Pictures of Asbestos

Asbestiform Tremolite

Non-Asbestiform Tremolite

The question is: just what does asbestos look like? Well, in its raw form it almost appears as dirt, small minerals, or some sort of rock fragments. The question what does asbestos look like is almost unfair because asbestos can look like just about anything. It has a high heat resistance and because of that its primary use was to insulate exhaust pipes. It was also used in things like ceilings, home siding, insulation, floor tiles, etc.

With this said is it even possible to identify asbestos visually? The answer is no. Many materials that contain asbestos look just like the materials that don't. The only real way to know if a substance is asbestos or not is to have the substance analyzed in a laboratory. With that being said if you think something does look like asbestos be very cautious and get it tested to see if it is indeed proven to contain any asbestos.

This also raises the question: what does asbestos look like under the microscope? In one form, asbestos under a microscope looks like long strands of hair. It consists of very thin multi-fibrous strands known as asbestiform tremolite. In another form, non-asbestiform tremolite the asbestos is seen as non-fibrous granular particles. It almost looks like somebody threw flower under a microscope. Looking through the microscope however it looks as if you’re staring at a black sky on a dark night with millions of stars out.