How's your day? Here's mine
wife's office. On Friday she noticed a ceiling crack. Burglar alarm went off last night, at least we know why.
biggest concern is this grey that was part of the ceiling. Think this is asbestos?
in practical terms, how dangerous is it short term? Don't want to breathe a ton, but how bad is a few minutes?
Pay a pro to get rid of it if you have a doubt. They are trained in it and will dispose of it properly. I get trained at work to handle it but not remove it like that.
Don't break it, don't vacuum it with out a hepa filtered vac. Keep it wet. There are a ton of things you need to do if it is asbestos.
Most importantly it is state and federally regulated so you cannot just put it in the trash and call it good.
It is not nice stuff.
What does the face that normally is exposed in the room look like. Also how old is the structure and or the remodel of that room? Regardless wear a good mask until a positive determination is made. Most of the interior asbestos products I have seen are acoustic ceiling tile, 12" squares are very common.
If you are near a metropolitan area there should be material chacterizatiion labs who will test it for about 75 bucks the same day. Money well spent.
If the broken edges of the tile look fibrous, it's likely to be asbestos.
Just went through this last year or two with a tiled basement that needed an emergency remodel. NOBODY wanted to touch the job, I ended up doing it myself.
madmrak351 said:What does the face that normally is exposed in the room look like. Also how old is the structure and or the remodel of that room?
Building built in 1952, interior ceiling likely original. The most inner facing is plaster. In the picture above, the thinnest layer on the bottom is normally visible, then the thicker gray layer, then a similar thickness white layer.
1952 it is asbestos, and the fractures are your enemy...
glueguy (Forum Supporter) said:in practical terms, how dangerous is it short term? Don't want to breathe a ton, but how bad is a few minutes?
Hard to say, every microscopic rod of it you inhale increases the risk of lung cancer some amount, but I'd say nobody should be in that room without a mask. It sure looks like it could be asbestos and the date matches up.
It's bad E36 M3. 20-40 years you will mind out if you have Asbestosis or worse Mesothelioma. Both are pretty much death sentences the latter you are walking dead and not for long. Lung cancer is also a concern as the asbestos and smoking effect synergistically.
One milimicrofiber will stay in the air for more than 72 hours. Do not break that E36 M3 up. It's no joke.
This older song is about a town that had an open mine and everyone died from asbestos related cause. The government and company did nothing.
Built in 1952 – most likely it is asbestos. As others have said – bad stuff.
If you get it on you (hands, hair, shoes, etc) you will spread it around the rest of the house. Put up a barrier (plastic sheeting) to keep some in there if you have to go in.
Hate to be the bearer of more bad news but . . . it is likely throughout the whole house. Check to see if there are programs that will help you pay for a full home cleanup.
In reply to glueguy (Forum Supporter) :
The straight answer is you can't tell just by looking or by the age of the plaster / sheetrock. They put asbestos in everything from floor tile adhesive, roofing mastic, window and brick caulking, drywall mud, insulation, you name it. You need to get some samples and get it tested.
The most dangerous products containing asbestos are "friable" or able to expose the fibers to the air if crushed or broken. (Drywall would be considered friable, roofing tar not so much.) As mentioned by others asbestos fibers are hollow and will float in the air for hours if not days. The only way to be sure is to take small samples of anything you're concerned about, put them in ziplock plastic bags and get them tested. I did a search in your area for "asbestos testing" and this came up, see if you can locate some others and make some calls. https://msenational.com/palm-harbor-florida We do this all the time prior to doing HVAC and boiler replacement projects, the good news is a lot of times the tests come back negative.
The landfill in B.C. told me that any drywall pre 1990 probably has asbestos in it and that they couldn't take it.
I put it back in the wall when I put up new drywall.
My dad has lungs full of that E36 M3 from years in the Navy, mechanic, etc... and he smoked two packs a day from 16 to 66. He's 88 now. No lung cancer. Lots of other health issues... but no lung cancer. Asbestos is not good for you, but one exposure or even a lot of exposure isn't necessarily a death sentence. Having said that, everything in a house from the 1950s is likely to contain asbestos. Get a hotel room and get a pro in there to clean that up and figure out why your house is falling apart. The structure crashing on your head is almost as much of a concern as the asbestos.
In reply to tester (Forum Supporter) :
I know guys that were standing next to a guy that worked with them for a couple weeks. They had years of exposure. This was right about the time OSHA started enforcing stricter rules Most of them lived. He did not. His family collected a settlement, but the money did not bring their dad back.
The scientists cannot predict why some get multiple fibers, with out bad effects, and others can get one fiber (smaller than a normal microscope can see) and Mesothelioma takes over! Painful way to die. And I'm not kidding about the one fiber. It CAN happen. Might not, but can.
As mentioned ONLY way to be sure is sample and test. There are dates, and visual clues to look for what to test, (and he's in there) but that's still only 50/50. And that's one IMPORTANT 50/50 gamble. Keep it wet, to take the sample, or if not familiar with the stuff and its dangers, pay a pro to take a sample, and test it
Or, if completly covered 100%, and STAYS covered, it's totally safe, and magnitudes cheaper!
preach said:...This older song is about a town that had an open mine and everyone died from asbestos related cause. The government and company did nothing...
That's a weeeeee bit overstated:
...Due to a lack of profitability however, the mine at Wittenoom was closed in 1966.
As of 2024, more than 2,000 of the approximately 20,000 former mine workers and residents of Wittenoom had died of asbestos-related diseases...
We take samples and get them tested all the time. You have to understand that it will not be an official test with a chain of custody and all that is required should a full-on abatement be required but it will tell you what you are dealing with and you can then proceed accordingly.
The tests are cheap 20-30 per sample. I would have each layer tested separately and for S&G's I would also get the insulation tested. So 4 tests.
With that information, you can move forward.
I see a lot of assumptions in the thread and it is always wise to be careful. I have been surprised in the past to find things that I was sure would come back hot and be clean and other things that I was sure were clean be hot. You just don't know until you get it tested.
Official test company came out and took samples this morning. Tested the three layers plus the blown insulation. No asbestos!! Just some odd 1950's organic mineral board. Huge relief but now the cleanup begins....
In reply to glueguy (Forum Supporter) :
Thanks for that feedback! And VERY glad to hear the good news.
In reply to glueguy (Forum Supporter) :
Good to hear that!!
You'll need to log in to post.
