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- The 2008 asbestos ban
Is asbestos banned in South Africa?
Yes, since 28 March 2008. Government Notice R341, in plain English.
The ban stops anyone from acquiring, making, distributing, importing or exporting asbestos. It does not outlaw the asbestos already in buildings, which is why pre-2008 roofs are still lawful and why you cannot buy a sheet to patch one.
Roof in Gauteng that has to come off? Send the address on WhatsApp for an estimate, or see what removal costs.
Yes. Asbestos has been banned in South Africa since 28 March 2008. Government Notice R341, published that day in Government Gazette 30904, prohibits acquiring, processing, packaging, manufacturing, distributing, importing and exporting asbestos and asbestos-containing materials.
The ban is on supply. It does not make asbestos that was already installed illegal, so roofs, gutters, ceilings and pipes laid before 2008 may lawfully stay in place.
| Detail | What it says |
|---|---|
| Notice | Government Notice R341 |
| Gazette | Government Gazette 30904, 28 March 2008 |
| Made under | Section 24B, Environment Conservation Act 73 of 1989 |
| Made by | Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism |
| In force from | 28 March 2008 |
| Core rule | Regulation 2: the prohibitions |
What does regulation 2 prohibit?
Three prohibitions, then the exceptions.
Regulation 2(1): inside the country
No person may acquire, process, package or repackage asbestos, manufacture asbestos-containing materials, or distribute asbestos or asbestos-containing materials.
Regulation 2(2): across the border
No person may import asbestos or asbestos-containing material into South Africa, or export it from South Africa.
Regulation 2(3): waste
No person may import asbestos-containing waste into South Africa.
The exceptions in regulation 2(4) and 2(5)
- Asbestos in transit between two other countries, provided it is not repackaged or processed here.
- Asbestos imported solely for analysis or research that is not aimed at a new use.
- Asbestos or asbestos waste from a Southern African Development Community state, brought in for safe disposal at a permitted site.
- Importers and manufacturers of identified products that were operating lawfully on 28 March 2008, if they registered with the Minister and followed an approved asbestos phase-out plan.
The first three must be registered with the Minister under regulation 4. The fourth is the phase-out route in regulation 5, which let existing manufacturers wind down rather than stop overnight.
Does the ban mean my asbestos roof is illegal?
No. Regulation 2 reaches people who acquire, make, distribute, import or export asbestos. A homeowner whose roof was laid before 2008 does none of those things by leaving it up. There is no removal deadline in the 2008 regulations, and none in the 2020 regulations either.
The longer answer is on is it illegal to have an asbestos roof.
What does the ban change for a homeowner?
Three things. You cannot buy an asbestos sheet to patch the roof, because nobody may distribute one; merchants sell fibre cement in the same profile instead. You cannot sell or give away sheets that come off your roof, which the 2020 regulations repeat in regulation 24. And any fibre-cement roof laid before 2008 should be treated as asbestos until a test says otherwise.
How do the 2008 ban and the 2020 regulations fit together?
| 2008 prohibition regulations | Asbestos Abatement Regulations, 2020 | |
|---|---|---|
| Notice | GN R341, Gazette 30904 | GN R1196, Gazette 43893 |
| Date | 28 March 2008 | 10 November 2020 |
| Parent Act | Environment Conservation Act, 1989 | Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 |
| Controls | Supply of new asbestos | Work on asbestos already in place |
| Matters to a roof owner because | No new or second-hand sheets | Removal needs a registered contractor |
The 2020 regulations replaced the Asbestos Regulations, 2001. Read them in plain English.
Questions people ask
Is asbestos banned in South Africa?
Yes, since 28 March 2008. Government Notice R341 in Government Gazette 30904 prohibits acquiring, processing, manufacturing, distributing, importing and exporting asbestos and asbestos-containing materials.
When was asbestos banned in South Africa?
On 28 March 2008, the day the Regulations for the Prohibition of the Use, Manufacturing, Import and Export of Asbestos and Asbestos Containing Materials were published under section 24B of the Environment Conservation Act, 1989.
Can you still buy asbestos roof sheets in South Africa?
No. Distribution has been prohibited since 28 March 2008. Sheets sold today in the same corrugated profiles are fibre cement without asbestos.
Does the ban mean existing asbestos roofs must be removed?
No. The 2008 regulations prohibit supply, not ownership, and contain no removal deadline. Removal, when you choose it, is governed by the Asbestos Abatement Regulations, 2020.
Can I reuse or sell old asbestos sheets?
No. The 2008 regulations prohibit distributing asbestos-containing materials, and regulation 24 of the Asbestos Abatement Regulations, 2020 separately bans selling, donating or reusing them. Removed sheets go to a licensed disposal site.
Asbestos has been banned in South Africa since 28 March 2008 by Government Notice R341, Government Gazette 30904, made under the Environment Conservation Act, 1989. Regulation 2 prohibits acquiring, processing, manufacturing, distributing, importing and exporting it. Existing roofs stay legal; work on them falls under the Asbestos Abatement Regulations, 2020.