Insulation and lagging

Up until the 1980's, asbestos was widely used for insulation and sound proofing in South Australia.

In many commercial and industrial buildings, power stations and onboard ships, asbestos was sprayed as insulation and sound proofing on bulkheads, beams, columns and ceilings.

Hot water and steam pipes were extensively lagged with asbestos insulation, usually in the form of asbestos rope, pre-formed asbestos pipe sections or asbestos composition mixed with water to form a paste or slurry.  Asbestos was also widely used as insulation on furnaces, turbines and boilers in factories, steel works and power stations in South Australia, including the Osborne Power Station, Torrens Island Power Station and Port Augusta Power Station. It was also used as insulation onboard ships, including ships built at the BHP shipyards at Whyalla.

Asbestos mats or blankets were used around boilers on locomotives at the Islington rail yards.  Asbestos blankets were also used as heat protection while welding.  Asbestos gloves were widely used as heat protection while welding or handling very hot objects.