InspectAPedia ^TM

Master List of Asbestos-containing Products & Materials in Buildings MoldAPedia © Enter your search terms Submit search form   Search This Website - InspectAPedia.com

• Here is a guide to identifying a broad range of asbestos-containing products and materials
• How to recognize some common asbestos-containing materials in buildings
• Photographs of various asbestos-containing materials found in or on buildings

This page lists common asbestos-containing materials found in buildings. This document assists building buyers, owners or inspectors who need to identify asbestos materials (or probable-asbestos) in buildings by simple visual inspection. We provide photographs and descriptive text of asbestos insulation and other asbestos-containing products to permit identification of definite, probable, or possible asbestos materials in buildings.

While an expert lab test using polarized light microscopy may be needed to identify the specific type of asbestos fiber, or to identify the presence of asbestos in air or dust samples, many asbestos-containing building products not only are obvious and easy to recognize, but since there were not other look-alike products that were not asbestos, a visual identification of this material can be virtually a certainty in many cases. Also see Asbestos HVAC Ducts a field identification guide to visual detection of asbestos in and on heating and cooling system ducts and flue vents. Also see Micro-Photographs of Dust from the World Trade Center collapse following the 9/11/01 attack. Links to U.S. government and other authoritative research and advice are included.

© Copyright 2008 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

OTHER ASBESTOS MATERIALS - Examples of other asbestos-containing building materials

Other common asbestos-containing building materials include: [photos coming]

Asbestos was banned in all home construction uses beginning in 1990, but beware: pre 1990 products might have been used in some homes built shortly afterwards. One should note that some of these products contain such small amounts of asbestos, or asbestos in forms not easily converted to airborne fibers (non-friable), that the risk from the product is likely to be very small. One might elect to dispose of an old asbestos-containing toaster, but not to hire an environmental test firm or asbestos abatement company for that procedure.

Note: most of the uses listed here are obsolete and the products mentioned have not been manufactured for quite some time. However these products may still be encountered from time to time.

Forms in which asbestos was used

Here is a review list of some of the forms in which asbestos was used. This list and our links to photographs or descriptions of these materials can assist in recognizing possible asbestos-containing materials, especially in old buildings or in old equipment.

A Detailed list of types of products that contained asbestos

• Abrasives containing asbestos were manufactured but saw limited use. Fibers were used as fillers with rubber-resins in a combination of theses substances in relative proportions by weight: asbestos fibers (25p), sulfur (100p), latex rubber (100p), Water (100-200p), and dry Hemoglobin (25p). This material was heated and shaped into hard forms such as rods for special applications.
  
  
• Adhesives were manufactured containing asbestos
• Ammunition wadding contained asbestos
  
  
• Appliances that contained asbestos include: older blankets (electric-blankets), broilers, clothes dryers, dishwashers, refrigerators, ovens, ranges, toasters, toaster ovens, hairdryers, popcorn poppers, may contain asbestos gaskets or asbestos-containing parts. Asbestos use in appliances was banned in 1979 but in most cases the asbestos-containing parts are unlikely to be a source of health concern, except for hair dryers that contained asbestos heat shields. Hair dryers using asbestos were recalled in 1979.
  
  
• Asbestos-cement flat sheets & wallboard used for interior sheathing (refrigerator rooms), partitions, instrument mounting boards, tank liners, blackout or bombproof board, exterior sheathing for half-timbered home designs, lab table tops, cabinets. See Asbestos millboard
  
  
• Asbestos cloth, asbestos fabrics were used for packing, insulation mattresses, firefighting blankets, ironing board covers, prison cell padding, berets, theatre scenery, and HVAC duct vibration dampers as well as a huge number of other applications. For a photo example see Asbestos Air Duct Vibration Dampers
• Asbestos composition material such as insulation compounds, lamp sockets, underground insulation, phonograph records, buttons, heater cord insulation, missile and aircraft plastics
• Asbestos felt for acoustical applications, piano padding, noise insulation, use in plastics and asbestos felt was widely used in liquid and air filters
  
  
• Asbestos millboard used for stoves and heaters, in garages, as fireproof wallboard, as gaskets, as washers in electrical applications, stove mats, safes, motion picture booths, automobile hoods. Asbestos millboard is a cementious product that was produced in sheets and used for fire barriers and in other applications. The material is quite similar to cement asbestos roof shingles and siding, and was produced in sheets of varying thickness and dimension. Asbestos millboard was used as a fire barrier behind and over and around wood stoves, coal stoves, & heating appliances in buildings up to 1978. It was also used in some locations where a moisture-resistant building material was desire. Also see Asbestos cement flat sheets.
  
  
• Asbestos paper used for a wide range of applications including in roofing products, filing cabinet liners, soldiers helmets, armored car roofs, welding applications, boiler jackets, gaskets, motor parts. See Asbestos Air Ducts
  
  
• Asbestos pipes were used for water., sewage, gases, special liquids, as gas vent pipes, as conduits, and as purlins, rafters, etc. for wartime buildings. See Asbestos Pipe Insulation
• Asbestos tape, used for oil burning apparatus, oven pull strings, insulating armatures, electrical wire insulation
• Asbestos wick packing used for packing for piping, armor plate, etc.
• Asbestos yarns, such as used to make asbestos cloth, gas mantles, fire hoses
  
  
• Asphalt asbestos roofing shingles and other roofing products - see Asbestos Roofing Materials
• Automotive products containing asbestos included not only the widely recognized brake shoes pads, but also automotive undercoating paint to which asbestos fibers were added.
• Brake pads & Clutch facings and other automotive parts such as gaskets, a hazard for automotive repair garage workers
• Bricks made of asbestos were fabricated, probably as combustion chamber or kiln liners
  
  
• Carpet underlayment - old products
• Ceiling tiles containing asbestos were widely used in buildings - see Ceiling Tiles Containing Asbestos
• Cements
• Cement-Asbestos roofing shingles or roofing tiles - see Asbestos Roofing Materials
• Cement-Asbestos building siding -
• Cement board used as a "fire proofing" over and near boilers and wood stoves
• Chimney sealants and mastics used at heating flues to seal the flue to the chimney thimble
  
  
• Chimneys containing asbestos included transite pipe used as gas appliance heating flues - see Guide to Identifying Asbestos Transite Chimneys, Flues, & Pipes
  
  
• Coatings to protect sheet iron and metal ware were sometimes performed using a solution of asbestos, soluble silicates, and phenolic resin to protect metal from oxidation when exposed to heat.
  
  
• Drywall or "joint compound" on older buildings may contain asbestos fibers.
  
  
• Heating & air ducts containing asbestos included transite pipe used in building slabs- see Guide to Identifying Asbestos Transite Chimneys, Flues, & Pipes
  
  
• Electrical Wiring: Electrical wiring insulation, such as in theatres, may contain asbestos.
• Electric motor parts such as Quinterra-wrapped coils in an electric motor armature
• Exterior siding: Cement-asbestos wall shingles - outside, and not easily friable unless being demolished or cut with power tools.
• Fabrics that contained asbestos or were made entirely of asbestos were numerous. See Fireproofing, Gaskets, and Textiles for examples
  
  
• Filters containing asbestos for various applications were made containing long asbestos fibers. Chrysotile asbestos was used for filtering wines, fruit juices, beer, pharmaceuticals, sugar, blood plasma, and other liquids as well as filters for gases including simple air filters used for military purposes in order to attempt to filter out certain toxic substances. blue Bolivian and blue African sbestos were important asbestos fibers that in combination with cellulose formed a paper sheet used for fine filtration. Arizona chrysotile and Canadian chrysotile asbestos fibers were used similarly for operation at high temperatures and because very small particles could be filtered. Asbestos fabrics and felts were used in these filtering applications.
  
  
• Fireplaces, fireplace logs, steel zero-clearance insert fireplaces, woodstove gaskets, gas fireplaces, gas fireplace "fake" logs - prior to 1977 - see photos of asbestos used in fireplaces at Asbestos in unusual places
  
  
• Fire barriers: Cement-asbestos boards used as fire or heat barriers, such as over and around heating equipment.
  
  
• Fireproofing: Asbestos spray-on insulation or trowel-on for fireproofing on structural members or under roofs in commercial buildings - has been banned since 1973. Spray-on or troweled on ceiling or wall materials used between 1945 and 1978 may have contained high levels of asbestos fibers. These materials are often soft and crumbly - easily made friable. If the sprayed-on or troweled-on asbestos fireproofing material in a buildnig is loose, falling off, or damaged, it should probably be professionally repaired or removed by a trained qualified asbestos removal contractor. See Fireproofing containing Asbestos.
  
  
• Flooring and floor tiles, in particular, where asbestos fibers were added to asphalt-based floor tiles. See Floor Tiles Containing Asbestos.
  
  
• Gaskets made of or containing asbestos were fabricated to withstand high pressure and high temperature applications such as steam equipment, and rope gaskets made of braided or woven asbestos were widely used in many applications where a thick rope-like gasket sealer or asbestos packing was needed. These asbestos yarn gaskets were found, for example, on wood and coal stove doors and lids in many products.
  
  
• Heating furnace vibration damper material, typically located between the blower compartment and the supply plenum, may be asbestos-based cloth on older furnaces.
  
  
• Insulation used in walls and floors included asbestos or asbestos-containing products.
  
  Homes constructed between 1930 and 1950 may contain wall or ceiling insulation made of asbestos. In these homes asbestos insulation was placed in the wall cavity behind a plaster and lath or plasterboard finish wall.
  
  Asbestos wall or ceiling insulation should be left un-disturbed, but if building construction or renovations require that it be disturbed, then an asbestos remediation professional should be consulted. See some examples at Vermiculite Insulation Containing Asbestos, Asbestos Pipe Insulation, Asbestos in unusual places, and Fireproofing containing Asbestos , and finally Paper Duct Insulation Containing Asbestos
  
  
• Joint compound and ceiling or wall patching compound manufactured up to 1977 may contain asbestos fibers. It's best to leave this material alone or cover it over during renovations.
  
  
• Lubricants containing asbestos particles and fibers were used in industrial applications. The asbestos fibers were added in amounts from 5% up to 50% by weight to lubricants to give solidity and to control the rate at which lubricant greases would melt. Studies showed that these asbestos-containing lubricants were more effective than other lubricants in heavy-duty applications such as tractor roller greases and clothes washing machine gears. Roasato in estimated that by 1952 millions of pounds of asbestos-filled lubricants had been used in the U.S.
• Medical uses of asbestos included an asbestos foot powder which used 50% by weight of powdered asbestos and talc.
• Millboard: See Asbestos millboard
  
  
• Paints, varnishes, finishes, & textured paint on older buildings may contain asbestos fibers, particuarly where fireproof paint was needed. Also an asbestos-oil based paint was used where acid resistance or metal corrosion resistance were needed. Asbestos-filled asphalt paint was used damp proofing on building foundations and as a roofing sealant for many decades up to 1978.
  
  
• Paper made of asbestos - was used as heating air duct wrap, ceiling heat barriers, and was experimented with as a fireproof writing paper (but inks were not fireproof). See Asbestos Air Ducts
• Pipe insulation made of high asbestos content papers (for straight pipe runs) and mastics (for pipe elbows) were applied on hot water and steam heating systems and occasionally also on ordinary building plumbing piping. See Asbestos Pipe Insulation.
• Pipes used for air ducts or chimneys contained asbestos. See Transite Pipe Chimneys & Flues and Transite Pipe Air Ducts for identifying photographs and advice.
  
  
• Plastics containing asbestos were a very important product that saw widespread application in automotive and othe rindustries. Asbestos fibers were used to reinforce or fill plastics made of phenolic resins (phenol-formaldehyde resins) since the development of those products beginning in 1909. Examples of asbestos-containing plastic resin products include automobile air conditioner housings, door andother handles, electrical components, roofing producgts, brake linings, door stripes,electricalspools, structural tiles, wood veneer panels, acid proof coatings, and innumerable other products. -- Cummins
  
  
• Potholders and ironing board pads - old products
• Raw asbestos, such as for making yarn, flooring, rope, automotive parts, insulation materials, sewer piping, auto body undercoating
• Rocket motor tubes and other products in aerospace and missile programs
• Powders including talcum powder and foot powders
• Road paving containing asbstos: was experimented with in the early 1950's, and rubber latex compounds to which asbestos fibers were added was used for road surfacing.
  
  
• Roofing materials containing asbestos included: Asphalt roofing products that contained asbestos fibers such as asphalt shingles, roll roofing, and asphalt sealants, coatings, and mastics, and also Cement-asbestos roof shingles - a cementious product also used outside, and not easily friable unless being demolished or cut with power tools. See Asbestos Roofing Materials
  
  
• Roofing mastics often contained asbestos fibers and asbestos was a mahor ingredient in cement-asbestos slate-look alike products or "roof tiles" or cement asbestos roof shingles; these products use asbestos with a binder of portland cement. These materials do not have to be removed and should be left alone; in some communities special demolition and disposal regulations may apply if cement asbestos roofing or siding have to be removed from a building (rather than covered-over). Because this is a cemetious product it does not readily release asbestos fibers but using a sander, power saw, or violent demoltion might indeed cause harmful levels of asbestos to be released during that procedure.
  
  
• Sealants containing asbestos included products that combined long and short asbestos fibers with resins and cements or other ingredients for production of sealant coatings and caulks.
  
  
• Siding containing asbestos: Cement-asbestos siding shingles (non-asbestos-containing replacement products now available).
  
  
• Spray-on decorative coatings containing asbstos have been banned for use in buildings since 1978
• Stoves and stove gaskets, wood stoves, coal stoves, and some kitchen ranges, used asbstos fibers; asbestos fibers were a significant component of asbestos millboard (a cementious asbestos sheet product) used as a fire barrier behind and over wood stoves, coal stoves, & heating appliances in buildings up to 1978.
  
  
• Textiles that contained asbestos included: felts, and yarns were produced for a wide range of uses that we list just below. Asbestos-based textiles used longer and better grade asbestos fibers such as Quebec Standard Crudes No. 1 and No. 2 and Group 3 chrisotile asbestos, crocidolite asbestos, and amosite asbestos, sometimes in blends. Blue asbestos textiles were manufactured for acid resistant applications using pure crocidolite. Standard numbering systems were used to identify different asbestos textiles.
  
  ASTM D299-52 numbered types of asbestos yarn, for example. Asbestos textiles were further described (and represented by identifying digits) by cut, number of plies, and amount of metallic strand in the fabric. "Cut" for asbestos fabrics was calculated as (grain weight of 100 yards of a single yarn) / 7000 grains. "Plies" in asbestos yarn refers to the number of asbestos yarn strands twisted together. ASTM D677-50 pertained to woven asbestos cloth. ASTM D577-52 provided methods for testing asbestos cloth for heat resistance.
  
  Here is a list of typical uses of asbestos in textiles:
• In fabrics, asbestos used was predominantly Chrysotile, sometimes blended with crocidolite and amosite.
• Brake linings
• Cloth for a variety of applications ranging from furnace vibration dampers to aluminum-coated high temperature protective clothing
• Electrical tape
• Fire hoses
• Filters
• Gas mask filters
• Gaskets & gasket cloth
• Packing's
• Rope
• Safety clothing
• Spark plugs
• Steam hoses
• Stocking covers for lead cables
• Tubing
• Twine & sewing thread
• Vibration dampers in duct work - see Asbestos Air Duct Vibration Dampers
• Wire coverings for electrical wire or fixture components
• Other products where fire and heat resistance were needed
  
  
• Theaters: Asbestos products in theaters included products to localize or control fires, wall sections in sets, fireplace fireboxes, fake dust on cobwebs, camera booth insulation, noise insulation, and for dressing scenes as having winter snow!
  
  
• Transite pipes, a cement-asbestos product, were widely used for warm air heating ducts, especially embedded in floor slabs, also for gas fired heating appliance chimneys, and for water transport in some cities as well. See Transite Pipe Chimneys & Flues and Transite Pipe Air Ducts for identifying photographs and advice.
  
  
• Vermiculite building insulation can contain significant levels of asbestos fibers, or little or none, depending on the mine from wich the vermiculite was obtained. See Vermiculite Insulation Containing Asbestos
  
  
• Welding rods containing asbestos were produced in which asbestos was added to a potassium silicate to form a paint-on coating for wire electrodes used in arc welding.

Technical Reviewers

Particular thanks are due to experts and also consumers who read these articles and suggest corrections, changes, and additions to the material. Content suggestions, technical corrections and content critique are invited for any of the content at our website.

• Daniel Friedman - principal author/editor of the InspectAPedia ^TM Website
• Asbestos, its Industrial Applications, D.V. Roasato, engineering consultant, Newton MA, Reinhold Publishing Co., NY, 1959, Library of Congress Catalog No. 59-12535
• "Asbestos in Plastic Compositions", A.B. Cummins, Modern Plastics [un-dated, pre 1952]
• Technical reviewers are invited to comment or ask questions - contact us

Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

IDENTIFICATION of ASBESTOS in BUILDINGS
Asbestos Risk Assessment
Asbestos in Good Condition
Asbestos in Poor Condition
Asbestos Removal, Amateur, Incomplete
Abandoned Pipe Insulation
Asbestos Foamed-Over
Asbestos in unusual places
Paper Duct Insulation Containing Asbestos
Carbon Nanotube Materials
Transite Pipe Chimneys & Flues
Asbestos HVAC Ducts
Asbestos Duct Vibration Dampers
Transite Pipe HVAC Ducts
Fireproofing containing Asbestos
Other Asbestos-Containing Materials
Ceiling Tiles Containing Asbestos
Floor Tiles Containing Asbestos
Vermiculite Insulation Containing Asbestos
Asbestos Under the Microscope
How to Identify Building Insulation Materials
Asbestos-Free Insulation Materials
Insulation Materials
  Asbestos Pipe Insulation
  Balsam Wool Batt Insulation
  Cotton Insulating Batts
  Cellulose loose fill insulation
  Fiberglass Insulation
  Foam Board Insulation
  Foam Spray Insulation
  Mineral Wool/Rock Wool Insulation
  Paper Duct Insulation
  Perlite Insulation
  Vermiculite Insulation

More expert information on Asbestos Identification, Recognition, & Testing

More Information on Asbestos Contamination, Other Airborne Fiber Hazards, & Building Diagnostic Inspections and Repairs

• Asbestos: How to find and recognize asbestos in Buildings - visual inspection methods, list of common asbestos-containing materials
• Asbestos HVAC Ducts and Flues field identification photos and guide
• Fiberglass: Indoor Air Quality Investigations: Health Concerns About Airborne Fiberglass: Fiberglass in Indoor Air from HVAC ducts, and Building Insulation
• Enviro-Scare: Electric Power Lines, Electromagnetic Fields, Cancer Risk, & "Enviro-Scare" - The Normal Curve Cycle of Public Fear of Environmental Issues
• Dust from the World Trade Center collapse following the 9/11/01 attack: the lower floors of this building contained spray-on fire-proofing asbestos materials.
• Asbestos Information Links: Asbestos Detection, Testing, Recognition, Hazards, Field Photos, and Information Sources, including health-related links such as legal services and information about mesothelioma and other cancers.
• Asbestos Identification and Testing References
• Asbestos Identification, Walter C.McCrone, McCrone Research Institute, Chicago, IL.1987 ISBN 0-904962-11-3. Dr. McCrone literally "wrote the book" on asbestos identification procedures which formed the basis for current work by asbestos identification laboratories.
• Stanton, .F., et al., National Bureau of Standards Special Publication 506: 143-151
• Pott, F., Staub-Reinhalf Luft 38, 486-490 (1978) cited by McCrone

Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, Repair, & Problem Prevention Research & Advice

The Mold Information Center: What to Do About Mold in Buildings, When and How to Inspect for Mold, Clean Up Mold, or Avoid Mold Problems

Home Inspection Construction Consulting Services & advice for home buyers

Use this simple, economical mold test kit by following our instructions on how to collect and mail mold samples to our lab

Environmental Inspection, Testing, & Diagnosis On-Site IAQ, Gas, Air Testing, Mold Investigation, Sick Building Diagnosis, Lab Services, & Remediation Plan Preparation - indoor air quality testing, problem source determination, supporting lab work, written remediation plan addressing removal of environmental and other hazards and prevention of their recurrence.

Contact Daniel Friedman for website content suggestions or for fee-paid consulting

	Enter your search termsSubmit search form
	Search This Website - InspectAPedia.com