Asbestos around your home

It is nearly impossible to look at a building and determine with certainty that it contains asbestos, the only way to be certain is a positive identification for the presence of asbestos fibres from a laboratory analysis of a sample.  However, if your home was built after 1990, it is unlikely that there were asbestos containing materials used within construction although the total ban on manufacture, use, reuse and sale of asbestos containing materials was only introduced from 31 December 2003. Houses built prior to 1990 are likely to contain asbestos products, especially those constructed before the mid-1980s.

The majority of asbestos containing products within the house were non-friable and include:

• Flat, patterned and corrugated wall and roof sheeting
• Ridge capping
• Lining under eaves
• Thermal boards around fireplaces
• Fencing

Friable asbestos products may also be found within houses and include:

• Loose fill roofing insulation
• Spray-on insulation or soundproofing
• Insulation on hot-water pipes, domestic heaters and stoves
• Backing material on floor tiles and vinyl flooring