Asbestos cement, genericized as fibro, fibrolite (short for "fibrous (or fibre)

cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mix ...

sheet") or AC sheet, is a

building material Building material is material used for construction. Many naturally occurring substances, such as clay, rock (geology), rocks, sand, wood, and even twigs and leaves, have been used to construct buildings. Apart from naturally occurring materia ...

in which

asbestos Asbestos () is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous crystals, each fibre being composed of many microscopic "fibrils" that can be released into the atmosphere b ...

fibres are used to reinforce thin rigid cement sheets. Although invented at the end of the 19th century, the material was adopted extensively during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

to make easily-built, sturdy and inexpensive structures for military purposes, and it continued to be used widely following the war as an affordable external cladding for buildings. Advertised as a fireproof alternative to other roofing materials such as

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...

, asbestos-cement roofs were popular, not only for safety but also for affordability. Due to asbestos-cement's imitation of more expensive materials such as wood siding and shingles,

brick A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

, and

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

, the product was marketed as an affordable renovation material. Asbestos-cement faced competition with the

aluminum alloy An aluminium alloy (or aluminum alloy; see spelling differences) is an alloy in which aluminium (Al) is the predominant metal. The typical alloying elements are copper, magnesium, manganese, silicon, tin, nickel and zinc. There are two principal ...

, 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 into pipes, but can be molded into any shape that can be formed using wet cement. In Europe, cement sheets came in a wide variety of shapes, while there was less variation in the US, due to labor and production costs. Although fibro was used in a number of countries, it was in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

that its use was most widespread. Predominantly manufactured and sold by James Hardie & Co. until the mid-1980s, fibro in all its forms was a very popular building material, largely due to its durability. The reinforcing fibres used in the product were almost always asbestos. StateLibQld 2 152895 James Hardie and Wunderlich float ready for the Victory Day procession in Brisbane, 1946

StateLibQld 2 152895 James Hardie and Wunderlich float ready for the Victory Day procession in Brisbane, 1946

The use of fibro that contains asbestos has been banned in several countries, including Australia, but the material was discovered in new components sold for construction projects.

Health effects

When exposed to weathering and erosion, particularly when used on roofs, the surface deterioration of asbestos cement can be a source of airborne toxic fibres. Exposure to asbestos is directly related to a number of life-threatening diseases, including

asbestosis Asbestosis is long-term inflammation and pulmonary fibrosis, scarring of the human lung, lungs due to asbestos, asbestos fibers. Symptoms may include shortness of breath, cough, wheezing, and chest pain, chest tightness. Complications may include ...

, pleural mesothelioma (lung) and peritoneal mesothelioma (abdomen).

Fibre cement Fibre cement is a composite building and construction material, used mainly in roofing and facade products because of its strength and durability. One common use is in fiber cement siding on buildings. Material description The term "cement" orig ...

sheet is still readily available, but the reinforcing fibres are now cellulose rather than asbestos. However, the name "fibro" is still applied to it for traditional reasons.

Products used in the building industry

* Roofs - most usually on industrial or farmyard buildings and domestic garages. * Flat sheets for house walls and ceilings were usually thick, wide, and from long. * Battens wide × 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. * Moulded products ranging from plant pots to outdoor telephone cabinet roofs and cable pits.

Cleaning of asbestos cement

Some Australian states, such as

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, prohibit the cleaning of fibro with

pressure washer Pressure washing or power washing is the use of high-pressure water spray to remove loose paint, mold, grime, dust, mud, and dirt from surfaces and objects such as buildings, vehicles and concrete surfaces. The volume of a mechanical pressure w ...

s, because it can spread the embedded asbestos fibres over a wide area. Safer cleaning methods involve using a

fungicide Fungicides are biocidal chemical compounds or biological organisms used to kill parasitic fungi or their spores. A fungistatic inhibits their growth. Fungi can cause serious damage in agriculture, resulting in critical losses of yield, quality, ...

and a sealant.

In popular culture

The 1973 song, " Way Out West", by

The Dingoes The Dingoes are an Australian country rock band. They were initially active from 1973 to 1979, and reformed in 2009. Initially based in Melbourne, the band relocated to the United States from 1976. The most stable line-up comprised John Bois on ...

, later covered by James Blundell &

James Reyne James Michael Nugent Reyne OAM (born 19 May 1957) is an Australian rock musician and singer-songwriter both in solo work and, until 1986, with the band Australian Crawl. Biography Early years Reyne was born in Lagos, Nigeria. His father, Ro ...

, mentions living in a "house made of fibro cement". Fibro is also referred to several times on the Australian TV show ''

Housos '' Housos '' is a Logie Award-winning Australian comedy television series created by Paul Fenech for SBS, that screened on SBS One. The series is a satirical parody of low income Australian residents of fictional suburb Sunnyvale, New South Wal ...

''.

References

External links