Asbestos Around Your Australian Home

Asbestos cement (fibro) was developed in the 1920s as a building material to satisfy the post-war housing boom in Australia. Flat sheets provided interior and exterior walls whilst corrugated sheets were used for roofs and fencing.
Asbestos is a naturally-occurring heat and flame-resistant crystalline mineral and was marketed under the common name "Fibro"
Fibro was easily retailed as fireproof, durable, readily transportable and suitable for hot climates. Above all, it was comparatively low cost. Owner builders and those building holiday houses or shacks were satisfied to build in fibro while the home handyman also used fibro for extensions, especially verandahs.
Australia had the highest per-capita use of asbestos in the world from the 50s until the 1980s. About 30% of domestic dwellings built before 1982 is thought to contain asbestos in some form.
The use of Asbestos in manufacturing of products was not banned until 1987 and was totally banned in 2004.
Therefore, if you live in an older home, the chances are there is asbestos somewhere.
Apart from the often visible and common use areas such as walls and roof's asbestos is commonly found in other places such as:
External guttering, down pipes and vent pipes.
Backing boards to electrical switchboards.
Vinyl sheeting and vinyl tiles used as largely for flooring.
Insulation to heaters, ducting and pipes
Cement sheeting behind wall tiling
Roof tiles; and
Woven textile seals to old ovens, grilles and kitchen appliances.

Your Safety precautions for renovating.
Although the chance of breathing in asbestos fibre's increases when renovating, the hazard to your health is very low if you implement the necessary safety precautions.

Look after you and your familiys health and neighbours by making sure you follow the law and our safety tips whenever you work with asbestos.

Remember, before starting a DIY job with asbestos consider:

It is in good condition (eg. undamaged), can you leave it alone?
Are you aware of some alternatives to removing the material containing asbestos (eg. painting or sealing, covering with a non-asbestos product)?
Can you comply with the laws and safe procedures for working with asbestos?
Should you use a licensed asbestos removalist?
The aim is to minimise generating any dust or fibres and to avoid contaminating the work area:
Work with asbestos-cement products in well-ventilated areas, if possible, outdoors

You must wear a half-face particulate filter or a half-face respirator fitted with a dust/particulate cartridge appropriate for asbestos (a class P1 or P2 filter cartridge). There are also disposable class P1 and class P2 respirators. The respirators must comply with Australian Standard 1716. Wear disposable overalls to prevent contamination of any clothing. After work is complete, remove overalls and disposable mask, seal in a container and mark "Asbestos contaminated clothing" for proper disposal. Thoroughly wash hands.
Warning on dust masks: Do not use the simple disposable dust masks - these provide no protection against asbestos fibres. Disposable dust masks (also called 'nuisance' dust masks) are useless against hazardous substances and should not be used. You must wet down the material thoroughly before you start work, and keep it wet while working. This reduces the release of dust during handling.
Do not use power tools, abrasive cutting or sanding discs on asbestos-cement products. Only use non-powered hand tools (eg guillotine, hand-saw) as these cause a smaller quantity of coarser dust and waste chips.