This is a continually evolving record of the workplaces where asbestos was used and what the asbestos was used for. Take care when entering these environments or handling the objects that asbestos was applied to during the manufacturing process.
Workplaces which exposed people to asbestos
Trades and uses of asbestos
Lagging steam engine boilers
Lagging hot water pipes
Gas mask filters
Brake shoes on cars, lorries, cranes
Lagging industrial boilers
Car clutch linings
Guttering and soffits
Conveyor belt brakes
Gas oven seals
School science cabinets
Bunsen burner mats
Mr C remembers: "some buildings had their girders sprayed with blue asbestos which would flake and fall to the ground if disturbed by a bird nesting etc."
Mr C remembers: " We had to use asbestos to plug holes in walls and we chewed it so that it would fit in. Leftovers were put into the bin with domestic rubbish."
Mr B remembers: "We would tie a handkerchief around our mouths to protect from the dust."
Mr P remembers: "We treated it like a normal building material like bricks or plaster."
Mr H remembers: "I had to crawl across asbestos lagged pipework to get access to the ship's electrical equipment."
Mr W remembers: "One job was removing asbestos insulation...we knocked this off with a hammer and chisel."
Mr C remembers: "When they lit up the furnace, the asbestos clay lining turned to dust and went up the chimney, falling on surrounding areas."
Mr W remembers: "The asbestos tiles would stick together in the box and when separating you would get a lot of dust which you could breathe in."
Mr K remembers: "Asbestos came into the workplace in the form of flakes, packed in large hessian bags. It was mixed with water to form a paste...I could see it being mixed in big vats and clouds of asbestos dust was given off, filling up the air."
Mr L says: "I worked with asbestos on 8 separate occasions and have been to the funerals of at least 10 colleagues. I was given 2-3 months to live but that was 2 years ago and I have had an operation. I am lucky to still be here."
Mr T remembers: "It wasn't practical to wear a paper mask whilst blowing glass so exposure was more or less continuous."