About Asbestos

What is Asbestos?

Asbestos is a mineral that many industries used for decades in thousands of products. For example, many construction products and machinery parts contained asbestos before the 1980s. Of the six types of asbestos, chrysotile was used most often. The mineral was popular because it is affordable, strong and fireproof.

But mounting evidence showed that exposure to asbestos came with serious health risks. This includes asbestos cancers like mesothelioma and lung cancer. The United States began increasing asbestos regulations in the 1980s. Still, there are ongoing asbestos exposure risks from older uses of the mineral.

Types of Asbestos

The six main types of asbestos are:

  • Actinolite (amphibole): In general, actinolite asbestos is dark in color. It was most often used in cement, insulation materials, paints, sealants, and drywall.

  • Amosite (amphibole): This type is also known as brown asbestos. It makes up about 5% of asbestos used in the United States and is the second most common type. Products that may have contained amosite asbestos include insulation, gaskets, and tiles.

  • Anthophyllite (amphibole): This type ranges in color from yellow to brown. Anthophyllite asbestos was not used often in consumer products but may have been in some cement and insulation materials.

  • Chrysotile (serpentine): This is the most commonly used type of asbestos and is also known as white asbestos. It comprises 90% to 95% of asbestos used in buildings in the United States. A wide variety of asbestos insulation and fireproofing products once used chrysotile asbestos.

  • Crocidolite (amphibole): This type is also known as blue asbestos. It is less heat resistant and used less often than other types. Products that may have contained crocidolite asbestos include cement, tiles, and insulation materials.

  • Tremolite (amphibole): This type ranges in color from a milky white to dark green. Products that may have contained tremolite asbestos include paint, sealants, and plumbing materials.

All asbestos is fibrous, meaning individual microscopic fibers make up the mineral. The main difference between serpentine and amphibole asbestos is how each fiber appears. Serpentine fibers are long, curly, and pliable. Amphibole fibers are short, straight, needle-like, and stiff.

Asbestos can be found in more places around the home than you might expect. This makes asbestos removal commonplace in the majority of demolition and renovation projects. Asbestos is an extremely hazardous material and under Australian law must be disposed of by a professional following strict guidelines to ensure the safety of all involved in the removal. 

Asbestos In Sydney


Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral with thin fibrous crystals, each visible fibre is composed of millions of microscopic "fibrils" that can be released by abrasion, impacts, cutting, sawing and drilling etc. Different kinds of asbestos exist and are referred to by their mineral colours, blue asbestos, brown asbestos, white asbestos, and green asbestos.


Historically asbestos mining existed more than 4,000 years ago however large-scale processing was uncommon until the beginning of the 19th century, when manufacturers and builders began using asbestos for its desirable physical properties: sound absorption, average tensile strength - resistance to fire, heat, electricity, and affordability. It was used in such applications as electrical insulation for hotplate wiring and in building insulation.

When asbestos is used for its resistance to fire or heat, the fibres are often mixed with cement or woven into fabric or mats. These desirable properties made asbestos very widely used. Asbestos use continued to grow through most of the 20th century until public knowledge (acting through courts and legislatures) of the health hazards of asbestos dust outlawed asbestos in mainstream construction and fireproofing in most countries.


Prolonged inhalation of asbestos fibres can cause serious and fatal illnesses including lung cancer, mesothelioma, and asbestosis (a type of pneumoconiosis). Concern in modern times began in the 20th century and escalated during the 1920s and 30s. By the 1990s, asbestos trade and use were heavily restricted, phased out, or banned outright in an increasing number of countries. Asbestos was finally outlawed in Australia in 2003

What is the cost of asbestos removal?

In Sydney, the asbestos removal price is influenced by a myriad of different factors. As of 2019, the average asbestos removal cost in Sydney ranges from $50-$150 per square meter depending on the weight, condition, and type of asbestos being removed. 

It’s impossible to give an accurate price for an asbestos removal job without inspecting the site first. In general, however, the cost of asbestos removal in Sydney ranges from $30-$150 per square meter. Of course, there are a wide variety of elements such as your location and the amount of asbestos to be removed that will greatly affect the total cost of removing asbestos from your property in Sydney. In addition, there are six different types of asbestos that can only be confirmed through lab testing and reports.

Some approximate cost of asbestos removal in Sydney might look like this:

  • $50-$150 removal per square meter in Sydney

  • $100-$1,000 to remove asbestos flooring for a room (will vary largely on the size of the room)

  • $1,500+ for the removal of eaves

  • $1,000-$3,500 to remove internal cladding from a room (depends on size, location)

  • $150-$200 per tonne of asbestos contaminated soil

  • $2500+ for the removal of external cladding

FACTORS THAT CAN AFFECT THE COST OF ASBESTOS REMOVAL IN SYDNEY

When it comes to the cost of asbestos removal in Sydney, there is no one-size-fits-all asbestos removal price list. There is a myriad of factors that will influence the asbestos removal cost in Sydney. Here are just a few of the factors that will have an impact on the cost of removing asbestos from your property:

  1. Whether the asbestos in friable or non-friable state

  2. The condition of the asbestos being removed (is it damaged?)

  3. Does the asbestos support any load bearing walls?

  4. How difficult it is to access the asbestos to remove

  5. The amount of asbestos that is being removed

  6. The proximity of your property to the assigned disposal point in Sydney

Click here to see where Asbestos is likely to be found in your home.