Asbestos and building

Introduction

This section is for people living or working in buildings that may have been constructed with asbestos, or those working on sites with asbestos-containing material.

Health risks

Asbestos is only a risk to your health if you breathe in asbestos fibres.

You are not at risk from undisturbed asbestos cement materials in good condition.

The fibres are bound together in solid cement.

You may be at risk if materials in your environment contain friable or loose asbestos material that can cause serious health problems if inhaled.

The fibres may lodge in your lung tissue and can cause inflammation, scarring, asbestosis, mesothelioma or lung cancer.

Managing asbestos

Most buildings constructed before 1990 contain asbestos cement products. Read about building materials containing asbestos.

Even though the health risk of undisturbed asbestos in the home is very low, you should find a licensed professional to remove it when renovating your home. Read about asbestos safety for householders.

Go to the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics website to read about managing asbestos in Northern Territory Government buildings and remote communities.


Building materials containing asbestos

This page has information about how asbestos was previously used in construction, and where you might still find it in your home or workplace.

Previous use of asbestos

Asbestos was used widely as a building material in Australia between the 1940s and 1980s until it was discovered it can cause serious health problems.

A naturally occurring mineral fibre, it has excellent fire resistance, insulation properties, fibre strength, durability and flexibility.  

The manufacture and distribution of all forms of asbestos has been banned in Australia since 31 December 2003.

Read the introduction to this section to find out about the health risks, in particular for friable asbestos. 

Non-friable (bonded) asbestos products

Non-friable asbestos is made from a bonding compound, such as cement, mixed with a small proportion of asbestos fibres.

Non-friable asbestos products are solid and rigid, and cannot be crumbled or reduced to a powder by hand pressure. 

In the Northern Territory, many buildings were constructed using non-friable asbestos cement materials, including the following: 

  • roofing
  • shingles and siding
  • exterior and interior wall cladding
  • eaves
  • fencing
  • water or flue pipes
  • fire doors
  • floor tiles and linoleum
  • communication pits and ducts
  • electric circuit boards
  • bitumen-based waterproofing
  • in mechanical services plant rooms.

Friable asbestos products

Asbestos is friable if it can be easily crumbled in your hand. 

Non-friable asbestos material may become friable if it is crumbling, or damaged by breaking, cutting, drilling or sanding. 

Friable asbestos products were used to construct buildings in the past, and may be found in the following:

  • asbestos-rope door gaskets in wood stoves
  • loose fill roofing insulation
  • spray-on insulation or soundproofing               
  • low-density asbestos fibreboard on hot-water pipes, domestic heaters and stoves - eg: lagging
  • backing material on floor tiles and vinyl flooring
  • textured paints and decorative ceiling coatings
  • heat-resistant fabrics
  • boiler insulation
  • fire retardant material on steelwork
  • brick and plaster sealants, fillers and some adhesive products.

Breathing in asbestos fibres may cause asbestos-related diseases and death.


Safety for householders

This page has information to help householders manage the risk of exposure to asbestos fibres.

If you have concerns about asbestos in your household, go to the Asbestos in the NT website.

Identifying asbestos

It is very hard to identify asbestos by sight.

If you're unsure whether your house contains asbestos materials, you should treat any suspect material as though it does.

If you know the suspect material was installed before 2004, it is safest to assume it does contain asbestos.

The only way to be sure is to have a sample of the material analysed by a laboratory.

Find out more about how to identify and manage asbestos in your house on the Asbestos in the NT website.

Handling asbestos

If you suspect your house contains asbestos, you should get licensed professionals to undertake your home renovations and to remove the asbestos from your property.

Even taking a sample of anything you think contains asbestos can be dangerous.

You should have any sampling of suspect material carried out by a licensed asbestos removalist.

To find a licensed asbestos removalist, go to the NT Work Safe website.

Laboratory testing

It is not recommended to test asbestos yourself. You should employ a professional laboratory to undertake this work.

For more information about asbestos sampling and testing, go to the Asbestos in the NT website.


Asbestos inspections

If you live in public housing that was built before 1983 it will need to be checked for asbestos.

What you need to do

You do not need to contact anyone. A letter will be sent out to public housing tenants from 1 May.

You will be contacted by a housing officer or contractor to arrange a time for an inspection.

If your home has asbestos

If asbestos is found in your home, a licensed inspector will tell the department what needs to be done.

Contact

To find out more call 1800 104 076 or email propertymanagergreaterdarwin.dhcd@nt.gov.au.


Asbestos in workplaces

If you're concerned about asbestos risks in your workplace, contact:

  • your workplace health and safety representative or
  • NT WorkSafe.

NT WorkSafe is responsible for helping businesses and workers with work health, safety, and dangerous goods in the Northern Territory (NT).

For more information or to discuss your concerns, go to the NT WorkSafe website. You can read about safe removal of asbestos, and managing and controlling asbestos in the workplace.

If you think you may have been exposed to asbestos, register your exposure with the Australian Government's Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency website.


Asbestos removal

This page has information about how to safely remove asbestos-containing materials.

For commercial and government buildings, asbestos should only be removed by a licensed asbestos removalist.

Removing asbestos yourself

You risk exposing yourself and others to asbestos fibres if asbestos is not removed appropriately. It is best to ask a licensed removalist to remove asbestos from your house.

In the Northern Territory (NT), you can remove the following without a licence:

  • less than 10 square metres of non-friable asbestos, or associated asbestos-contaminated dust or debris
  • or minor contaminations of asbestos-contaminated dust or debris not associated with the removal of friable or non-friable asbestos.

To help identify and manage asbestos in your house, read Asbestos - a guide for householders and the general public on the Australian Government Department of Health website.

Use a licensed asbestos removalist to remove asbestos from a commercial or government building.

Read the codes of practice for working with asbestos on the NT WorkSafe website.

Licensed removalists

Only licensed asbestos removalists should remove asbestos. To find a licensed asbestos removalist go to the NT WorkSafe website.

Transporting asbestos

Only licensed operators with an Environment Protection Licence can collect, transport and store asbestos.

To find a list of licence holders go to the NT Environment Protection Authority website.

Asbestos disposal

For environmental guidelines on asbestos disposal in the NT go to the NT Environment Protection Authority website.

Asbestos removal documentary

The 3rd International Asbestos Conference was held in Adelaide from 13 to 16 November 2016.

The NT Government launched an asbestos removal documentary that was filmed in Yuendumu and dispelled the myths about asbestos.

Watch the documentary on YouTube.


Asbestos in soils

This page has information to help developers, builders and environmental consultants in the Northern Territory (NT) manage current and potential exposure to asbestos in soils during site assessment, remediation and development.

If you are concerned about asbestos in the environment, such as illegal dumping of asbestos and contaminated sites, phone the NT Environmental Protection Authority 24-hour pollution hotline on 1800 064 567.

Environmental assessment and remediation

You may have to conduct an environment assessment of your development site to assess its asbestos contamination status. Sometimes this is a condition of your development permit.

The assessment will determine the level and extent of asbestos contamination and what remediation and management measures you will need to take to ensure that your site is fit for purpose.

The asbestos assessment, remediation and management of your site must be conducted in line with both of the following:

  • the National Environment Protection (Assessment of Site Contamination) Measure 1999
  • the 2009 Western Australian Department of Health Guidelines for the assessment, remediation and management of asbestos-contaminated sites in Western Australia.

To read the measure, go to the Australian Government's ComLaw website.

To read the guidelines and additional useful information, go to the contaminated sites page at the Western Australian Department of Health website.

Management of soil with asbestos-containing material

If soil on your site has been identified for off-site disposal, it must only be removed by a licensed asbestos removalist and disposed of at a licenced facility. Read more about asbestos removal.

If your site is found to have residual soils with asbestos-containing material during the environment assessment, the NT Environment Protection Authority may require you to develop an ongoing management plan. This plan will be to address the risks of asbestos exposure.

Your site will also be placed on the authority's register of known contaminated sites.