Non-asbestos seals and gaskets — Pain or boon?,,

✍ Scribed by Roy Szweda

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2001
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 960 KB
• Volume: 2001
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1350-4789
• DOI: 10.1016/s1350-4789(01)80104-5

✦ Synopsis

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Sealing Technology concerning the very important issue of replacements for asbestos seals. Time is running out for the use of compressed asbestos fibre (CAF) in gaskets for use with saturated and superheated steam, and with certain flammable, toxic and corrosive chemicals. These will no longer be permissible after 1 January 2001. Asbestos-related seals, which were once considered acceptable, are causing both sides of the industrysupplier and user -much consternation. Worldwide, the replacement market amounts to more than US$l billion per annum. It will take many more years before the asbestos seal is only to be found in the museum of defunct sealing solutions. But like the Millennium Bug for computers, what is a problem for some is a commercial opportunity for others. It might well cost many millions of dollars, but this is a boon to suppliers at a time of low market growth rate in some other sectors. This article and the following one, look at recent developments in asbestos sealing products, and further efforts to help alleviate the problems associated with their replacement.