Asbestos in Older Homes and Buildings

Asbestos, a naturally occurring, inexpensive and readily available mineral that was known for its fire resistant and insulating properties, was widely used in the construction of homes and buildings from the early 1900’s until the early 1980’s.

Anyone who is buying, demolishing, restoring, renovating, or repairing a building constructed before the 1980’s will need to be aware that the presence of asbestos is containing products is likely to exist and take precautions not to be exposed.

Asbestos, despite it’s amazing insulating properties, is also carcinogenic and causes serious illnesses, such as mesothelioma (a fatal cancer of the lungs, heart or abdomen), asbestosis ( a scarring of the lung tissue) and lung cancer.  Asbestos containing materials when intact and in good condition do not pose a threat, however when disturbed in any way they create the danger of asbestos fibers becoming airborne, or friable.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, friable asbestos containing materials (ACMs) are any materials “containing more than one percent asbestos…that, when dry, can be crumbled, pulverized or reduced to powder by hand pressure.  Fires and natural disasters as well as demolitions and renovations can cause ACMs to become friable, and therefore more easily inhaled or ingested.

Products in older homes and buildings that are likely to contain asbestos are:

Ceiling tilesFloor tilesWall board, millboardCementPlasterGasketsRoofing, eaves, exterior shinglesPlumbing, pipe and electrical wrapping and adhesivesAll types of insulationAsbestos sidingAll types of heat retardant products

There are two ways to approach asbestos if found in a building:  removal (following federal and environmental regulations) or encasement.  If you as a homeowner, property manager or construction company know of or discover asbestos while working on a project, it is important to know that licensed, trained asbestos abatement professionals or specified training is required to remove or encapsulate any ACMs.  Also, any contaminated materials are to be disposed of at designated disposal sites, sealed in a certain way and clearly marked.

As with other toxic materials such as lead removal and mold remediation, protecting against the hazards of asbestos is to be taken seriously.  Failure to do so can lead to incurable illnesses years later.  In addition, consequences for violations of environmental laws that set these protections can be large fines and, in some cases, imprisonment.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 27th, 2010 at 11:10 am and is filed under Asbestos. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

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