Freephone: 0808 164 3730
Asbestolux and Turnabestos
25 Sep 2017
Asbestolux was the popular trade name of an asbestos insulation board manufactured by Cape Asbestos between approximately 1951 and 1980. Capes main rival, the Turner and Newall group manufactured their own asbestos insulation board during this period, Turnabestos.
The asbestos insulation boards also known as AIB, contained significant amounts of asbestos usually between 16 and 35%. The asbestos was usually amosite (brown asbestos) and chrysotile (white asbestos) although some of the earlier boards also contained crocidolite (blue) asbestos.
Asbestolux boards were used frequently for fire protection as they had very good fire resistance qualities. They were used on the undersides of stairs to prevent fires spreading from one floor to the next and on doors to give them fire resistance properties.
Asbestolux was generally used for all forms insulation purposes. The asbestos boards were also used panelling and for internal partitions, for soffits, on the back of airing cupboards, for suspended ceiling and tiles and behind heaters.
Unlike asbestos cement sheets, asbestos insulating boards such as asbestolux were softer and easier to cut but the high asbestos content made them more dangerous as significantly more asbestos fibres were released.
In the later years, Cape abandoned the production of asbestolux and instead began in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s manufacturing an asbestos free alternative, Cape Supalux which first came to the market in 1976.