Where can you find asbestos? Floor tiles, textiles and composites

Where do you find these?

Sometimes you may find asbestos floor tiles hidden under carpets.

Textiles can be found in fuse boxes behind the actual fuse. Old fire blankets and heat resistant gloves can also be made out of asbestos textiles.

Asbestos composites can be toilet cisterns and seats, window sills, and bath panels.

Asbestos paper was used for lining under tiles and inside metal cladding.

What do these look like?

These asbestos containing materials are not very distinctive from what is used now. To make sure we recommend you ask the owners about how long they’ve had certain things or look for a trade name. You should be able to look up this trade name on the internet to find out more about it.

How dangerous are these?

These should be treated with caution, if in doubt assume they are asbestos and treat as such. You do not need a licence to work on these materials and the HSE had produced a number of task sheets to help you to take the correct precautions.


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Updated 08.09.09