Asbestos, the name used for a naturally occurring mineral mined from rock and made up of many small fibres. Australia was one of the highest users of asbestos products per capita with 1 in every 3 homes containing some form of asbestos! Asbestos can be found in many products within a home or building, asbestos products have high resistance to heat and fire, making it an extremely popular building material in Australia from 1940 – 1987. Products containing asbestos were slowly phased out during the 1980’s but it was not nationally banned until the end of 2003.

There is no safe level of exposure when it comes to Asbestos. Asbestos is exceptionally fibrous, with fibres so small that are easily inhaled, where they become trapped in the lungs. Asbestos fibres are approximately 50-200 times thinner than a human hair, hence the fibres being invisible to the naked eye. Breathing in asbestos fibres can potentially cause lung cancer, asbestosis and mesothelioma, an aggressive and terminal form of asbestosis. According to the asbestos disease foundation of Australia, tens of thousands of home renovators and their families have unintentionally contracted a form of asbestos related cancer.

There are two groups of asbestos-containing groups being Friable Asbestos and Non-Friable (bonded) Asbestos. Friable asbestos is the most dangerous as it poses a great health risk due to its crumble-like properties. Friable asbestos is reduced to powder or crumbled by hand, releasing fibres into the air. Non-Friable asbestos can become friable if it is severely damaged by heat. Non-Friable asbestos are materials that we made up with a bonding agent such as cement with asbestos fibres combined. Non-Friable asbestos materials usually do not release fibres unless they are damaged, disturbed or have deteriorated over time.