Does My Home Have Asbestos Insulation

Date Posted: December 12, 2011

Asbestos exposure in the home can be a very real danger. Asbestos can be found in roof shingles, in floor tiles and in the joint compound used to seal drywall seams. Sheets of insulation can be found wrapped around water pipes, air ducts and boilers — asbestos insulation sheets may even be found in the walls near a fireplace. The loose vermiculate insulation used to fill the walls and the gaps between attic joists may contain asbestos.

Be especially careful when doing repairs in your home. You can easily drill through a drywall ceiling into asbestos insulation and release the asbestos particles as floating dust that could spread through air vents all through your home.

Friable asbestos, a condition in which the asbestos crumbles into powder, is very dangerous. Floating particles of asbestos fibers and dust settling in the lungs or landing on food that is eaten can cause medical problems anywhere from ten to sixty years after exposure.

Years after being exposed to asbestos fibers, people can contract mesothelioma, a type of incurable cancer caused by asbestos particles embedded in the linings of the lung or in the membranes of the abdomen. Even if your exposure to the asbestos particles was brief or the amount of asbestos was very minute, the threat of contracting mesothelioma is still a very real risk. Though there are some medical treatments that might ease the symptoms of this disease, there are is no cure for mesothelioma.

When checking for asbestos in the home, first find those items that may be a source for releasing asbestos particles into the air. Second, look to see if the asbestos is friable or deteriorating into powder. Do not collect samples of the materials yourself — leave that task to professionals. Have a testing lab check those samples as sources for possible asbestos contamination.

If your home is confirmed as being contaminated with airborne asbestos, you must have the asbestos removed. Asbestos removal in your home must be done by certified professionals using, at the very least, a HEPA vacuum, disposable clothing and respirators. The final part of the removal process will be to test an air sample to confirm that the asbestos particles have indeed been fully removed from the air of your home.