Safety Update

Safety Update: Part II: Asbestos at Home

Asbestos has been used in hundreds of applications and products over several centuries.  Until the 1980’s, asbestos was widely used in office buildings and schools to insulate hot water heating systems, and in walls and ceilings as insulation against sound and fire. Asbestos may also be found in residential developments or products developed before the 1980s; brown or amphibole asbestos can still be found in:

• Shingles
• Exterior siding
• Pipe insulation
• Cement
• Caulking
• Putty
• Roof patching
• Driveway coating
• Latex paint
• Acoustical ceiling tiles
• Vinyl floor tiles 

The question is whether or not there are any significant health risks to homeowners. Asbestos poses a severe health risk only if fibers are present in the air that people breathe. This occurs with the release of fibers into the air when asbestos-containing products deteriorate, age or are disturbed. The release of asbestos fibers may occur through any of the following scenarios: 

• Removing vinyl asbestos floor tiles or ceiling tiles 
• Removing old asbestos insulation from the outside of a hot water tank 
• Sanding textured plaster on walls or ceilings containing asbestos 
• Sanding, cutting or scraping older water-based asbestos coatings such as roofing compounds, sealants, paint, putty, caulking or drywall 
• Disturbing loose-fill vermiculite insulation found in attics 
• Removing shingles and siding containing asbestos 

If a home renovation is planned, and you will be disturbing building materials, such as insulation, exterior siding, floor and ceiling tiles, certified professionals should be contacted to conduct tests on the materials prior to the renovation. If asbestos fibers are enclosed, encapsulated or tightly bound in a product, and are not going to be disturbed during the renovation, there are no significant health risks and no need for concern. 

Products such as old floor tiles are dense and do not release significant amounts of fibers under normal conditions. However, if the asbestos fibers have the potential to become airborne through cutting or scraping, appropriate precautions must be taken to abate the asbestos. Consulting an experienced contractor or asbestos abatement company is recommended as they have the experience and methodology to properly remove and dispose of asbestos materials. 

Work Safe BC has developed several resources on Asbestos which can be found here.

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