Where is asbestos found?

Sprayed coating - A high hazard asbestos product and can generate very high fibre levels if disturbed. Used as insulation on the underside of roofs and sometimes sides of buildings and warehouses. Also, used as fire protection on steel and reinforced concrete beams/columns and on underside of floors. It was very easy to overspray or get a 'splash back' from the equipment used to apply this so there is likely to be debris around the sprayed area.

Pipe Insulation - Asbestos thermal pipe lagging is a high hazard asbestos product. This is one of the most dangerous materials containing asbestos. Mostly found in or on heating systems such as round boilers or calorifiers and around pipework.

Asbestos insulating board (also referred to as AIB) - AIB is a high hazard asbestos product and can generate high levels of fibres if the board is cut or drilled. It can be found as partition walls, fireproofing panels in fire doors, lift shaft linings, ceiling tiles, soffits, panels below windows, column and beam linings and boxing.

Floor tiles, textiles & composites - Vinyl (PVC) or thermoplastic tiles may be present under carpets as a floor covering. Textiles can be found in fuse boxes behind the actual fuse. Old fire blankets and heat resistant gloves can also be made out of asbestos textiles. Asbestos composites can be toilet cisterns and seats, window sills, and bath panels. Asbestos paper was used for lining under tiles and inside metal cladding.

Asbestos cement - Asbestos cement is often found as corrugated roof and wall sheeting on industrial buildings, farm buildings, sheds and garages. It was also used for downpipes, gutters and flues.

Textured decorative coating - Textured coatings contain a small amount of asbestos. The asbestos is well bonded and fibres are not easily released. However, it is still an asbestos product, and as such, needs to be worked with safely. Textured coatings were used to produce decorative finishes on ceilings and walls. In the past, they have had various trade names such as 'Artex'.