Our team here at PTM still sometimes gets calls from a customer who’s found an old asbestos gasket sitting in a piece of machinery that’s been running for decades, and they’re not sure what to do about it. If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone, and the good news is that replacing it is usually simpler than people expect.
Asbestos gaskets were banned in the UK back in 1999, but that doesn’t mean every last one disappeared overnight. Older plant, legacy equipment and machinery that’s changed hands a few times can still be running components fitted long before the ban, and nobody’s thought to check. The risk isn’t in the gasket sitting quietly in place, it’s in what happens when that gasket gets disturbed during a repair or a routine service, releasing fibres into the air.
A few signs it’s worth checking your equipment:
- The machinery or plant is older than the late 1990s and hasn’t had a full gasket replacement since
- You’ve inherited equipment from another site or a previous owner with no clear maintenance history
- A gasket looks unusually grey, fibrous or brittle compared to modern rubber bonded sheet
- Nobody on site can tell you what material the gaskets are actually made from
If any of those apply, it’s worth having the material checked before the next service rather than assuming it’s fine. The good news is that modern non-asbestos gaskets, often called CNAF or NAF, do the same job without the health risk, and they’ve been the industry standard for long enough now that there’s a proven material for pretty much every temperature, pressure and chemical exposure an old asbestos gasket used to handle.
Switching over doesn’t need to be complicated. In most cases, it’s a straightforward like-for-like swap once you know the size and the operating conditions, and a supplier who knows the range can point you to the right grade without you needing to become an expert in gasket specifications overnight.
If you think you might still have asbestos gaskets in service, or you just want peace of mind, PTM can help you find the right replacement. Our full non-asbestos gaskets range covers general-purpose and high-performance grades, and our wider gasket range covers everything else. Get in touch via our contact page, call 01625 573971, or email sales@epdm.co.uk and we’ll help you sort it.
