Asbestos is a material that can have potentially fatal health effects.

Asbestos is now banned from use.  It was prevalent in different products from the 1940s until the late 1980s.

If asbestos is disturbed or broken it can release fibres that once airborne are capable of being inhaled deep into a person lungs, causing significant health problems.

When inhaled the fibres can cause lung cancer which might not be detected until many years after exposure.

Asbestos is dangerous and it essential that adequate measures are taken to protect people against unnecessary exposure and risk.

Asbestos generally comes in three types:

• chrysotile  known as  "white" asbestos
• crocidlite known as  "blue"asbestos 
• amosite  known as  "brown" or "grey" asbestos 

When dealing with asbestos it""s condition is generally referred to as bonded asbestos-containing material (bonded asbestos) contains a bonding compound reinforced with asbestos fibres; or friable asbestos-containing material (friable asbestos) is unbonded asbestos-containing material that, when dry, is or may become crumbled, pulverised or reduced to powder by hand pressure. 

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:

• profiled sheets used on roofs and walls and flat sheets in flashings 
• imitation brick cladding  
• roof shingles  
• water or flue pipes  
• plaster patching compounds  
• textured paint  
• vinyl floor tiles  
• friction products such as brake shoes, disc pads, clutch housings or elevator brakes. 

Friable asbestos is easily crumbled or reduced to powder by hand.

Common forms of friable asbestos materials include:

• sprayed on fireproofing/soundproofing/thermal insulation 
• acoustic plaster soundproofing  
• thermal insulation (not sprayed on).