jakarta
Well-known member
All asbestos can and does kill there is no safe asbestos It's use was banned in the UK in 1980 but so much was used it's everywhere and we are very likley to come into contact with asbestos on a dailey basis, most of this contact is completly safe but for some the risk is much greater.
It's an amazing material which can be used as a powder and mixed with other materials and can even be woven, it's used to add strength, fire and heat retardancy being light was added to materials just to reduce weight. Asbestos can be found in the most unlikely of places from car break pads, sound muffling under kitchen sinks, some plastics, cookers, storage heaters, toasters, wall and ceiling plaster, construction boards, electrical fuse boards, oven gloves, fire blankets, floor and wall tiles, fire places, chimneys, flues, ventilation systems, filters, Irons the list goes on and on first discovered and used by the Romans Until it's banning in 1980 that we will be coming across the stuff regularly for the rest of our lives.
Asbestos if not in a fibrous state left alone is probably safe so in most cases being around living with asbestos is not a particular danger but if it is in a fibrous state ie damaged so that fibres are released as dust in a confined space then it's very dangerous.
It wasn't actually banned until 1999, although in practice virtually no-one was using it. Don't understand what you mean about 'asbestos not in a fibrous state'. That is the point about asbestos it is always in a fibrous state, although it is usually mixed in with other products...