Reply To: When did asbestos stop being used in fire doors?

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#3608

Personally, I would never depend on dates, they are ok for anniversaries and birthdays but when it comes to asbestos, caution needs to be observed.

We know that the use of asbestos was banned on the 24th November 1999 however this ban wasn’t greatly or widely communicated. There are many anecdotes of asbestos being used after their respective bans, 1985, 92, 99, many of which involve the use of the “non-asbestos – positively sampled”, Supalux (1980s onward), especially in fire protection, i.e. doors, baffles, risers, etc.

I myself have found old fire doors in reclamation yards, lined with AIB, Cement and the highly suspicions Supalux.

The only true way of identification is through physical inspection. The top of the door often gives an indication as to whether it has a core lining, or the careful removal of the door handle, but again, to trust the date of installation would be hard to defend if someone were to disturb the door which wasn’t inspected and was found to have any form of asbestos linig or core, i.e. through the fitting of new locks, glazing panels, intumescent strips or cutting the bottom off the door to accommodate thicker floor coverings.