Asbestos Use in Vending Machines

Where was asbestos used in vending machines?
When was asbestos use in vending machines stopped?

What Asbestos, Fiberglass or Other Insulating Products Might Appear in a 1960's Vending Machine?

An InspectApedia reader described a recently acquired mid-1960's Vendo 190D vending machine in which together we spotted the following materials to be identified:

1. A paper type of insulation surrounding some of the electrical components (photo left) that were in turn sealed in a protective metal box (cover removed for photos).
2. Fiberglass insulation in the door (photo at page top) visible through slots in the back of the vending machine door (encased in black plastic with slots) as well as the tub.
3. Asbestos-suspect paper around some electrical components.
4. An unidentified, asbestos-suspect paper insulation on the sides of the vending machine cooling compressor.
   

While none of the reader's plans to clean and restore the Vendo 190D vending machine to use would be expected to disturb or even expose most of these insulating products, at the bottom of the machine at the compressor was some asbestos-suspect paper that he wanted to remove.

Other common vending machine components that might have used asbestos-containing materials include:

5. Vending machine door gaskets
6. Vending machine electrical components including heating equipment
7. Asbestos coatings for fire or electrical protection

First Rule Out Vending Machine Materials Obviously Not Asbestos

That would include principally

Fiberglass insulation.

Some felt-like insulating materials used as vibration dampeners, air flow directors, or to protect electrical wiring are usually not asbestos but a few might have contained asbestos so we'll take a closer look at those.

Fiberglass insulation, usually yellow, white, gray or occasionally green fibrous material is quite easy to recognize and is distinctive enough that testing to identify that material would not normally be needed.

Take a look at FIBERGLASS INSULATION IDENTIFICATION & PROPERTIES

An example fiberglass insulation photo is below.

Second, Identify Vending Machine Components & Materials that Might Contain Asbestos

Asbestos in Vending Machine Electrical Components

Asbestos-containing insulation and wiring were used to avoid heat damage or overheating in vending machines as early as the 1920s (Duckett 1923).

Asbestos in Vending Machine Insulation

Asbestos was often used in door gaskets, doors, cases, and similar vending machine parts for both hot and cold operating machines to control temperature and condensation. (Lime 1952).

Air Flow Management, Temperature or Moisture Control

Above is an image of the condenser and the compressor inside the Vendo 190D machine.

On the side we see a paper type barrier (red square) that appears to have been damaged. The owner opined that judging from the spider webs that material must have been damaged a long time ago.

His questions were:

• What do you think this might be?
• What is the best way to remove this?
• Any chance this barrier contains asbestos?
  

Our opinion, based on our own work experience repairing refrigeration equipment that contained refrigeration compressor motors, cooling or evaporator coils, and materials used to help manage air flow inside the unit, we OPINED that the fibrous-paper material may have been intended as an air barrier to reduce the chances of condensate splashing off of the coil onto electrical components on the other side of the barrier.

If you see start/run capacitors, relays, etc. behind that barrier, those may have needed protection from water.

Asbestos wicking was also used for moisture control in tobacco vending machines (Ravert 1918).

Asbestos insulation in paper or thicker forms was used in some vending machines to control temperature and for fire safety, such as popcorn machines (Lightner 1914).

Above: possible asbestos paper adhered to metal. This photo is not part of the specific vending machine illustrated on this page but is an example of how asbestos might appear on metal parts of other vending equipment.

Possible asbestos material as electrical insulation or "flash paper" inside of the vending machine

Below is an image of insulating paper around the electrical component for this vending machine.

In the photo above, we see thin adhesive masking tape and thicker gray felt insulating pads probably intended to avoid vibration damage to the electrical wires in the center of the photo.

Below we've circled one of the flash guards.

Watch out: some electrical flash guard paper products used asbestos - probably combined with other materials to provide some rigidity.

We have also read that that flash guard paper also found it way into some consumer products, toys, ashtrays, and appliances, as you'll find in the vending machine asbestos use research that we cite below.

Asbestos may also have been present in some vending machines where protection from heat was required, both at heating elements (coffee dispensing equipment, for example) or around some vending machine lighting components.

See these articles detailing asbestos uses that might have also appeared in vending machines:

• ASBESTOS in AIR CONDITIONERS
• ASBESTOS in APPLIANCES
• ASBESTOS in LAMPS & LIGHT BULBS

Asbestos Use in Non-Friable Vending Machine Parts

In older vending machine equipment that uses hard plastics such as "Bakelite", some of those parts contained asbestos, though not in a friable form.

Such hard products are not a measurable nor meaningful asbestos hazard as long as they're not being damaged by sanding, grinding, sawing, etc.

Details are at

• ASBESTOS PLASTIC COMPONENTS
• ASBESTOS PLASTIC ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES

Last Use of Asbestos in Vending Machines?

Sorry but there is no single right answer to the "last use date for asbestos" question as the dates at which asbestos use was banned varies by country as well as product.

For vending machines and similar equipment made in the U.S. before 1986, asbestos is certainly possible, but consider the size, location, volume of material; it's not enough to warrant high concern.

If your equipment continues in use and you've the slightest worry, remove and dispose of the questionable paper barrier and put up a modern and suitable replacement to protect the wiring - if that's indeed what it's doing.

For details about when asbestos was banned in your country or in the country that manufactured your vending machine whose asbestos risk is a question, see

• HISTORY & DATES OF ASBESTOS CONTAINING MATERIAL BANS & REGULATIONS

Asbestos Uses in Vending Machines - Research

• "Asbestos in Plastic Compositions", A.B. Cummins, Modern Plastics [undated, pre 1952]
• Cullen, Mark R. "The amphibole hypothesis of asbestos-related cancer--gone but not forgotten." American Journal of Public Health 86, no. 2 (1996): 158-159.
  Excerpted key phrase:
  vending machine locks
• David, Lupovici. Hot liquid dispenser [PDF] U.S. Patent 3,143,636, issued August 4, 1964.
  
  Excerpt: The container 7 is covered with a layer of insulation 23, made of asbestos fabric, glass wool, or the like. 
• Duckett, James A. "Vending machine." U.S. Patent 1,470,232, issued October 9, 1923.
  
  Excerpt:
  
  An asbestos lining 27 is preferably used in the channel to keep the outside from getting,` too hot and the heating element is preferably held in place by set screws 2S.
• Gould, Marcus A., and Kenneth I. Arntson. BEVERAGE VENDING MACHINE [PDF] U.S. Patent 2,729,376, issued January 3, 1956.
  
  Excerpt:
  
  The tank 18 is preferably lagged or insulated on all sides with asbestos or the like as indicated by the broken line in Fig. 4, to minimize the heat loss from the liquid in the tank 18 and produce a more uniform temperature gradient.
• Lightner, G.A., Robert B. Sifers, 1914. Popcorn-vending machine [PDF] U.S. Patent 1,090,729.
  
  Excerpt:
  As shown more particularly in Fig 9, the burner comprises a trough 402, containing asbestos or other suitable packing 403 covered b a screen 404.
  
  In fluid connection with t h trough 203 and depending there from, is a tube 405 also containing asbestos, and leading to the bottom of this tube is a relatively long, flexible, metallic pipe 406, the opposite end of which is in fluid connection with a trap 407 disposed beneath a fuel tank ...
• Lime, Iola S. "Measuring apparatus for beverage brewing machines." U.S. Patent 2,606,697, issued August 12, 1952.
  
  Excerpt:  Mounted thereon is a water container 6 of suitable capacity, preferably surrounded by. insulation}, which can be asbestos. or other material having the desired insulating; properties.
  
• McSwane, David Z., William A. Oleckno, and Larry M. Eils. "Drinking water quality concerns and water vending machines." Journal of Environmental Health 56, no. 10 (1994): 7-13.
• Ravert, William Isaac. Moistener attachment for tobacco-vending machines [PDF] U.S. Patent 1,280,298, issued October 1, 1918.
  
  Excerpt:
  In each extension 11 is lodged a wick or block 14: of asbestos or some other suitable material of capillary nature capable of elevating water from the bottom portion of the container 6 to the top of the wick where the water is exposed to air particularly through the slot 13.

Flash guard products that used asbestos (in various electrical equipment including vending machines)

• Smith, Marvin W. "Flash guard for dynamo-electric machines." U.S. Patent 1,448,419, issued March 13, 1923.
• I. F. PHEILS, FLASH LIGHT ATTACHMENT FOR PHOTOGRAPHIC CAMERAs, US Patent No. 576,821. Patented Feb. 9, 1897
• Schmid, Edson S. "Insulator assembly." U.S. Patent 2,502,756, issued April 4, 1950.
• Meyer, Svend Martin. "Electric cigar-lighting apparatus." U.S. Patent 844,610, issued February 19, 1907.