Asbestos is a naturally occurring fibrous mineral and hazardous material. It poses a risk to health by inhalation if airborne asbestos fibres are exposed. Exposure to asbestos fibres is known to cause mesothelioma, asbestosis and lung cancer.

It is highly resistant to heat and acid, is an effective insulator against both electricity and sound, and has high tensile strength, and as such has countless uses. It has been processed with cement to make wall and floor sheeting, mixed with water and applied damp as an insulation to boilers and pipes and used in friction material, such as brakes linings.

Most respirable asbestos fibres are invisible to the unaided human eye because their size is about 3.0-20.0 µm in length and can be as thin as 0.01 µm. Human hair ranges in size from 17 to 181 µm in width

Asbestos-containing materials (ACM's) were used extensively in Australian buildings and structures, plant and equipment and in ships, trains and motor vehicles during 1950-1980.

The most common types of asbestos are:   chrysotile ( white asbestos )   amosite ( brown or grey asbestos )   crocidolite ( blue asbestos )

Chrysotile is obtained from serpentine rocks which are common throughout the world. Chrysotile fibres are curly as opposed to fibres from amosite, crocidolite, tremolite, actinolite, and anthophyllite which are needlelike.

Amosite is found most frequently as a fire retardant in thermal insulation products and ceiling tiles.

Crocidolite was proven to be much less heat resistant than some of the other types, specifically chrysotile. That's why its uses were limited and did not include applications like insulation. Crocidolite was most often used to make asbestos-cement products.

Tremolite , Actinolite and Anthophyllite are less commonly used industrially but can still be found in a variety of construction materials and insulation materials and have been reported in the past to occur in a few consumer products .

Where Asbestos can be found