What is asbestos, and why is it vital to remove it from your home?
Asbestos is a group of six natural minerals (chrysotile, crocidolite, tremolite, amosite, actinolite, and anthophyllite). It is often used in construction minerals like flooring tiles, insulation, pipework, roof coatings, felt, and cement products.
Like many natural gases, asbestos is odorless and invisible to the naked eye. However, prolonged exposure to and inhalation can lead to serious health complications such as lung and stomach tumors. This is why despite its various uses, various government agencies had significantly limited manufacturers’ usage of it.
Homeowners have a high chance of experiencing health issues when products containing them are damaged, especially during remodeling or reconstruction.
How does Asbestos Form?
Asbestos can form during faulting and fracturing of asbestos-hosting rocks such as dolostones, carbonatites, and alkalic intrusions, with increased pressures, temperatures, and the presence of water. And asbestos can be released if these rocks are broken or crushed.
To put it in layman’s terms, if your house is built using asbestos-hosting rocks and asbestos-containing soils, this mineral will be released if products containing it are damaged or crushed.
What Are the Signs Your House Might Have Asbestos?
People actively used asbestos to build appliances and buildings in many countries until 1985, when it was significantly restricted. Such mineral was once used in building almost everything, from schools and their appliances to industrial plants. For this reason, older buildings and products that are still intact existing can be a high source of asbestos.
Here are some measures to know if your house has asbestos:
- If your house was built before the 1980s, asbestos was still widely used to make houses and other furniture pieces.
- If your house uses insulation, specifically vermiculite insulation.
- If you are using vinyl flooring or millboard, it’s best to know if your flooring has been installed between 1952 and 1982.
- If your house has corrugated roofing, and if your walls are made from cement sheets.
The presence of asbestos in your house isn’t dangerous per se. It only poses a danger if it becomes airborne – once products are damaged. Hence, in order to avoid making it airborne, it’s essential that you know which areas of your house contain asbestos, so you can avoid repairing them without professional guidance.
However, it is difficult to determine where asbestos is found. Therefore, if you want to know whether your house has asbestos, you can consider getting it inspected professionally by licensed companies like Fresh Air Abatement.
The duration of the inspection will depend on the size of your house. Some might take a few hours; others can even take a few days. During this inspection, these professionals will shut your heating and cooling system off in order to take samples of your house’s products without spreading any particles. They will then take these samples to their labs for testing.
What Should You Do if Your House Has Asbestos?
After the inspections, your next step will depend on the type of asbestos that is present in your house and whether it’s friable or not. If it’s friable, this means that the material can easily break and become airborne, making it dangerous. At the same time, some materials may have asbestos but aren’t friable. If these products are still in good condition, they don’t pose any danger.
If your service provider deems your house dangerous, they may repair the contaminated areas with an encapsulant or remove the mineral. If they choose the latter, you will need to evacuate your house until they finish the process and have already performed an air test to make sure that all residue is gone.
Once you figure out that your house contains asbestos, you might begin to worry about your and your family’s safety. After all, asbestos has been established as a toxic material.
However, most people do not develop life-threatening diseases due to exposure to asbestos, especially if it isn’t long-term and they haven’t consumed a considerable amount of it. While it’s not much of a reason to worry, you should still seek medical advice if you’re developing symptoms like chest pain or coughing. Additionally, it still pays to be cautious and have your house checked and assessed for any presence of it.