How To Identify Asbestos Wiring. Asbestos fibers are not visible to the human eye and can be difficult to identify. While not as prevalent as the other uses of asbestos in building construction, asbestos electrical insulation can be hard to find and identify.
Employers must identify the presence of asbestos before any electrical or other work is carried out that is liable to disturb asbestos (car 2012, regulation 5). Even though you may hear people talk about asbestos or see buildings being treated for asbestos, it’s not some infestation like mold that develops over time. This ‘work’ includes access or preparatory work, etc.
Here are a few signs that warrant further investigation:
Asbestos is actually a set of 6 silicate minerals that occur naturally and share certain physical characteristics. If the outside of the wire is black fabric and you can see white fiber where the bare wire is sticking out from the insulation then the wiring has asbestos insulation wrapped around it. While not as prevalent as the other uses of asbestos in building construction, asbestos electrical insulation can be hard to find and identify. The white fiber is is at least 50 percent asbestos.