How can you tell if tile is made of asbestos?

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - How can you tell if tile is made of asbestos?

Posted: 10/4/2007 1:56:15 PM EDT

Is there a way to tell if floor tile contains asbestos without hiring someone to do a test? I have some tile from the 70's on a floor and I am not sure if it is asbestos. I am about to redo the floor and I need to know prior to removal of the old tile. Thanks in advance.

Posted: 10/4/2007 2:05:21 PM EDT

[#1]

Quoted:
don't ask don't tell
just pull it up and chuck it
don't say boo

or

pay $1500 for the test
then when they find it's a asbestos, now you get to spedn $15000 to 20,000 dollars to have tile removed.

+1. If its a DIY job, wear masks and you'll be fine.

Posted: 10/4/2007 2:08:11 PM EDT

[#2]

Quoted:

Quoted:
don't ask don't tell
just pull it up and chuck it
don't say boo

or

pay $1500 for the test
then when they find it's a asbestos, now you get to spedn $15000 to 20,000 dollars to have tile removed.

+1. If its a DIY job, wear masks and you'll be fine.

+2

Done many of them.

Posted: 10/4/2007 2:08:57 PM EDT

[#3]

iirc, all asbestos floor tiles are 9"x9"

Posted: 10/4/2007 2:12:31 PM EDT

[#4]

Quoted:
iirc, all asbestos floor tiles are 9"x9"

you are correct

Vinyl composition tiles took the place of asbestos tiles, which were widely used in schools, hospitals, offices, and public buildings up until the 1980s. Use of tiles and adhesives containing asbestos were discontinued when asbestos materials were determined to be hazardous. Tiles free of asbestos are easily distinguished by their size – asbestos tiles were commonly manufactured in 9-inch squares. Mastics and adhesives containing low concentrations of asbestos were used into the 1970s and are generally considered non-hazardous because the asbestos is not considered friable.

Posted: 10/4/2007 2:13:02 PM EDT

[#5]

Quoted:

Quoted:
don't ask don't tell
just pull it up and chuck it
don't say boo

or

pay $1500 for the test
then when they find it's a asbestos, now you get to spedn $15000 to 20,000 dollars to have tile removed.

+1. If its a DIY job, wear masks and you'll be fine.

WET IT DOWN and scrape it up. Use dish soap and water. Do NOT use compressed air in any way shape or form. Try not to track it around. If it's older tile it probably DOES have asbestos in it but you can mitigate it yourself with a little extra effort. It's the friable stuff that is the nasty stuff, non friable asbestos can be handled relatively easily. DBL bag the waste, duct tape it closed, and don't expell the air in the bag. Take it to the local landfill.

Posted: 10/4/2007 2:17:47 PM EDT

[#6]

Pfft asbestos, IMO it depends how many tiles you gotta take up, whos around (kids, pregant wife/whatever) just wear a mask it take it up, lay something on top of it like a canvas to keep debris down. I have removed plenty of lead and asbestos crap in the ship yard, but hey im covered for a little while longer

Posted: 10/4/2007 2:27:16 PM EDT

[#7]

The mastics used contained some asbestos...these clean up easily and safely with low odor paint thinner, just watch sources of ignition and don't smoke. They are black in color and easily dissolved.

Just cover the floor with a single layer of newspsper, spray it with the thinner and let it get flat, then cover with poly film for a few hours...slowly peel up the film and paper, scrape the good into an old bucket and wipe down with a rag. Clean as new.

Posted: 10/4/2007 6:46:11 PM EDT

[#8]

Inhale it. If in 30 years you develop mesothelioma, it's asbestos.

Posted: 10/9/2007 6:27:40 AM EDT

[#9]

Did laminate sheet flooring ever have it?

Posted: 10/9/2007 6:38:03 AM EDT

[#10]

The old glue can have asbestos in it as well. Look for fibers and it tends to be really dark brown or black. The test here in WA is $25 or $40 if you want results in 3 days. You can wear a mask but the real issue is releasing fibers into your home where you'll breathe them in later.

Posted: 10/9/2007 6:41:48 AM EDT

[#11]

Quoted:
smell it

Posted: 10/9/2007 6:48:33 AM EDT

[#12]

Take a small sample from three different floor tiles - just a corner, maybe one-half inch square. Be sure to get some of the mastic.

Put them in ziplock bags. Label them 1, 2, 3 or something. Go to this website:

www.emsl.com

Give them a call, tell them you have three samples to send in, they can help you with the Chain of Custody (paper trail). Costs about $7 per sample for the standard turn around, more if you want results faster. You'll also have to pay to mail the samples in of course.

ETA:

9x9 floor tiles are always asbestos containing. 12x12 are sometimes asbestos containing. The mastic can also be asbestos containing.

Posted: 10/9/2007 6:48:43 AM EDT

[#13]

Christ, don't be a pussy. Asbestos is not like cyanide for one, and it is INHALED fibers that cause any problem after long term exposure. Wear a 3M mask and you will be fine. 99 percent of the "asbestos" problem was from workers in mines and production facilities. All the rest is bullshit panic. Don't forget that the Trade Center would have stood longer if they had asbestos sprayed all the way up.

Posted: 10/9/2007 6:51:19 AM EDT

[#14]

In a laboratory, the tile would first be ashed.

Essentially, a portion is weighed into a ceramic dish, and heated red hot for a couple
of hours until all of the organics are volatilized.

The residue is looked at under a polarized light microscope.
The tiles will contain fillers that stay behind in the ash.
Asbestos crystals are easily identified under a microscope.

However, as already stated, asbestos is fiberous.

Using a torch, you could do this at home.

Floor tile is more difficult than insulation, but if you can heat it long enough so all that
remains is a white/gray/tan colored residue, you should easily be able to see if there
is a fiberous material left. Asbestos does not melt in the flame, but unless all of the
organics is removed it might be impossible to see it.

Posted: 10/9/2007 6:53:08 AM EDT

[#15]

Quoted:
Christ, don't be a pussy. Asbestos is not like cyanide for one, and it is INHALED fibers that cause any problem after long term exposure. Wear a 3M mask and you will be fine. 99 percent of the "asbestos" problem was from workers in mines and production facilities. All the rest is bullshit panic. Don't forget that the Trade Center would have stood longer if they had asbestos sprayed all the way up.

It only takes one fiber to cause cancer.

Posted: 10/9/2007 6:53:24 AM EDT

[#16]

99% of the time it makes more sense to tile over it than it does to test it.

Posted: 10/9/2007 6:54:20 AM EDT

[#17]

scratch and sniff

Posted: 10/9/2007 6:56:04 AM EDT

[#18]

There is one sure way. ALL 9x9 inch tiles are made of asbestos.

Posted: 10/9/2007 7:17:18 AM EDT

[#19]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Christ, don't be a pussy. Asbestos is not like cyanide for one, and it is INHALED fibers that cause any problem after long term exposure. Wear a 3M mask and you will be fine. 99 percent of the "asbestos" problem was from workers in mines and production facilities. All the rest is bullshit panic. Don't forget that the Trade Center would have stood longer if they had asbestos sprayed all the way up.

It only takes one fiber to cause cancer.

Theoretically, that is correct. One fiber will cause cancer. Same as one cigarette will be the one that causes cancer. Or one particular sun exposure. I understand the stuff is not great, but... no reason to run to the "authoritahs" and cause a media frenzy.

All the "progess is bad" scares really jaded me to risk. ALAR, Chilean grapes, vaccines and mercury, salmonella, e.coli, DDT, pesticides, herbicides, trans fat, sugar, salt, chocolate, growth hormones.... fucking EVERYTHING is evil and going to kill you and I just don't care anymore.

Hell, I had e.coli as a child and it did nearly kill me, but it did not run away from anything because of it. While some of the "scares" contain some validity, they have be used and abused by the anti-progress and leftists to their own means. Therefore, I take most anything I hear on the "news" as garbage info.

Posted: 10/9/2007 10:18:31 AM EDT

[#20]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Christ, don't be a pussy. Asbestos is not like cyanide for one, and it is INHALED fibers that cause any problem after long term exposure. Wear a 3M mask and you will be fine. 99 percent of the "asbestos" problem was from workers in mines and production facilities. All the rest is bullshit panic. Don't forget that the Trade Center would have stood longer if they had asbestos sprayed all the way up.

It only takes one fiber to cause cancer.

Right. Then EVERYONE who ever did a brake job in the time span from 1930 to 1990 will get lung cancer. That is utter bullshit.

Posted: 10/9/2007 10:27:05 AM EDT

[#21]

There is no permissible exposure limit for asbestos. They have not been able to determine the amount of asbestos you have to inhale in order to contract cancer, asbestosis, or mesothelioma. Therefore, they decided that ANY exposure was too much.

I believe it boils down to this: everyone's body has a different level of being able to cope with inhaling the fibers. It doesn't take much in some people, it takes quite a bit in others.

There's only one way to determine your safe exposure limit - keep breathing it until you contract one of those illnesses. The docs may be able to count the fibers in your lungs during the autopsy.

Posted: 10/9/2007 10:29:01 AM EDT

[#22]

If your roaches have a persistent cough, you might have a big problem.

Posted: 10/9/2007 10:33:31 AM EDT

[#23]

Quoted:
If your roaches have a persistent cough, you might have a big problem.

Or if they don't get hot when you hold a match to them....

Posted: 10/9/2007 10:53:56 AM EDT

[#24]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Christ, don't be a pussy. Asbestos is not like cyanide for one, and it is INHALED fibers that cause any problem after long term exposure. Wear a 3M mask and you will be fine. 99 percent of the "asbestos" problem was from workers in mines and production facilities. All the rest is bullshit panic. Don't forget that the Trade Center would have stood longer if they had asbestos sprayed all the way up.

It only takes one fiber to cause cancer.

Right. Then EVERYONE who ever did a brake job in the time span from 1930 to 1990 will get lung cancer. That is utter bullshit.

It only takes one sperm to have an accident though, right?

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - How can you tell if tile is made of asbestos?

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