Remodeling an Older Home? Beware of Asbestos!

Asbestos was used for years in building products such as roofing, insulation, siding, floor tile, textured paint and popcorn ceilings, wall board and cement board. Many companies that manufactured asbestos products were aware of the dangers to their employees and rather than try to reduce exposure to workers they hid the dangers from their employees. Recommendations on limiting exposure were made as far back as 1938. It takes at least 10 years, but more commonly over 20 years for the effects of asbestos to make you sick. Mesothelioma is the deadly lung cancer caused by breathing asbestos fibers.

People who worked with asbestos and also smoke cigarettes have an increased risk of lung cancer. Not everyone who worked with asbestos will get lung cancer. Wives who washed clothes of their husbands who worked in factories with asbestos have had enough exposure to die from the disease. If you lived near a factory that manufactured asbestos products, you may have been exposed to asbestos fibers in the air and not even known it.

Asbestos Manufacturing Where You Live?

I recently found out the factory in the small town where I grew up made asbestos. Asbestos waste materials were given to local people to use as fill dirt for their driveways. Millington, NJ is the town and it was added to the EPA Superfund National Priorities List in 1983. Clean up of the site was completed in 2009. If you grew up around a factory you may want to check the EPA web site and see if your town is on the Superfund List. My best friends father worked in the Millington Factory and he and his wife both died from asbestos exposure.

Asbestos Trust Funds

Billions of dollars have been put into trust funds to help people diagnosed with asbestos related diseases. The money came from the companies that knew about the dangers of asbestos and continued to expose workers to it. Most companies have since declared bankruptcy, but the lawsuits are over and the money has been set aside in the asbestos trusts. Victims just need to contact a lawyer and have them file a claim.

Asbestos in Your Home?

Items in your home that are made of asbestos don't pose a threat if they are in good condition. The problem is when you decide to do a remodeling project. When you start tearing out old wallboard, removing popcorn ceilings, removing old tile, etc. You can release the dangerous asbestos fibers into the air. You don't want to breathe these fibers and have them lodge in your lungs. Asbestos test kits are available that allow you to send samples of a product off to a lab to see if it contains asbestos. If you have asbestos in a product that you plan to remove you may want to hire a professional asbestos abatement contractor. These contractors are trained in how to properly remove asbestos, containing the fibers so they don't harm you or your family.

Asbestos containing materials were commonly used in home building up till the 1980's. Vinyl asbestos, rubber,& asphalt tiles could contain asbestos. The backing and glue of vinyl sheet flooring could contain asbestos. Textured paints and popcorn ceilings may contain asbestos fibers. Drilling or cutting of roof tiles or siding that contains asbestos can release fibers into the air. If you house was built between 1930 & 1950 it may have asbestos insulation. Vermiculite insulation can be dangerous. The vermiculite itself was not a problem but some vermiculite was contaminated with asbestos where it was mined in Libby Montana. Find more details on the EPA Web Site.