How bad is asbestos insulation on attic ductwork rather than inside?

last year

Hello, I have what appears to be asbestos insulation (need a test kit to confirm) on the ductwork in my attic. I put a small camera into one of my registers and saw the inside is metal as far as I can see, so it doesn't seem the ducts themselves are made out of or lined with asbestos.

Given the asbestos is on the outside of the ducts, would it be safe to use the HVAC even if the insulation/tape is deteriorating or disturbed by me accidentally kicking it as I navigated the attic? I figure the disturbed asbestos would contaminate the attic -not great, but at least wouldn't so much get into the ductwork? I would only venture into the attic with protective equipment in the first place due to the fiberglass insulation.

I'm debating whether I need to go as far as abatement for this and would really appreciate any inputs. Thanks in advance.

Featured Answer

artemis78

last year

last modified: last year

Agreed, get it IDed and then worry about it. If it is asbestos, it's worth just getting it abated so you can use your attic without worry about disturbing it in the future. It is not a huge deal to abate--when we did ours (admittedly 12 years ago so I'm sure it costs more now!) the abatement piece was only $1000 and took half a day for a 1000 sf house. (The new ducts of course were not part of that cost!) The professionals are skilled at containing it during abatement so that your home is safe; the company we used also did an air test at the close of the work to confirm that the house was safe to return to. In general if asbestos isn't disturbed, it's safe to continue to use, but IMO it's better just to address it and be done with it. Plus, new ducts will be more efficient and currently qualify for tax credits.

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Comments (13)

Elmer J Fudd
last year
How was this not identified in the house inspection done during escrow? And not disclosed as a risk by the seller?

I don't think a simple abatement is enough because fibers have surely been released and are in the insulation and the rest of the attic. Or would be released there if the wrapping were disturbed at all, including being removed.

Get an expert to look at it and tell you how to proceed. None of us here who will comment (myself included) are experts.

You may also want to start looking for a good lawyer.
James Lee thanked Elmer J Fudd
cat_ky
last year
last modified: last year
Have you gotten a positive id that it is indeed asbestos? It looks a bit, like the silver duct tape covering the entire pipe in your picture.
James Lee thanked cat_ky
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James Lee
Original Author
last year
last modified: last year
@Elmer J Fudd Thank you for your advice. I don't know exactly why this was missed during inspection, but the home was purchased on foreclosure many years ago and passed inspection at the time. I too am concerned that a simple abatement is not enough. At this point I consider my attic to just be hazardous all over with asbestos, fiberglass, mold, dust, etc. I'm caught between trying to live with it (hence the question in my post) and overhauling the whole space (which I know will not be a small job). I am looking into having it surveyed by an environmental tester.

@ cat_ky I thought it was just duct tape as well, but people from other trades who have gone to my attic warned me that it's asbestos. Will be looking for that positive id.
HU-723692230
last year
You have to get it tested. Full stop. Then the experts can answer your next questions once they know if you have asbestos, where and what condition the material is in.
James Lee thanked HU-723692230
cat_ky
last year
I agree with the others. You need to get it tested asap. Then, you know if you will have something to worry about, or to get abated.
James Lee thanked cat_ky
Elmer J Fudd
last year
I agree, I think my comment was a bit too presumptive.

Have it tested, go from there.
James Lee thanked Elmer J Fudd
sktn77a
last year
Get it tested and if its asbestos consider removal. Why "consider"? There are a ton of "Asbestos Abatement" scammers out there who'll try to charge you 10x the going rate if you're naive enough to hire them.

Beware!
James Lee thanked sktn77a
outpaientzero
last year
Just a thought but if you hire a HVAC company to replace the duct work they should remove the old ones in the bid. Just don't mention the word asbestos wrap because you don't know until it's tested so it's not a lie.
James Lee thanked outpaientzero
artemis78
last year
Depending on where you live, there may also be rules around abatement if there is suspected asbestos. There definitely are where I live, so the contractors you want to use are not the ones who are going to disregard them. Every quote we got included the abatement costs (and virtually all of the HVAC companies used the same abatement company).
James Lee thanked artemis78
James Lee
Original Author
last year
Thank you all for your valuable insights and suggestions!
Sigrid
last year
last modified: last year
The quantity of possible asbestos released by you accidentally kicking some pipe insulation of unknown origin is pretty small. The cheapest way to deal with asbestos is to encapsulate it --- cover it up with something. That said, you're probably not going to be able to ID asbestos by just looking at it. For example, we had asbestos in some old linoleum floor tiles --- the asbestos made the tiles fire retardant. If the tiles hadn't been bought by my FIL, we wouldn't have had any reason to suppose old linoleum was full of asbestos.

Get it tested. It's possible that your state will do testing if you send in a sample. If you try a do-at-home test, be sure to look up the false positive rate. The false positive rate for lead paint tests are extremely high. If you get a positive result, it doesn't mean you have lead, but a negative test means you don't.
James Lee thanked Sigrid
James Lee
Original Author
last year
last modified: last year
@Sigrid Good points, thank you. I hadn't thought about false positive rates.