# Forum Home Renovation Asbestos  asbestos in mortar?

## tl8888

Have anyone here heard of asbestos in mortar? 
In my back yard there is a fish pond (that's what I decided to called it). I have no ideas when was it build but it's looked pretty old and there's nothing in its (all empty, no water or anything). My family just smashed it down last couple week and today I just came across the topic asbestos in mortar. Now it's make me very worry about my family health. Does anyone knows anything about asbestos were use in mortar?

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## goldie1

I have never heard of it here used in that situation  but thats not to say it never happened. 
 It was common in North America. Also used in  adhesives and glazing putty amongst other things. 
  Why don't you get a piece of the mortar tested to give you peace of mind

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## tl8888

Mortar | Asbestos Product and Mesothelioma Hazard  
that's the website that I got the info from. I hope it only use in North America. I will get it test as soon as I can because I can't stop worry about it. This asbestos things just ruin my easter holiday from worrying.  
Thankyou

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## goldie1

I have heard of it used here on a some commercial installations  (boilers fireboxes that sort of thing) 
But not in your circumstance. Get it tested  for your peace of mind I wouldn't be worried about it

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## phild01

Shouldn't stress about it, never heard of asbestos in mortar here.  Even if so, chances of any health issue would be low for a small job like that.

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## David.Elliott

400 exposed to asbestos at Sydney museum - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) 
Cannot re find the full article but apparently it was used up to the 60s in commercial building mortar predominantly...

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## Smurf

There's an asbestos putty that looks similar to mortar and which contains a very high % of asbestos. It's basically just asbestos and some sort of oil to make it moist, that's it. 
It was commonly used for sealing things but I've never heard of asbestos in mortar as such. 
Easy way to identify the putty is that it remains pliable. Outside goes brittle but it remains soft inside even if exposed to the sun. Needless to say, take proper precautions prior to any investigation.

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## ErrolFlynn

Outside of a specific commercial application, as mentioned above, its not likely for the average joe to find it in concrete.  Where would anyone buy it?  You couldn't go to the local garden shop/builders suppliers and ask for a few bags of cement, a cubic metre or so of aggregate, one of sand, and one of asbestos.  It's just not going to happen.  Maybe if you lived in Wittenoom a few years ago someone might have used it instead of sand.  It's common practice for people to 'save' on concrete by chucking old bricks, stones, and other rubbish at the bottom of their concreting job to take up space and doubling as a tidy up action.  If there was some asbestos scrap lying around its possible that might have happened.  But even that's unlikely because its not going to take up much space.  It would be easier for them to chuck it in the bin.

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## Smurf

Anecdotally, asbestos waste (from mills at mines and at manufacturing facilities) does seem to have been disposed of in some "interesting" ways.  
Amongst others, I've heard of it being used to line garage floors (just raw asbestos waste packed down) and even as top dressing on gardens. Never heard of it in mortar though, at least not in Australia.

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## Bloss

The asbestos danger is when it is atomised i.e.: inhaled as very fine particles. It still amazes me that there is all this fear of asbestos after exposure, but almost no-one bothers to wear a mask, gloves and goggles when ANY dust might be a likely occurrence of the work they are about to do e.g.: demolishing something. Dusts are dangerous, asbestos dust more so, but even if there was asbestos dust in the mortar in a yard pool, which is highly unlikely, the risk from any exposure is trivial. Worry about other much more dangerous stuff such as flying debris damaging your eyes while smashing a concrete structure, or inhaling any dusts as no dust is supposed to get inside your body . . . and ALWAYS wear safety gear . . .

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## ErrolFlynn

Asbestos was a component of early gas masks.

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## Smurf

> Worry about other much more dangerous stuff such as flying debris damaging your eyes while smashing a concrete structure, or inhaling any dusts as no dust is supposed to get inside your body . . . and ALWAYS wear safety gear . . .

   +1 
Asbestos is nasty stuff if inhaled but actually very safe to touch with bare hands. Just as long as you don't then wipe your hands on your clothes and end up inhaling the dust somehow..... 
As for other dusts, the impact varies but none of them are good for you. Cement dust in particular is quite nasty stuff but they're all bad to some extent.

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