Asbestos Flooring

Asbestos is used in building products because of its resistance to heat and fire, lack of electrical conductance, and a tolerance to chemical or biological processes. Flooring materials produced in the 1920’s and popular into the 1960’s have utilized asbestos fiber because of its properties when mixed with cement or asphalt, resulting in products that are flexible, stronger, and fire resistant.

Asphalt-asbestos floor tiles that were produced in the 1920’s used a heavy asphalt binder with a high percentage of asbestos filler, sometimes up to 70% asbestos by weight, depending upon the type of mixture used. Asphalt floor tiles are generally 9” square and are dark in color because of the asphaltic content.

Asbestos floor tile was produced in the 1950’s, and contained a mixture of ground mother rock and the shortest, otherwise unusable asbestos fibers. These floor tiles were also generally 9” square and were dark in color.

Vinyl asbestos floor tiles (VAT) were produced in the 1940′s through the 1970′s and by the 1950’s, became more popular than asphalt based floor tiles. These tiles contained an organic resin vinyl which when mixed in various percentages, resulted in lighter colors and patterns. Vinyl asbestos floor tiles (VAT) are also generally 9” square in size.

Vinyl sheet flooring had a backing material that prior to about 1978 also contained asbestos fibers that used as a strengthening material.

In your home, you can find these floor tiles or sheet flooring in kitchens, bathrooms, laundry rooms, entryways, and almost any room where a durable and minimal maintenance floor surface was required.

Hazards of Asbestos Containing Floor Materials

Asbestos containing floor materials if well maintained and not damaged, can be very safe (non-friable) and can be left alone. If asbestos containing flooring materials are damaged or disturbed, they can become friable, where asbestos fibers can be released into the air, posing a potential health risk. Floor tiles that receive a lot of floor traffic can have their surfaces worn through and also release asbestos fibers into the air.

Any floor material or mastics which are suspect and are not tested or identified to have asbestos fibers, can also be a source of unacceptable asbestos fiber release into the air.

What Should the Homeowner Do?

A home with asbestos containing floor tiles does not present the risk of asbestos exposure for you so long as the asbestos fibers are firmly embedded into the floor tile or the backer of any sheet flooring is not exposed.

During any remodeling or demolition project, these materials should be disturbed as little as possible. Tiles should not be removed by scraping or with a floor sander. Advice relating to demolition and removal of resilient flooring materials can be obtained from the Resilient Floor Covering Institute.

If you are in doubt as to whether of not any floor materials contain asbestos, contact a certified testing agency in your area to secure samples for testing to determine if there is asbestos.

Asbestos containing floor materials can be covered with other sub-floor materials such as plywood or cement board, safely “enclosing”, the old flooring material. Exposed mastics that remain should be skimmed coated (encapsulated) prior to covering with new sub-floor materials. Where the asbestos containing floor materials must be removed or disturbed, you should hire a licensed asbestos abatement contractor to remove the materials before continuing your project.

Removal of asbestos containing floor materials will require specialized safety equipment such as goggles and respirators. Transport to a certified landfill will require labeled airtight bags and containers. In some states it maybe illegal to attempt abatement (removal) of asbestos containing materials, on your own. Again, a licensed abatement contractor can handle the removal and transport of any asbestos containing materials.

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