Asbestos Abatement - Overview

The majority of people know asbestos is a very dangerous substance, but many do not understand what it is or why the mineral is bad for the body. Understanding asbestos is important because the illnesses associated with the substance can cause serious medical problems and even death. Knowledge truly is power and it is crucial to know what asbestos is and how to take precautions to avoid it.

What is Asbestos?

Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that has been mined for commercial use since the late 1800s. Though the U.S. Bureau of Mines has listed more than 100 types of asbestiform minerals, only six are regulated by the government. Although it is well known that asbestos is a dangerous mineral, a few countries still allow for it to be mined. The United States still allows the use of asbestos and many roofing and construction materials still contain the toxic mineral, as well as brake pads and clutches. Of all the asbestos types, chrysotile is most commonly used throughout the world.

Why Worry About Asbestos?

The light, fine, and virtually indestructible fibers wreck havoc on the human body. Free asbestos fibers in the air are easily inhaled into the the lungs, and are quite difficult to expel. The lungs try to repair the tiny irritations, which can result in scarring. Scarred lung tissue cannot readily absorb oxygen from the air or easily pass back carbon dioxide. As a result of this process, asbestosis can develop, and may even turn into cancer.

Asbestos exposure can also cause cancer, such as mesothelioma and lung cancer, and has been linked to gastrointestinal and colon cancer, as well as a slew of other cancers. Mesothelioma most commonly affects of the lining of the lungs, known as pleural mesothelioma. This cancer can also affect the abdominal cavity (peritoneal), the lining of the heart (pericardial), and in very rare cases, the testes.

Some of the highest incidences of mesothelioma have not been from adults who worked with asbestos, but among their children. Children are more susceptible to its effects than adults and were often exposed to asbestos since it was carried home on parents' work clothes. This is why there is so much concern about asbestos-containing materials (ACM) in school buildings. Many institutions of higher learning have published surveys of ACM in their buildings, which include plans to manage and prevent further exposure, plans to remove it, and programs to educate local populations about the dangers of disturbing ACM. Some universities even maintain their own accredited asbestos testing labs and abatement crews. If you are at risk for these illnesses because high levels of asbestos exposure, have regular medical checkups.

Where Asbestos Can be Found: Naturally Occurring Asbestos

If you live in an area where asbestos occurs naturally, limit your exposure by being aware of where there are or have been commercial operations to mine and process asbestos. Some helpful hints include:

• Use paved trails rather than open soil to hike, bike, walk, or jog; wheeled vehicles such as mountain bikes, dirt bikes, and ATVs are especially likely to throw dust into the air.
• Perform outdoor activities in areas where the ground is covered with mulch, wood chips, sand, pea gravel, grass, asphalt, or rubber.
• Label soil that does not contain asbestos. Never dig without wetting the soil thoroughly to keep the asbestos in the soil instead of the air.
• Do not use a leaf blower. It is better to use water to clear sidewalks and patios, or at least to wet the surface dust down before clearing it with a broom (that should be left outside).
• Prevent the family or pets from tracking dry soil into the house - use doormats or remove shoes. Do not allow the pets to bring in dry dust from outside.
• Keep windows and doors closed when it is windy or when any of the neighbors are digging for construction, gardening, or other purposes.
• Drive slowly over unpaved roads with the car windows closed, and share your concern with local authorities. Get the car washed often and pave your own driveway and walkways.
• Always use wet rags and mops to clean up dust from furniture, floors, and outdoor equipment. Wash the rags before they dry, and never shake a dust mop or rag to clean it.
• Use washable area rugs on easily mopped floors; wash both often.
• Vacuum the carpet often and use a machine with a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filter, and wet down the contents of the dust cup before emptying.

Where Asbestos Can be Found: A Brief History

Asbestos has been useful to humans for thousands of years. Archaeologists discovered that asbestos was mixed into clay pots made in Finland in 2500 BC. Ancient documents have been found that describe asbestos fibers being used for everlasting lamp wicks and to weave shrouds for wrapping bodies for cremation. The first real industrial application began with textiles from Italy in the early nineteenth century.

The United States has embraced asbestos in commercial use since the late 1800s. Asbestos use grew as the Industrial Revolution came to full maturity with mass production techniques and new demands for friction products, such as brake shoes and clutches for automobiles. Demand and production fell off during the Great Depression of the 1930s, but World War II brought another boost to the use of asbestos for thermal insulation and fire prevention, among many other uses. Through the 1950s and '60s, asbestos continued to be heavily used for its many advantages. It was integrated in more than 3,000 different commercial and domestic products. It was light, fireproof, strong, insulating (both thermally and electrically), and mixed well with a number of other building materials.

A 1984 survey by the Environmental Protection Agency found friable asbestos (susceptible to releasing its fibers into the air) in 42 of the agency's own 270 buildings. In 1988, the EPA found asbestos in at least 700,000 public and commercial buildings across the country, more than a half million of them with damaged (friable) asbestos.

Where Asbestos Can be Found: In the Home

The amount of asbestos that can be found within a home depends on when the home was built or renovated. If the house, or anything in it, was built before the mid-1970s, there is a good chance of finding asbestos-containing materials. However, asbestos was still used in homes though the 1980s and is found in construction products made today. These materials can be found in a variety of places ranging from the roof to the basement.

Asbestos materials that are difficult to locate include vinyl wall coverings, ceiling tiles, and sprayed or troweled on "popcorn" textured coatings. For these products, the only way to find the asbestos-containing fibers is to scientifically sample them for testing by using an EPA-certified lab.

It is important to determine if asbestos is located in the water or steam pipes. If the pipes do contain asbestos, they are safe as long as they are not damaged by water leaks or by children playing nearby. It is best to coat them with modern protection such as plastic sheeting or sprays that will harden and encapsulate the asbestos fibers. These protections, however, will make it more difficult to remove the insulation and will have to be removed at a later date. Most states and/or municipalities require separate removal and proper disposal of all asbestos-containing materials when any building is demolished, or when an area is renovated where such materials are present.

What is the Difference Between Friable and Non-Friable?

There is a major distinction between friable and non-friable asbestos materials. Asbestos-containing material (flooring, roofing, pipe wrap, insulation, etc.) in the home can be crushed, pulverized, or turned to powder by the pressure of the average human hand are known as friable materials and can release dry asbestos fibers into the air. Non-friable materials are either tough or flexible enough to contain the embedded asbestos fibers, but with age and normal wear and tear, these non-friable materials can become friable.

Federal law recognizes these variations within the classification of non-friable asbestos. There are two categories of non-friable material. One distinguishes material that has become friable for one reason or another (Category I). The other is material that remains non-friable (Category II). Even Category II material may be regulated as friable material. If Category II non-friable material has been cut, scraped, sanded, or disturbed to where it produces dust, or if it is likely to be be disturbed during demolition or renovation, it falls under the friable and Category I materials.

What is Banned?

• In 1972, asbestos was banned from clothing
• In 1973, spraying asbestos-containing materials on buildings to fireproof them was no longer allowed
• In 1977, asbestos was taken out of patching compounds and gas heaters
• As of 1979, hair dryer manufacturers voluntarily recalled products that use asbestos as insulation. They replaced the asbestos with other materials and stopped using asbestos in their new products.

In 1986, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed a 10-year program that would result in a comprehensive ban on commercial use of asbestos. The ban passed in 1989 and the first phase was implemented in 1990, but the rule was overturned by a federal appeals court in 1991. After another two years of clarification, the EPA found itself with six types of asbestos-containing materials still banned, and all others nominally still on the free market (though most categories were rapidly losing popularity).

These six include:

1. Flooring felt - asbestos paper saturated with asphalt or another material to serve as underlayment for vinyl tiles or sheet flooring
2. "Commercial paper" - used in thin barriers for insulation or muffling
3. "Corrugated paper" - similar to corrugated cardboard, but with asbestos in one or more of the layers of paper
4. "Rollboard" - two sheets of asbestos paper laminated together (using a roller) into a continuous, flexible sheet. Particularly used in office partitions, garage paneling, linings for stoves and electrical boxes, and fireproofing for security boxes, safes, and file storage.
5. "Specialty paper" - for use in filters for beverages and other fluids. Also in cooling towers for liquids from industrial processes and air conditioning systems
6. "New uses of asbestos" - products have not historically contained asbestos at of the start of the regulatory process in 1989

Some other regulations under the Clean Air Act restrict other particular methods of applying asbestos-containing materials.

What are the Categories of Asbestos-Containing Materials?

To qualify as an asbestos-containing material (ACM) under the law, a product must contain more than 1 percent asbestos, either by weight for bulky materials or by area for flat ones. Regulations distinguish between friable ACM (can be reduced to dust by the crushing of hands) and non-friable ACM (cannot be crushed or damaged so easily).

There are two categories within the group of non-friable ACMs. Category I distinguishes material that has become friable because of whether, aging, or force and can release asbestos fibers into the air. Category II is everything else non-friable. Category II ACMs can also come under regulation if they are cut, sanded, or scraped to the point where they produce dust and presumably airborne asbestos fibers. During the course of renovation or demolition, both of these categories become "regulated asbestos-containing materials" (RACM).

What to Look For

It is not easy to identify asbestos-containing materials in use. But it is safe to assume any material of an appropriate age was likely made with asbestos. To really know if a material contains asbestos, it is best to hire a professional to sample the material in question, who then sends collected samples to a laboratory certified by the Environmental Protection Agency for examination. Then an experienced technician uses a polarized microscope to located asbestos fibers.