Sometimes, you might not be aware that the goods you are importing could contain asbestos.
The list below gives examples of some of the main materials that contain, or could contain asbestos.
If you are importing any of the items listed, it is important to be certain that they do not contain asbestos before you import them.
A
Air-conditioning ducts: exterior or interior acoustic and thermal insulation
Arc shields in lift motor rooms or large electrical cabinets
Asbestos-based plastics products - as electrical insulates and acid-resistant compositions or aircraft seat
Asbestos ceiling tiles
Asbestos-cement conduit
Asbestos-cement electrical fuse boards
Asbestos-cement external roofs and walls
Asbestos-cement in the use of form work when pouring concrete
Asbestos-cement internal flues and downpipes
Asbestos-cement moulded products such as gutters, ridge cappings, gas meter covers, cable troughs and covers
Asbestos-cement pieces for packing spaces between floor joists and piers
Asbestos-cement (underground) pits, as used for traffic control wiring, telecommunications cabling, etc
Asbestos-cement render, plaster, mortar and coursework
Asbestos-cement sheet
Asbestos-cement sheet behind ceramic tiles
Asbestos-cement sheet internal over exhaust canopies such as ovens, fume cupboards, etc.
Asbestos-cement sheet internal walls and ceilings
Asbestos-cement sheet underlays for vinyl
Asbestos-cement storm drain pipes
Asbestos-cement water pipes (usually underground)
Asbestos-containing laminates (e.g. formica) used where heat resistance is required, e.g. ships
Asbestos-containing pegboard
Asbestos felts
Asbestos marine board, e.g. marinate
Asbestos mattresses used for covering hot equipment in power stations
Asbestos paper used variously for insulation, filtering and production of fire resistant laminates
Asbestos roof tiles
Asbestos textiles
Asbestos textile gussets in air-conditioning ducting systems
Asbestos yarn
Autoclave / steriliser insulation
B
Bitumen-based water proofing such as malthoid, typically on roofs and floors but also in brickwork
Bituminous adhesives and sealants
Boiler gaskets
Boiler insulation, slabs and wet mix
Brake disc pads
Brake linings
C
Cable penetration insulation bags (typically Telecom)
Calorifier insulation
Car body filters (not common)
Caulking compounds, sealant and adhesives
Cement render
Chrysotile wicks in kerosene heaters
Clutch faces
Compressed asbestos-cement panels for flooring, typically verandas, bathrooms and steps for demountable buildings
Compressed asbestos fibres (CAF) used in brakes and gaskets for plant and automobiles
D
Door seals on ovens
E
Electric heat banks - block insulation
Electric hot water services - normally not asbestos but some millboard could be present
Electric light fittings, high wattage, insulation around fitting (and bituminised)
Electrical switchboards – see Pitch-based
Exhausts on vehicles
F
Filler in acetylene gas cylinders
Filters - beverage; wine filtration
Fire blankets
Fire curtains
Fire door insulation
Fire-rated wall rendering containing asbestos with mortar
Fire-resistant plaster board, typically on ships
Fire-retardant material on steel work supporting reactors on columns in refineries in the chemical industry
Flexible hoses
Floor vinyl sheets
Floor vinyl tiles
Fuse blankets and ceramic fuses in switchboards
G
Galbestos roofing materials (decorative coating on metal roof for sound proofing)
Gaskets - chemicals, refineries
Gaskets - general
Gauze mats in laboratories / chemical refineries
Gloves - asbestos
H
Hairdryers - insulation around heating elements
Header (manifold) insulation
I
Insulation blocks
Insulation in electric reheat units for airconditioner systems
L
Laboratory bench tops
Laboratory fume cupboard panels
Laboratory ovens - wall insulation
Lagged exhaust pipes on emergency power generators
Lagging in penetrations in fireproof walls
Lift shafts - asbestos-cement panels lining the shaft at the opening of each floor, and asbestos packing around penetrations
Limpet asbestos spray insulation
Locomotives - steam; lagging on boilers, steam lines, steam dome and gaskets
M
Mastics
Millboard between heating unit and wall
Millboard lining of switchboxes
Mortar
P
Packing materials for gauges, valves, etc., can be square packing, rope or loose fibre
Packing material on window anchorage points in high rise buildings
Paint, typically industrial epoxy paints
Penetrations through concrete slabs in high rise buildings
Pipe insulation including moulded sections, water-mix type, rope braid and sheet
Pitch-based (e.g. zelemite, ausbestos, lebah) electrical switchboard
Plaster and plaster cornice adhesives
R
Refractory linings
Refractory tiles
Rubber articles - extent of usage unknown
S
Sealant between floor slab and wall, usually in boiler rooms, risers or lift shafts
Sealant or mastic on windows
Sealants and mastics in air-conditioning ducting joints
Spackle or plasterboard wall jointing compounds
Sprayed insulation - acoustic wall and ceiling
Sprayed insulation - beams and ceiling slabs
Sprayed insulation - fire retardant sprayed on nut internally, for bolts holding external building wall panels
Stoves - old domestic type; wall insulation
T
Tape and rope - lagging and jointing
Tapered ends of pipe lagging, where lagging is not necessarily asbestos
Tilux sheeting in place of ceramic tiles in bathrooms
Trailing cable under lift cabins
Trains - country - guards vans - millboard between heater and wall
Trains - Harris cars - sprayed asbestos between steel shell and laminex
V
Valve, pump, etc. insulation
W
Welding rods
Woven asbestos cable sheath
(This list is taken from the National Occupational Health and Safety Commission Code of Practice for the Safe Removal Of Asbestos (2nd Edition, 2005)
NOTE: whilst this list is detailed, it does not include every asbestos-containing material.