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Asbestos braided rope and packing (C) D Friedman (Rosato)Master List© of Asbestos Forms & Asbestos-containing Products & Companies
Complete list of asbestos containing products

  • POST a QUESTION or COMMENT about what building products and common in-building products, appliances, mechanical components were produced using asbestos materials

Asbestos products & applications:

Common forms in which asbestos was used in building materials & products.

This article provides a master list of the forms in which asbestos was used, a list of known asbestos-containing materials, and links to detailed articles about individual asbestos-containing products & materials found in buildings and in a wide range of products used in both home and industry.

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 of asbestos containing materials and descriptive text of asbestos insulation and other asbestos-containing products to permit identification of definite, probable, or possible asbestos materials in buildings.

Asbestos is safe and legal to remain in homes or public buildings as long as the asbestos materials are in good condition and the asbestos can not be released into the air.

InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website.

Master List of Asbestos-Containing Products & Materials: of Forms, Products, & Substances Containing Asbestos

Cement asbestos roof shingles (C) Daniel Friedman

Here we provide a master list of manufactured products that contain asbestos. Our list of asbestos-containing materials is sorted by alphabetically by product or use.

How to search this list of asbestos products:

Use your browser's CTR-F (PC) or CMD-F (Mac) to search this page for any asbestos keyword.

Contact us by posting a question or comment at the end of this page if you cannot find information you need.

Classes of Asbestos Use

Asbestos uses was classed by Lindell (1973) into thirteen classes including

(i) insulation or filler; (ii) blocks and pipe sections;

(iii) gaskets and packing; (iv) cement sheets and paper;

(v) textiles; (vi) blankets or felts; (vii) friction materials (e.g., brakes); See details about the use of asbestos in brakes, brake linings, brake pads

at ASBESTOS FRICTION MATERIALS

(viii) consumer products like Bakelite, used for knobs on furnaces and other hot objects, radios, TVs, and other electrical applications;

(ix) flooring; (x) pipe; (xi) home siding; (xii) joint compound; and

(xiii) other heat-resistant materials, such as coatings, mastics, welding blankets, and gloves.

Examples of all of those products and links to more detail are given below on this page.

Range of Asbestos-Containing Products

The actual range of asbestos-containing products and materials is enormous and no categorization, including that by Lindell is all-inclusive. As those authors point out, during World War II, for example, asbestos was used in hundreds (I suspect more) of applications in U.S. Navy ships alone. (Rushworth 2005) and US battleships such as the USS Iowa carried about 465 tons of asbestos just as thermal insulation alone.

As just one example, nowhere in Lindell's thirteen classes of asbestos use do other widespread uses appear, including the use of asbestos in filters used in applications from apple cider to medical uses to wine-making as early as 1900. (Alwood 1903).

By the 1980's in the U.S.the dominant uses of asbestos had shifted to the construction industry and industrial products in a stunning range of items.

While this is the most extensive list of asbestos-containing products & materials available, it is of course incomplete, as asbestos was used in thousands of products and materials and is still used in many. CONTACT US to add items and photographs to this list of asbestos containing materials.

In addition to our continued additions to this list of asbestos-bearing items, asbestos may be present in still other substances and even products, not by its deliberate use or design, but because it occurs naturally, such as asbestos that is found in some talc powders (amphibole asbestos).

This article is a companion

to ASBESTOS PRODUCING COMPANIES & TRUSTS where we list known producers of asbestos-containing products and where possible we include a list of the asbestos-containing products produced by each company.

Common asbestos-containing building materials are illustrated separately

at ASBESTOS PHOTO GUIDE to MATERIALS our extensive photo library.

Asbestos long fibers (C) Daniel Friedman - RosatoAsbestos in many forms was discontinued in all home construction uses beginning in 1990,

 but beware: pre-1990 products might have been used in some homes built shortly afterwards. And asbestos continues to be released into the environment, though at lower levels than previously.

According to the US EPA Toxics Release Inventory, total releases of friable asbestos to the environment (includes air, water, and soil) in 1999 were 13.6 million pounds from 86 facilities that reported producing, processing, or using asbestos (ATSDR, 2001).

In 2009, total releases of 8.9 million pounds of friable asbestos were reported by 38 facilities (US EPA, 2010).
 - ASBESTOS report from IARC NCBI U.S. NIH (2012) cited atReferences or Citations

Low asbestos risk in some materials: 

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.

Many other asbestos-containing products, both historic and among some current products, encapsulate the asbestos fibers in cementious or resinous materials which minimize the possible release of asbestos fibers into the air.

Note: most of the uses of asbestos listed here are obsolete

 and the products mentioned have not been manufactured for quite some time. However these products may still be encountered, particularly in older buildings and among old consumer products.

However some current materials may contain and are permitted to contain asbestos.

 In May 1999 Asbestos Materials Bans Clarification was issued by the U.S. EPA clarified that there are some categories of asbestos-containing products that are NOT subject to a ban.

For example, the Asbestos National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants, or NESHAP) rules issued in November, 1990 prohibits spray-on application of materials containing more than 1% asbestos to buildings, structures, pipes, and conduits unless the material is encapsulated with a bituminous or resinous binder during spraying and the materials are not friable after drying. [Italics inserted by -DF].

Thanks to Susan Kimball, Argus Pacific, for this clarification. See ASBESTOS REGULATION UPDATE for details.

Forms & Products in Which Asbestos Was Used - alphabetical list

Asbestos floor tiles (C) Daniel Friedman

Asbestos was used in both its long fiber form (photo above, Rosato (cited atReferences or Citations , courtesy J. Mansville), woven into cloths, for example, and in

an ASBESTOS POWDER FORM [image] as

a FILLER in FLOOR TILES [image].

These classes of asbestos fibers vary widely in size and also, depending upon the matrix of bonding or adhesive material and the mix of asbestos with other materials, the friability and release of asbestos particles from various materials varies very widely from probably below detection, to very great.

It is also useful to understand that the form in which asbestos was used ranged among a number of forms.

The list below (adapted and expanded from the nearly-complete asbestos product list found in Rosato) lists forms of asbestos-containing products.

Asbestos sack filter used in cider making (C) InspectApedia.com from Alwood 1903

Binding of a 1960's children's book, unlikely to contain asbestos (C) InspectApedia.com CW

Pro-Tex Burner Pad, asbestos stovetop pad used to prevent cracked glass or burns from hot utensils (C) InspectApedia.com Pamela

Glasweld Exterior Wall Panels (Asbestos) from U.S. Plywood, 1970 catalog at InspectApedia.com

Above: Glasweld® mineral-granule-coated asbestos cement board was produced by U.S. Plywood and intended for use as exterior wall panels in the 1970s. Another brand was QASAL Glasweld and Glasweld® Miawal "High Performance Interior Walls (shown below from a 1977 catalog for sale on eBay in 2022) was sold in 23 different colors and in panels of various sizes. Mirawal was also sold as a chalkboard "writing panels" for classroom use. So yes there were indeed asbestos-cement "blackboards" or "chalkboards".

Glasweld Mirawal interior asbestos cement wall panels 1977 catalog at InspectApedia.com

Tremoite asbestos ceilint giles as fireproofing (C) Daniel Friedman

Our photo (left) illustrates the use of near-pure tremolite asbestos tiles as fireproofing in the basement utility room of a building we inspected in White Plains, NY around 2005.

The tremolite asbestos ceiling fireproofing panels shown above were 3/4" thick. We describe this product in detail

at ASBESTOS FIREPROOFING

A thinner cementious material, typically less than 1/4' thick, asbestos cement millboard was used as a covering for ceilings over boilers, furnaces, water heaters, smoke stacks, etc. for fire protection - discussed

at ASBESTOS FIREPROOFING

and

at ASBESTOS MILLBOARD

Cement asbestos roof shingles (C) Daniel Friedman

Asbestos duct vibratin damper (C) Daniel Friedman

Asbestos fire suit (C) Daniel Friedman Mine Safety Appliances Rosato

Antique heating pad may contain asbestos (C) InspectApedia.com Chu ...Antique heating pad may contain asbestos (C) InspectApedia.com Chu

Photos of an antique heating pad made by Bro Lab., Inc., courtesy of an anonymous InspectApedia.com reader 2020/11/01

Cork floor tile (C) Daniel Friedman

Asbestos cement drain piping used in building & roadway construction for sale in India, 2019 - at InspectApedia.com

Asbestos fire blanket illustrated by the UK HSE - at InspectApedia.com

Asbestos flash guard used in an electrical fuse box in the U.K., provided  by UK HSE cited in this article - at InspectApedia.com

Asbestos floor tiles (C) Daniel Friedman

Asbestos paper insulation found by DF in an attic floor in New York (C) Daniel Friedman


Old mattress asbestos content question (C) Inspectapedia.com SZ

1981 Sprite Swift  Caravan made in the UK - discussed at InspectApedia.com

Photograph of  asbestos paper wrap on heating/cooling duct exterior

RC Murray Ships Lantern from Glasgow (C) InspectApedia MR RC Murray Ships Lantern from Glasgow (C) InspectApedia MR

Question: Could old ships lanterns contain a fibrous asbestos product?

2016/07/22 Could old ships lanterns contain a fibrous asbestos product?

I was given a Murray anchor ships lantern (looks like galvanised with brass hinges) which I have been sanding and in the outer annular space at the top, I've pulled out a rusty brown coloured fibrous material.

I don't know the date of manufacture of the lamp, might be early 20th century. do you know whether asbestos was used in these lamps? - Anonymous by email request.

Reply: asbestos in R.C. Murray Ships Anchor lanterns and masthead lanterns ?

Certainly asbestos in form of paste, sealant, paper insulation and rope type gaskets appeared in many old products where fire, air leaks, or heat were concerns.

RC Murray Ships Anchor lanterns were produced in the 1850's and later, in Glasgow, Scotland. I looked at some photos of R.C. Murray Ships Anchor lanterns and masthead lanterns made of copper as well as galvanized steel and didn't see any obvious gasket or heat insulating materials, though the photos won't of course show every component.

If on your RC Murray lantern you see suspect material, you might use the page bottom CONTACT link to send me some sharp photos of the lantern and the parts and components of concern. Photos are not a substitute for a test by a certified asbestos test lab, but together we might recognize other materials.

At www.bl.uk/britishlibrary/~/media/subjects%20images/business/british_patents.pdf you can find information about how to access Scottish patents.

There are patent numbers on some of the RC Murray lanterns; armed with the patent number if you can find the actual patent you can read about the construction and materials used in the lantern as it was originally designed. However you'd have to probably ask for help as the Scottish patents from the 1850's do not appear to be online.

I can't see an obvious asbestos gasket or similar product in your photos [sent later by private email] but I'm not expert on these Lanterns. Asbestos was very widely used in thousands of products where fire resistance was important.

I suspect from the size of the lantern that unless you uses a power tool and inhaled sanding dust, it's not likely that you could have created a substantial concern IF asbestos insulation was in the lamp.

Keasbey Mattisons Sprayed Limpet Asbestos advertisement (C) InspectApedia.com

[Click to enlarge any image]


Above: an advertisement for Keasbey Mattison's sprayed "limpet" asbestos coating. W.R. Grace was a major supplier of Monokote®, a spray-on chrysotile (white asbestos) asbestos coating materials.

Antique suitcase liner may contain asbestos (C) InspectApedia.com Ed Melusky

Special thanks to reader E.M. for the photograph of an antique suitcase, 2018/09/27. [Click to enlarge any image]

Synethetic stone, fibrous, may contain asbestos as fibrous reinforcement or as shorts and dust as filler (C) InspectApedia.com Spencer

Above: photo of synthetic "stone" that is obviously fibrous and that may contain asbestos, courtesy of reader Spencer, September 2020

Also see asbestos in synthetic slate and stone products describes

at MANUFACTURED / SYNTHETIC SLATE ASBESTOS CONTENT

 

Johnson's baby powder that contained talc (C) Daniel Friedman InspectApedia.com Talc particles in Johnson's Baby Powder at PM10 and smaller (C) Daniel Friedman InspectApedia.com

Above our lab photograph shows talc particles from Johnson & Johnson's baby powder from a container (also shown above) whose label text was marked ©1996. The red lines indicate the directions of measurement of a large talc particle. The photograph above was made in transmitted light at 1200x using a POLAM microscope. We did not detect asbestos in this talc product.

Antique thermos and case, U.K. reader (C) InspectApedia.com Ant

Asbestos-reinforced-plastic-Toilet-Cistern-UK-HSE cited in this article, shown at InspectApedia.com

 




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Reader Comments, Questions & Answers About The Article Above

Below you will find questions and answers previously posted on this page at its page bottom reader comment box.

Reader Q&A - also see RECOMMENDED ARTICLES & FAQs

On 2023-07-12 by InspectApedia Publisher (mod) - no asbestos in modern incontinence or similar medical products

@Anonymous,

You will not find asbestos used in any form in modern medical products.

On 2023-07-12 by Anonymous

Hi, I use incontinence products on a daily basis. The other day I accidentally got the sticky tape stuck together and in the process of fixing it I ripped one open.

I saw inside what felt like a gritty and sandy like filler mixed in together with the cotton filling.

There was so much of it too. I couldn't believe it. I opened up another one from a different manufacturer, one I have used alot and their's did not have that stuff in it.

The company with the gritty inside filler claims on the label that it helps with maximum absorbancy, but all I could think of was this stuff is getting inside my body and I want to know what it is. I have been having a bad rash and severe itching while using them.

When I switched back to the brand I normally use that didn't have the gritty stuff in it my symptoms started to go away. My question is could this gritty/sandy-like stuff in the cotton filling be asbestos or wood fibers? Do you know anything about these types of products please? Do you know who I can contact to find out for sure? Thank You!

On 2023-06-07 by InspectApedia Publisher (mod) - when they stopped making asbestos fire curtains

@Anonymous,

The "last production date" for asbestos-containing fire curtains - if you mean theatre curtains - varies by country; for example in the U.S. that'd be sometime at or before 1986. Most of the references we've researched for this question put the last production of asbestos fabrics in the U.S. in the late 1970s.

Other asbestos fabrics that might have been called "curtains" or "blankets" were used by firefighters.

"Friable" means that you can crumble a material to a powdry dust simply by smashing it between your thumb and forefinger. Certainly you're not likely to be able to do that with a theatre curtain.

But a reasonable question might be how much fibre shedding occurs from undisturbed theatre curtains. Answering without specific information about the site, building, conditions, and curtain, would be so speculative as to simply not be useful.

On 2023-06-05 by Anonymous

Do you know when they stopped making asbestos fire curtains and what the friability of such curtains are when they are literally just hanging out above a stage? Thanks

On 2023-05-06 by InspectApedia Publisher (mod) - asbestos electric blanket wiring

@Kellie,

Thank you for the question about the use of asbestos in electric blankets.

Please find our discussion now in full detail at

ASBESTOS in BLANKETS

On 2023-03-04 by InspectApedia Publisher (mod) - possible use of asbestos in plumber's putty?

@M reser,

Some such products did contain asbestos.

Use your browser's on-page search feature (such as Ctrl-F) and search this page for the word

putty

to see eight examples of putty products that contained asbestos, so asbestos might indeed have been present in some plumbing sealants as well.

However so far our research hasn't turned up specific plumbers putty brands with asbestos. In any event unless the material is dry and crumbles to powder, it's not friable.

On 2023-03-04 by M reser

In 1960’s/1970’s/1980’s did plumbing sealants eg. Flux and putty and boswhite contain asbestos when used in the UK

On 2023-02-08 by InspectApedia Publisher (mod) - research has not found evidence that asbestos was used in old Hoover Vacuum Cleaners

@Brian,

What made you believe that the old Hoover vacuum cleaner's filter used asbestos? Have you found any documentation that suggests that use? If so do let us know.

I've researched the question "Was asbestos ever used in the construction of vacuum cleaner filters?" without finding any such reference, though I note that it's difficult to phrase that search question, even among patent research, without being flooded with articles about the *use* of HEPA vacuum cleaner filters for cleaning up asbestos dust and debris.

On 2023-02-08 by Brian - asbestos in an old Hoover Vacuum Cleaner?

I was cleaning out an old vacuum. At first thinking I was cleaning out a bunch of dirt fibers then realized it was and old filter not until I was done did I think of assp should be an asbestos filter that I was digging up. And that's only cuz I'm old enough to know that. And it's an old vacuum. But it worked really well and I never imagined it having asbestos in it. I'll attach a picture

Antique Hoover vacuum cleaner - not likely to use asbestos (C) InspectApedia.com Brian

The vacuum is a Hoover the stuff on top is what I dug out of the filter from the bottom of the vacuum which I thought was dirt at first then it crossed my mind it could be a filter but not till I was done did I think oh s*** what if it's asbestos this was the same vacuum I had used when I was in elementary school and I'm 57 now. Exact same vacuum so it's at least from early seventies if not older probably older

Antique Hoover vacuum cleaner - not likely to use asbestos (C) InspectApedia.com Brian

On 2023-02-12 by InspectApedia Publisher

@Valerie K,

Wallpaper in residential buildings would not be an asbestos product.

On 2023-02-12 by Valerie K

Our 1956 walk-in attic space contains some wall paper which appears very old.

I am wondering if it may contain asbestos as it is falling apart significantly. In some areas the wallpaper is peeling off in sheets. In other areas it cracks or chips. It is thick with a brown backing that is smooth and not at all sticky. Would this wallpaper have the potential to contain asbestos?

1956 wallpaper (C) InspectApedia.com Valerie


...

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