When should I suspect asbestos presence in my home?
Since a general ban on asbestos occurred in 1987, houses built after that year have the building materials that commonly contained asbestos replaced with other materials. Houses built prior to the ban have increased potential risk of having building materials containing asbestos content.
What are typical materials from prior to the ban found in the interior of a home?
- Plaster
- Drywall
- Joint Compound
- Vinyl Flooring & Mastic
- Pipe or Duct Insulation
- Acoustical Ceiling Tiles
Should you be worried about the presence of asbestos in your home or a home that you’re considering purchasing?
While no asbestos is good asbestos, the mere presence of asbestos in a home is not generally considered an “issue”. The issue is when the asbestos containing materials (ACM) are disturbed. Disturbing the material allows it to become airborne and this leads to breathing these asbestos fibers into our lungs with resulting potential health effects.
Whenever a renovation project (or a mitigation project if your home has a moisture issue, etc.) involves taking down walls/ceilings or removing old vinyl flooring, these areas should be tested before they are disturbed.
Some types of materials containing asbestos are visually fairly obvious, as in the case of old heating pipe insulation, others are not obvious from a simple visual inspection, such as plaster, drywall, vinyl flooring, and ceiling tiles. You cannot tell just by looking at these materials whether they contain asbestos. They require taking a physical sample of that material that is sent for laboratory analysis.
While no amount of asbestos presence is considered “safe”, levels greater than 1% are regulated and require contractors with specific licenses to abate the materials that will be disturbed.
Powers Environmental LLC is licensed to perform asbestos inspections in New York and New Jersey.
