensive list of examples of asbestos-containing materials is available in Appendix A of the asbestos management code (non-Queensland Government link).
It is often very difficult to identify the presence of asbestos by sight. The only way to be certain is to have a sample of the material analysed by a laboratory.
Sampling of anything you suspect may contain asbestos is itself hazardous and should only be done by a competent person, and analysed only in accredited laboratories.
More information on identifying asbestos and where this can be done is available from the National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) (non-Queensland Government link).
Where materials are not tested you can presume that something contains asbestos and treat it as such. For example, if there is reliable manufacturer information on a product, a label stating something contains asbestos, or if it is a product of a type and age that typically contains asbestos, you can presume it contains asbestos. If this presumption is made, any handling and removal of the material must be treated as if it contains asbestos.
Asbestos was used in a variety of workplaces from the 1940s up until the late 1980s when the dangers to health, due to exposure, became more widely acknowledged. Asbestos is found in asbestos cement sheeting and piping, as an insulator on pipes and in buildings, as a fire retardant in textiles and as a filtering material in the chemical and food industries.
An extensive list of examples of asbestos-containing materials (ACM) is available in Appendix A of the asbestos management code (non-Queensland Government link)
Workplaces are required by law to identify and manage asbestos, and to follow the asbestos management code.
In Queensland from 1940 until the late 1980s bonded asbestos was commonly used in the manufacture of asbestos-cement corrugated and flat sheets (fibro) for roofing and walls. Undisturbed or painted fibro that is in good condition does not pose a health risk.
Thermal or acoustic insulation used in homes may also have contained friable asbestos; the easily crumbled form of asbestos that can be reduced to powder by hand.
Friable asbestos is extremely dangerous and must only be removed by a person who holds a certificate to remove friable ACM (also known as an 'A' class certificate).
To find an asbestos removalist, go to the Yellow Pages (non-Queensland Government link) or check with the Asbestos Industry Association.
Breathing in asbestos fibres has been linked to three respiratory diseases, all of which can be fatal.
A chronic lung disease that can lead to respiratory impairment and to diseases such as lung cancer.
A cancer of the lining of the pleura (outer lung lining) or of the peritoneum (the lining of the abdominal cavity).
Caused by asbestos; cannot be distinguished from those cancers that are caused by other agents such as tobacco smoke.
More information about asbestos related diseases (PDF, 112 kB) is available from Queensland Health.
Uses and applications of asbestos (film)
Handling asbestos safely after a storm (PDF, 281 kB)
Identifying and recording asbestos in the workplace (PDF, 271 kB)
Air monitoring when removing asbestos (PDF, 270 kB)
Clearance inspections for asbestos work areas (PDF, 266 kB)
Asbestos flooring (PDF, 344 KB)
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© The State of Queensland (Department of Justice and Attorney-General) 2009.