Three bearing-asbestos wastes, friction material, vinyl-asbestos (linoleum) and cement-asbestos mainly containing chrysotile were characterized. Powder X-ray diffraction (XRDP), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with microanalysis observations and thermal analysis (TGA/DTA) were carried out on the materials as received and after heating at 1100 degrees C in order to observe their structural changes and thermal behaviours. A quantitative determination of chrysotile in the friction material was also carried out. To study the influence of CaCO3 on the decomposition of asbestos, the three techniques were also applied on the linoleum and cement-asbestos at room temperature and at 1100 degrees C after leaching of the materials with 1:3 HCl to remove the carbonates present in the wastes. The results show that the presence of CaCO3 prevents the asbestos to decompose according to the known decomposition reactions and leads to the formation of calcium-silicate compounds. When CaCO3 is removed by washing with HCl, decomposition of asbestos proceeds according to the expected reactions. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.