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, 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.

Workplaces are required by law to identify and manage asbestos, and to follow the ASBESTOS REMOVAL CODE.

The  ASBESTOS MANAGEMENT CODE requires that owners of workplaces must ensure all asbestos-containing materials (ACM) in their workplaces is identified, as far as practicable.

An owner must

• identify the locations of all asbestos-containing material (ACM) and determine whether any inaccessible areas are likely to contain ACM
• identify the types (e.g. asbestos cement sheet, asbestos lagging on pipes and flues, asbestos-containing material gaskets in plant or machinery) and condition (i.e. damaged or intact) of ACM. 

Only people who are competent in the identification of asbestos-containing materials are permitted to carry out these tasks.

Asbestos identified in the workplace must be recorded in a Register of Asbestos Containing Material.

Warning signs and labels to identify ACM in the workplace should also be used to ensure that the asbestos is not unknowingly disturbed without the correct precautions being taken.