Posted By Frances Robinson Can anyone say if asbestos was used in refractory bricks - say from 70's on and if there is any information anywhere I might obtain to prove it in a general or specific way. Thanks in advance. It's to do with someone who broke them up or crushed them as a job.

Posted By Sam Talbot Refractory bricks tend to be composed of Alumino Silicates, and dependant upon the type of brick, the amounts of Alumina and Silica will vary. Whilst most of the Silica is combined, there is usually a degree of Free Respirable Silica within the brick, which can be released during wrecking operations. Things like kiln doors, lagging on pipework frequently contained asbestos however, so it rather depends on the type of work being carried out whether the exposure would be to asbestos or silica. Hope this helps, Sam.

Posted By Stuart Nagle Frances. Asbestos fibres are not generally released from hard substances (e.g. asbestos cement sheeting) and therefore I would suggest that the same could be true of bricks. Any airborne dust particles would be quite heavy and may settle quickly. Although wetting down whilst working would of course be beneficial for preventing dust in the first place. I do recall from reading books on kilns and cements employed (between bricks) that asbestos may have been added to old mortar mixes years ago in such situations, so sampling of both bricks (crushed) and cement mortars could prove useful prior to any work commencing. Where any application of high temperatures was employed in the past, certainly pre 1970's it was common to lag with asbestos and to employ gaskets that were asbestos (usually crisotile - white asbestos). OIf you have not done so yet, I would suggest that bulk sampling for analysis is done before any work under MDHS 100 by a qualified asbestos surveyor (P402) and their report obtained. This will identify any asbestos in the kilns and their infrastructure and enable the proper safety measures to be employed in their removal.