Many homes built before 1980 contain asbestos in old floor tiles & their mastic (glue), ceiling tiles, roof shingles and flashing, siding, insulation (around boilers, ducts, pipes, sheeting, fireplaces), pipe cement, and joint compound used on seams between pieces of sheetrock. Some newer houses may also contain it. Asbestos becomes a hazard to us when it is airborne. If asbestos material in the home becomes damaged, asbestos fibers may be released into the air. These materials are what the industry calls “friable” Asbestos Containing Material (ACM). For example, when asbestos insulation around boilers, furnaces, and pipes deteriorates, it releases asbestos dust. Blown ceilings containing asbestos may release fibers when they are drilled or patched. If the ceilings are in poor condition, air movement from ceiling fans and opening /closing draperies may spread asbestos dust. If you are concerned there may be an ACM in your home you will want to reach out to a company to have the material tested. Here at Asbestos Pro Services we can arrange to have an Asbestos Inspector sample any potential ACM and send it to a lab for testing using Polarized Light Microscopy to identify any potential asbestos fibers. If after the PLM test the material does in fact contain asbestos, we would be happy to safely abate (remove) it for you.
