What is asbestos Bakelite (and what was it used for?)

We have routinely emphasised in the Learning Centre here at Oracle Solutions, how important it is to know how to identify suspected asbestos-containing materials (ACMs), so that you can take steps to manage it safely and in a legally compliant manner.

However, while many of us are familiar with this fibrous silicate mineral having been incorporated into such products as asbestos cement roof tiles, asbestos insulating board (AIB), and thermal insulation (lagging) during the bulk of the 20th century when the substance was still legal to use in the UK, some ACMs are much less widely known about.

One common asbestos-containing material, for example, was asbestos Bakelite. Even to this day, some properties in the UK may still contain plastic composite toilet seats and other products made from asbestos Bakelite.

So, what exactly is asbestos Bakelite, what was it used for, what hazards does it potentially present, and how should you manage items in your property that you suspect might be made from this material? Below, we will lay out answers to these vital questions.

An introduction to asbestos Bakelite

Bakelite was a trademarked synthetic resin that transformed the world during the first half of the 20th century. This hard, durable, and chemically resistant plastic was based on a chemical combination of phenol and formaldehyde (phenol-formaldehyde resin). At the time, these two compounds were derived from coal tar and wood alcohol (methanol) respectively.

While plastics existed prior to Bakelite, these had been based on modified natural materials. Bakelite represented a major advance from this, being the first genuinely synthetic resin. This effectively ushered in an age in which humans no longer depended on the products of nature.

Bakelite was invented by the Belgian-born American chemist Leo Baekeland in 1907; on 7th December 1909, the United States Patent and Trademark Office granted him a patent for a “Method of making insoluble products of phenol and formaldehyde.”

This thermosetting plastic went on to be widely used due to such qualities as its durability, heat resistance, and effectiveness as an electrical insulator. However, while Bakelite was certainly a revolutionary material, the brittleness of its fibres led to the decision to incorporate very small quantities of asbestos into the resin.  

Asbestos – which enjoyed its own reputation as a “wonder material” in the early 20th century, before its health risks became widely known – enhanced the aforementioned qualities of Bakelite, bolstering the plastic’s resistance to heat and making it less likely to conduct electricity.

Bakelite products that survive today, then, can comprise as much as 5% amosite asbestos. Also known as “brown” asbestos, this is regarded as one of the most dangerous forms of asbestos (a now-banned carcinogen with an already lethal reputation across all its types).

What does asbestos Bakelite look like?

Unsurprisingly – given the relatively small amounts of asbestos they consist of – asbestos resins such as Bakelite tend to look similar to hard plastic products that don’t contain asbestos. They are generally black, but they can also be in any other colour.

If, then, you are attempting to narrow down which items in your residential, commercial, or industrial property are likely to be made from asbestos Bakelite, it will probably be more useful to know the common products that used this plastic.

As we referenced above, if there are old plastic composite toilet seats in your building, these could well contain asbestos fibres. Other possibilities include the likes of toilet cisterns, door handles, cameras, toys, radios, and jewellery.

Our online gallery of asbestos plastics, resins, bitumen, and vinyl may further aid your efforts to spot products in your property that could be made from asbestos Bakelite or other forms of mouldable synthetic plastic containing the now-outlawed mineral.

What were asbestos Bakelite and other asbestos plastics used for?

Bakelite and other asbestos-containing thermosetting plastics saw extensive use across various product categories, industries, and settings. This should be unsurprising, given what a profound development the emergence of mouldable synthetic plastic was for the quick and easy mass production of items in almost any shape.

Below are common examples of such asbestos-containing plastic products:

• Electrical components: plastic being a poor conductor of electricity made it an attractive material for incorporation into circuit breakers, electrical panels, and switchboards.
• Household items and consumer goods: you are likely to have experienced for yourself that even if the metal part of a frying pan you are using is an extremely high temperature, it is perfectly safe to touch the plastic handle. This is because plastic is a poor conductor of heat – a quality that led to the use of asbestos plastic to produce various consumer goods such as cookware, tools, and appliances.
• Automobile parts: car manufactures also embraced asbestos plastic for the manufacture of common products such as steering wheels, brake pads, and arc chutes.
• Aircraft and weapon systems: even the aerospace sector recognised the usefulness of asbestos plastic due to its combination of effective insulation and light weight. The material was therefore built into technologically sophisticated items like aircraft drop tanks, rocket nose cones, and missile casings.

How can you identify asbestos Bakelite?

It is impossible to know for sure whether any given mouldable plastic item will contain asbestos – or at least, it is not possible unless the material is tested in some way. Here at Oracle Solutions, we offer an asbestos sample testing service, which might be of interest if you have a sample of a plastic product that you would like to have analysed in a laboratory.

We also provide asbestos surveying services, which aren’t merely potentially useful for reassuring you about the asbestos situation in a property for which you are responsible; it might also be a legal requirement in certain circumstances. This relates to Regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 (CAR 2012), which imposes a “duty to manage” asbestos on individuals and organisations classed as “dutyholders”.

One or multiple asbestos surveys may have been carried out on the given property in the past, perhaps arranged by those who were responsible for the premises before you. This process may have led to an asbestos report being assembled, setting out whether certain items or materials in the building do, indeed, contain asbestos.

Otherwise, unless there is any other documentation available that directly addresses the material composition of certain mouldable plastic products at your site, you will need to depend on testing to confirm whether a given item genuinely is asbestos Bakelite.

Where can asbestos Bakelite commonly be found?

When you are keeping an eye out for possible ACMs in a building for which you are responsible, it is important to be mindful of the likely age of the given product, as well as the property. However, this might be a less useful factor to consider when it comes to asbestos Bakelite in particular.

As a general rule, if a residential, commercial, or industrial building dates to before the year 2000, it is very likely to contain asbestos somewhere within its structure, given that all forms of this mineral were only finally banned in the UK in late 1999.

Bakelite is believed to have contained asbestos from 1909 until 1974. However, asbestos plastics remain in production in certain other parts of the world today. Moreover, the surging popularity over recent years of the hobby of collecting “vintage” items – such as old cameras, toys, and jewellery – could present a risk of old asbestos-containing items being brought into a post-2000 property that never previously had asbestos inside.

Nonetheless, putting the above factors to one side, when you are looking around a site for which you are responsible with the potential presence of asbestos Bakelite in mind, you should be especially alert to the likes of electrical panels, appliances, and automotive components.

How dangerous is asbestos Bakelite?

Fortunately, the fact that asbestos Bakelite is a hard plastic, as well as the relatively small proportion of the overall product that tends to be asbestos – only up to around 5% – means it is considered to present a low toxicity risk compared to many other ACMs.

Given the purposes for which they were made – such as toilet seats and cisterns – that typically required a high level of day-to-day durability, it should be unsurprising that mouldable hard plastics are not generally “friable”. In other words, they do not crumble when hand pressure is placed upon them.

However, none of these things should leave you with the impression that asbestos Bakelite products are “safe”. There is no ACM that can be regarded as “safe”, and in the event of an asbestos Bakelite product being damaged or broken – such as during a renovation or demolition project at the given property – there can still be a risk of loose asbestos fibres being released.

If these barely visible asbestos particles are, indeed, released into the air, there could be a genuine likelihood of them being inhaled or breathed in by someone located close by. Any such exposed individuals could face a heightened risk of developing a potentially fatal asbestos-related health condition – such as asbestosis, mesothelioma, or asbestos-related lung cancer – many years or even decades later.  

Do you need a licence to remove asbestos Bakelite?

Most higher-risk work with asbestos will need to be carried out by a contractor holding a licence from the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE). However, any decision on whether specific work is licensable will be based on the risk posed by the task in question.

As a general rule, a licence will not be required in order to remove an asbestos Bakelite product, such as a toilet cistern. This reflects the fact that the asbestos fibres within such products are typically tightly bound within the Bakelite matrix.

However, as we have written about, you might ultimately decide to hire a licensed asbestos removal company for the removal of any asbestos Bakelite that does exist in your property, on the grounds of the greater confidence you will be able to have in the given company’s competence.

What should you do if you suspect asbestos Bakelite?

In the event that you come across any moulded plastic products at your property or site that you suspect contain asbestos, you can minimise risk by ceasing any work that may be taking place in the location, and preventing anyone from entering the space until the material has been properly investigated. You might decide to contact the Oracle Solutions team about our asbestos sample testing service, for example.

Once you have confirmed that the tested product does or does not contain asbestos, you will be able to make informed decisions on how to manage it, safely and in compliance with any relevant laws. Please feel free to consult our detailed guide to how you should respond if you do find suspected ACMs at your property.

Conclusion: being alert to asbestos Bakelite will assist your efforts to manage it well

Asbestos Bakelite and similar asbestos plastic products do not have a reputation of being among the most dangerous ACMs. However, they can still be extremely dangerous in certain circumstances, such as if the materials are damaged or broken.

You will need, then, to carefully manage any confirmed or suspected asbestos Bakelite products that you do discover, in line with good health and safety practices and current asbestos legislation.

To find out more about any of our accredited and licensed asbestos services at Oracle Solutions, and to ask for a free quote, please don’t hesitate to contact us.