Asbestos cement

The name fibro or fibrolite is short for "fibrous (or fibre) cement
sheet", more commonly called "asbestos cement sheet" or "AC
sheet". It is a building material in which asbestos fibres are used to
reinforce thin rigid cement sheets.[1] Asbestos-cement is a modern
product, utilized mainly in industrial work due to the plain surface
and lack of stylistic elements on each sheet. The material rose to
necessity during World War II to make sturdy, inexpensive military
housing, and continued to be used as an affordable substitute for
many roofing products following the war.[2] Advertised as a fireproof
A pre-WW2 house in Darwin. The roof is sheeted
alternative to other roofing materials such as asphalt, asbestos-
with corrugated fibro sheets and the walls with flat
cement roofs were popular not only for safety but also for
fibro sheeting, with fibro battens covering the joints.
affordability.[3] Due to asbestos-cement’s imitation of more
expensive materials such as wood siding and shingles, brick, slate,
and stone, the product was marketed as an affordable renovation material. Asbestos-
cement faced competition with thealuminum alloy, available in large quantities after
WWII, and the reemergence of wood clapboard and vinyl siding in the mid to late
twentieth century.

Asbestos-cement is usually formed into flat or corrugated sheets or piping, but can
be molded into any shape wet cement can fit. In Europe, many forms were
historically used for cement sheets, while the US leaned more conservative in
Example of asbestos cement siding
material shapes due to labor and production costs. Although fibro was used in a
and lining on a post-war temporary
number of countries, it was in Australia and New Zealand where its use was the
house in Yardley. Nearly 40,000 of
most widespread. Predominantly manufactured and sold by James Hardie & Co. these structures were built between
until the mid-1980s, fibro in all its forms was a very popular building material, 1946 and 1949 to house families.
largely due to its durability. The reinforcing fibres involved in construction were
almost always asbestos.

The use of fibro that contains asbestos has been banned in several countries,
including Australia. As recently as 2016, the material has been discovered in new
components sold for construction projects.[4]

Contents
Health effects
Products used in the building industry
StateLibQld 2 152895 James Hardie
Cleaning of asbestos cement
and Wunderlich float ready for the
In popular culture Victory Day procession in Brisbane,
See also 1946
References
External links

Health effects
When exposed to weather and erosion elements, such as in roofs, the surface corrosion of asbestos cement can be a source of airborne
toxic fibres.[5] Asbestos is directly related to a number of life-threatening diseases including, asbestosis, pleural mesothelioma (lung)
and peritoneal mesothelioma (abdomen). Fibre cement sheet is still readily available, but the reinforcing fibres are now cellulose
rather than asbestos.[6] However the name "fibro" is still applied to it for traditional reasons.

Products used in the building industry

Roofs- typically on industrial or farmyard buildings.
Flat sheets for house walls and ceilings were usually 6 mm and 4.5 mm
thick, in 900 and 1200 widths and from 1800 to 3000 long.
Battens 50 mm wide × 8 mm thick used to cover the joints in fibro
sheets.
"Super Six" corrugated roof sheeting and fencing.
Internal wet area sheeting, "Tilux"
Pipes of various sizes for water reticulation and drainage. Drainage
pipes tend to be made of pitch fibre, with asbestos cement added to
strengthen.[7]
Moulded products ranging from plant pots to outdoor telephone cabinet Roof sheeting, known as Hardies
roofs and cable pits. "Super Six."

Cleaning of asbestos cement

Some Australian states, such asQueensland, prohibit the cleaning of fibro withpressure washers, because it can spread the embedded
asbestos fibres over a wide area. Safer cleaning methods involve using fungicide
a and a sealant.[8]

In popular culture
In the James Blundell & James Reyne song "Way Out West", there is a reference to a fibro cement house, with the original Dingoes'
version of the song having a reference to a house of fibre cement. Fibro is also mentioned several times on the Australian TV show
Housos.

See also
Eternit
Transite

References
1. B.A.Group - Glossary (http://www.baalliance.com.au/glossary.htm) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/200608192
13146/http://www.baalliance.com.au/glossary.htm) August 19, 2006, at theWayback Machine
2. McLaughlin, Robert W. and Henry A. Jandl. "Asbestos Cement: A Basic Building Material." Princeton University
School of Architecture. Princeton, New Jersey
, (1959).
3. "APT - Attitudes Towards Asphalt Roofing"(https://docuri.com/download/apt-attitudes-towards-asphalt-roofing_59a8
d6c1f581719e12adbb58_pdf)(PDF). Docuri.com. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
4. Asbestos found in $1.2b Perth Children's Hospital, says WA Health Minister (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-1
4/asbestos-found-in-perth-childrens-hospital-roof-panels/7628108)
, ABC News, 14 July 2016, retrieved 3 October
2016
5. Campopiano, A.; Ramires, D.; Zakrzewska, A. M.; Ferri, R.; D'annibale, A.; Pizzutelli, G. (2 June 2009).
"Risk
Assessment of the Decay of Asbestos Cement Roofs"(https://academic.oup.com/annweh/article/53/6/627/175330) .
Annals of Occupational Hygiene. 53 (6): 627–638. doi:10.1093/annhyg/mep036(https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fannhy
g%2Fmep036). PMID 19491148 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19491148). Retrieved 7 September 2018.
6. "Fibre Cement" (https://web.archive.org/web/20061010165316/http://www .consumerbuild.org.nz/publish/maintenanc
e/ext-walls-fibre-cement.php). Consumer Build. Archived fromthe original (http://www.consumerbuild.org.nz/publish/
 maintenance/ext-walls-fibre-cement.php)on 2006-10-10. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
7. "Where can you find asbestos? Asbestos cement"(http://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/essentials/cement.htm).
Hse.gov.uk. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
8. "Water Blasters" (http://www.deir.qld.gov.au/asbestos/resources/pdfs/prohibited-use-of-water-blasters.pdf)(PDF).
Queensland Government. Retrieved 2016-01-31.

External links
https://web.archive.org/web/20061117143719/http://www
.nsw.gov.au/fibro/
Advice if you have FAC in your home

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