Does your home contain asbestos? Here’s how to find out and what to do if it does?
While the health dangers associated with asbestos have been known since the early 20th century, the use of asbestos was not completely banned until the 1980’s. So if you are considering buying a home built between 1930 and 1990, or an older home extensively renovated during that period, you should be concerned about asbestos. Before buying any home, you should have a professional check for the presence of harmful asbestos material.
What is asbestos? It’s actually a fiber which occurs naturally and which comes in numerous varieties. It’s difficult to detect the presence of asbestos merely by looking; a structure normally must be labeled, since the naked eye can’t see it. A special microscope, used by professionals, is required to see it. Traditionally, asbestos has been added to several kinds of building products and insulations in order to strengthen them and to give them fire resistance and to hold in heat.
Left undisturbed, asbestos is quite harmless, but when sanded, scraped, cut, damaged, broken, repaired, or unprofessionally removed, products containing asbestos release fibers into to the air, which, when inhaled, cause lung damage and a serious form of lung cancer called mesothelioma.
Here is a list of common products which may contain asbestos if manufactured and installed prior to 1990:
* Asbestos siding, shingles, and cement roofing
* Wall insulation
* Wall and attic insulation made with vermiculite ore, especially ore mined in Libby, Montana between 1923 and 1990, when the mine was closed
* Patching and joint compounds, textured paints, and soundproofing or decorative material painted or sprayed on walls and ceilings
* Blankets, sheets, and tape used to insulate hot water and steam pipes, boilers, and furnace ducts
*Cement, millboard or paper used as insulation on the stovepipes, heating ducts, floors and walls around furnaces and wood- or coal-burning stoves, as well as the door gaskets on such appliances.
* Resilient floor tiles made of vinyl, asphalt or rubber
* The backing on vinyl sheet flooring
* The adhesive used in installing floor tiles
* Artificial ashes and embers used in gas-fired fireplaces and simulated woodstoves.
The bottom line is that asbestos and materials containing asbestos are safest when left alone and undisturbed. Even sweeping, vacuuming, or dusting can be enough to damage the material and dislodge hazardous fibers into the air. If you suspect objects in your home contain asbestos, check them frequently – not by touching but by looking closely for signs of wear or damage.
If you have any doubt, treat the material as if it contains asbestos until you can have it sampled and analyzed by a qualified professional. Taking samples yourself is not recommended. Only a professional asbestos inspector knows what to look for, and, if done incorrectly, sampling can be more hazardous than leaving the material alone. Be sure to get a written evaluation describing the location of the asbestos and extent of damage.
Once asbestos containing materials have been professionally identified, don’t touch or disturb them but limit access to the area until they can be repaired or removed. Never attempt this yourself! Asbestos repair or removal should only be done by a trained professional since there is always a risk of exposure to fibers when asbestos is disturbed.
Repair involves either covering the asbestos material or sealing it. With either repair method, the asbestos remains in place. While normally repair is less expensive than removal, it often makes a later removal of that asbestos more costly, not to mention more difficult.
Asbestos removal is usually the most expensive method and, unless required by state or local regulations, should be the last option considered because it poses the greatest risk of fiber release.
Because asbestos repair and removal is so hazardous, take every precaution to ensure that the professionals you hire are licensed and accredited and have a good track record of safe and ethical work practices. Each person performing work in your home should provide proof of training and licensing in asbestos work. Check with your local public health, environmental protection, and worker safety agencies, as well as the Better Business Bureau, and ask if the firm you are considering has had any safety violations or if there are legal actions pending against it.
It’s important that you investigate local guidelines as to what asbestos work is required for your area. More often than you might think, unethical contractors have misled homeowners into thinking that all materials with asbestos have to be covered, sealed or removed–and then, for a lot of money, take care of those procedures improperly. An unnecessary removal is, of course, like throwing away your money–and it might actually raise the health risk to your family.
In most cases, private homes are not subject to the same asbestos regulations that apply to schools and public buildings, but professionals should be held to the same high standards for testing, repair, and removal.
While some firms do offer testing, assessment, and corrective procedures, you should make sure that the professional you hire to assess the risks in your home is not affiliated in any way with the professionals who will perform asbestos repair or removal. Using two different firms will avoid any conflict of interest and should save you money in the long run.
Before you buy a house or have one remodeled, find out whether asbestos materials are present and follow a professional’s advice on whether isolation, repair, or removal is your best option. It is possible to live safely in a house containing some asbestos materials if you follow these simple guidelines from the Environmental Protection Agency:
Asbestos Do’s and Don’ts for the Homeowner
* Do keep activities to a minimum in any areas having damaged material that may contain asbestos.
* Do be careful to avoid contact with harmful asbestos material.
* Do have removal and major repair done by people trained and qualified in handling asbestos. It is highly recommended that sampling and minor repair also be done by asbestos professionals.
* Do check with the health or environmental safety officials in your municipality before discarding any small objects containing asbestos, such as stove-top pads or ironing board covers, to find out the safest way to handle and properly and safely dispose of them.
* Don’t dust, sweep, or vacuum debris that may contain asbestos.
* Don’t saw, sand, scrape, or drill holes in asbestos materials.
* Don’t use brushes or abrasive pads on your power stripper in hopes of stripping an asbestos floor.
* Don’t sand or try to level asbestos flooring or its backing. Install a new floor covering instead.
* Don’t track material that could contain asbestos through the house. If you cannot avoid walking through the area, have it cleaned with a wet mop. If the material is from a damaged area, or if a large area must be cleaned, call an asbestos professional.
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