Asbestos was a commonly used building material for many years because it was plentiful, inexpensive and is a fire retardant. What wasn’t known is how harmful asbestos can be to the human environment. Asbestos particulate can be airborne and inhaled, thus leading to many health problems, often fatal.

Asbestos was used in a wide variety of building materials and accessories:
HVAC piping and insulation
Flooring tiles and sheet flooring
Flooring adhesives
Ceiling tiles
Roofing material; tar-based, build-up varieties
Countertops and soapstone lab tables
Braided wire insulation
Heat resistant gloves or mitts

Most experts operate on the “assumption theory,” in that there are some materials that may resemble asbestos, so if they don’t know for sure upon a visual inspection, it is assumed that the material is asbestos. It is better to err on the side of caution, than to take unnecessary risks.

Not all asbestos-based materials are dangerous. It is when the asbestos becomes airborne that it can be a health problem, so the areas within the building envelope where the building material is exposed to the living area, or may penetrate the living area through ducting and other apertures, should be inspected. If you have insulated HVAC ducts or pipes and the material is crumbling, you have a potential health problem, even if the materials aren’t asbestos.

For asbestos to be inhaled it must be in a fine particulate, so the most caution must be used when the asbestos-based material is disintegrating, crumbling into a fine dust. If this is the case, then remediation experts must be called in to handle the problem. If a visual inspection of any of the materials on the list above appears to be crumbling into a fine dust, do not sweep or vacuum the debris, as this may produce air-borne matter. Remediation professionals use wet-mop and HEPA vacuuming methods to remove the potential harmful particulate.