Asbestos - worried about exposure

7 years ago

last modified: 7 years ago

Hi,

I am in the process of having a home that was built in 1966 remodeled. I had a crew come in and remove carpeting and didn't know that there were 9" x 9" tiles underneath that another contractor is confident are asbestos. The carpet removal crew didn't disturb the asbestos tile in any way that I could notice, except perhaps when they used scrapers to remove the tack strips around the perimeter.

I spent about an hour in the home when the carpet removal was going on without a mask and generally not in the area where the carpet removal was taking place. The patio door and front door was left open for part of the time. When the carpet crew left, there was a yellow dust from the carpet pad that needed to be swept up. I gently swept up the dust in a few spots with a broom and dustpan and held my breath when I had to bend over to sweep the dust into the pan. I walked 6 to 10 feet away to take breaths in between sweeping into the dustpan.

There were also 12" x 12" tiles in the kitchen that were of the peel and stick variety that the flooring contractor removed by dry scraping I believe. He was confident that they were vinyl and did not contain asbestos. The black colored plywood in the picture below is where these tiles were removed. A day or two after these tiles were removed I did the same sweep/hold breath for about 20 minutes to pick up pieces of carpet. The floor was tacky still so not much dust was coming up from what I could tell.

I have an company that can come out today to test for asbestos in the air and am thinking of doing this for peace of mind. I am also planning to send samples of the both the 9" x 9" and 12" x 12" tile to be tested for asbestos to be sure.

I have read that the worst type of exposure from asbestos is when tiles are sanded, buffed, etc. Do I need to be worried about my expsoure to asbestos during the situations above? I have read other posts that makes it seem like the exposure I may have had is very likely to be small to none but can't help worrying about it. Thank you!

Dave

p.s. Yesterday the flooring crew removed a half row of the tile along the perimeter where the tile was cracked, either from the tack strip removal or maybe they were broken previously when the tack strips where installed? The picture below shows the tile and the perimeter area where the tile was removed and patched. They mentioned wetting the floor down so think they did this prior to removing the half row, but checking on this. I am don't even want to go back to the house but realize I am very likely overworrying about this.

Featured Answer

User

7 years ago

As long as it is not friable, and remains encapsulated, it is not a worry.

#bringsophieback

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Comments (7)

Nikki T
7 years ago
I worried about this also when my husband and I bought our current home that needed renovations. I did a lot of research and I really don’t think you have anything to worry about. From everything I’ve read the vast majority of people that got cancer were exposed to asbestos day-in and day-out for many years.
Dave Adams thanked Nikki T
PRO
Johnson Flooring Co Inc
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
FYI there are multiple threads here that you can access.

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/query/asbestos-flooring
Dave Adams thanked Johnson Flooring Co Inc
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Dave Adams
Original Author
7 years ago
Would it still be encapsulated and not friable if it is broken during removal?
iamtiramisu
7 years ago
The first house my husband I bought was built in the 1950s on a slab that had this tile/adhesive under various other layers of old (disgusting) tile and carpet throughout the first floor. Due to the height variations, we had to remove everything down to the slab. At the time, we didn't know much but we knew that, so we set about removing it all (approx 1,000 sq ft) and never heard a mention of asbestos in tile or that this was "a thing"; not until after we were done busting through it, that is. So we were a little worried, asked some questions to see if there was a real danger and ultimately, there was NOTHING we could do but hope the information we had received which was as what Nikki T relayed above - that the vast majority of issues came from day in/day out exposure over a long period - and moved on armed with a little more knowledge and a bit more hesitation to just jump into things without some research. 20 years later, neither of us has any sign of cancer or any other health issues stemming from our foray into asbestos-laden tile removal. I've heard this scenario likened to smoking one cigarette and thinking you will get lung cancer. While it's certainly possible, it's not probable. So, now that you know what you are dealing with, figure out the best way to move forward (encapsulate, professional removal/abatement) and move on.
Dave Adams thanked iamtiramisu
greg_2015
7 years ago
There is little to no hazard regarding the exposure that you've had. Definitely get things tested before doing any further removal so you know whether you need to worry about future exposure.

Having said that ... even if you had been exposed, there is nothing you can do about it now. So don't worry about it. It isn't like if we all said "Wow! You're going to get cancer for sure!" that you could run out and get some kind of medical syrup that you could gulp down and rid your body of asbestos. What's done is done. You can only change what you do in the future, not what you did in the past.
Dave Adams thanked greg_2015
DavidR
7 years ago
This fear of asbestos is the fault of breathless "be afraid, be very afraid" television news people, and later social media that thrives on "engagement" (strong emotions). "Oh my gosh, asbestos! Inhale one picogram and you're going to die!"

Needlessly they've scared millions of people, all for the sake of delivering an audience to their advertisers.

And it's rubbish.

Not that asbestos is a GOOD thing. Banning it was the right thing to do. Although asbestos may be one of the reasons that when they catch fire, old houses burn slower and cooler than new ones. (There are other reasons too.)

But rather that the people who suffered and died from asbestos were the ones manufacturing asbestos products, and, to a lesser degree, the ones who installed those products day after day.

NOT homeowners.

Your contractor is right, and did all the right things. You aren't in any danger at all. Nothing to worry about. You can sleep easy.