Asbestos cement slabs

Thin rectangular moulded pieces of between 4 to 6 mm thick, with varying dimensions of around 1 m maximum thickness and 3 m long. They were manufactured with asbestos cement which is a cement binder in which the asbestos was used as an aggregate. Nowadays, the asbestos has been substituted by organic natural fibres. The asbestos cement is a light, waterproof, easy to cut, low cost and tensile strength product. The slabs are grey in colour and can have different sections such as corrugated or ribbed. They were used especially in industrial warehouses for making inclined roofs placing them directly onto the structure's joists or purlins. As of 2002 the use and commercialization of asbestos in the fibrocement industry is banned in Spain (Order of the Ministry of the Presidency, December 7, 2001). The fibrocement products with asbestos are considered hazardous wastes.