Asbestos flooring hazard level FAQs.

This artilce series explains how by simple visual assessment you can get a reasonable idea of the actual risk level from asphalt asbestos floor tiles, vinyl asbestos floor tiles, or asbestos-backed sheet flooring?

Hazard Assessment for Asphalt Asbestos or Vinyl Asbestos Floor Tiles - Q&A

These questions and answers about how to assess the hazard of asbestos-containing floor tiles or sheet flooring were posted originally

at ASBESTOS FLOORING HAZARD LEVEL ASSESSMENT FAQs - we recommend that article.

[Click to enlarge any image]

Asbestos is safe and legal to remain in homes or public buildings as long as the asbestos materials are in good condition and the asbestos can not be released into the air. - US EPA

On 2019-07-0 by (mod) -

Thanks for the important question. You'll see at the top of this and most articles in this series quote from the us epa that asbestos is safe and legal in homes provided it's not friable and or subject to damage that could create a asbestos dust to be tracked or blown through the home.

Floor tiles are not normally friable. The safe approach would be to cover the floor over with a new layer of any flooring of your choice. About the levels of asbestos detected in your floor tiles, I suspect that different Labs using different procedures are not all the den if I'm the same asbestos material. For example lab who looks for asbestos fibers made entirely missed a very large percentage of asbestos was used as filler in the tile buddy. That was a way to make use of asbestos waste also called shorts or fines. They added body to the floor tile. I don't know that all Labs use procedures to identify both types of asbestos. So I don't assume anything about those low-percentage asbestos content numbers that you report.

On 2019-07-03 00:24:33.874577 by (mod) -

The first big mistake to avoid is making a Dusty mess and blowing asbestos dust around your house. Asbestos is safe and legal to leave in a home provided is not able to be disturbed or ground Johnson or sanded at cetera. So typically you would clean the floor and cover it over with any flowing of your choice. That could be simply sheet flooring such as a resilient vinyl sheet. You might need to do a little bit of leveling detailing to make sure that the edge of the old tiles don't show through the floor in locations where the tiles have been removed. Shepherd from that is going to be the issue of the history of water entry and what needs to be done about that.

On 2019-06-29 22:16:38.381226 by amcfadden810@comcast.net

I have badly deteriorated tiles (about half the floor is in reasonable condition and many tiles are missing and broken into pieces) on a damp basement floor. Water table is high. Tiles are medium green and black. I took a piece of the green (I think) tile to be tested and it came back as 3% asbestos content. Want to sell my home and make it safe for the remaining time I'm here. Money is an issue. Suggestions on how to seal and maybe cover with linoleum or similar?

On 2019-06-29 04:17:32.953797 by John

So I sent off 2" sections of tile from my home built in 1964 to a lab and it came back with 2% chrysotile in the tile and 4% chrysotile in the mastic (PLM analysis using standard EPA 600/R-93/116 & 600/M4-82-020). The question then becomes, with such small amounts should the tile and mastic be considered hazardous or not? There's little to no friability to the tile - they've grown loose and just lift off the substrate - the mastic is still elastice - and there really isn't any dust - in my mind it appears fairly innocuous, especially at these small percentages. Opinions?

On 2019-05-20 19:18:16.829769 by (mod) -

I suspect that there is not a measurable asbestos hazard from normal foot traffic on a floor like that in good condition. In fact people are probably walking on a wax coating. However one can reduce the risk and reduce public concern by stripping the wax and applying a sealant. Where we wanted to change the color of such a floor I've applied and Epoxy paint.

In the ARTICLE INDEX you will see articles on reducing the hazard of asbestos flooring by various means

On 2019-05-20 18:54:29.999291 by Kristy

Hello,

My question is in regard to the gym flooring at my son's preschool ( not under the authority of an LEA so therefore not required to adhere to AHERA). His school is at a local church. They gym area was built in 1960 and has a known asbestos floor. The church had an inspection done to determine that it indeed asbestos flooring but the inspection deemed the floor was fine to stay as is. The inspection however was done over 10 years ago. I recently noticed that the floor looks very worn. It isn't cracked or crumbling, but is in a space that is used daily for the preschoolers as well as for several weekly church and community events. In sum, it is a very used space. I have approached the school administrator but I wanted to be sure I'm not being overly paranoid. It is in my opinion that it at the very least needs to be reinspected and I suspect should be covered with new flooring given the amount of use and the vulnerability of the population using the space daily. I have attached a picture of the floor and circled the spots in the picture that demonstrate the type of wear I'm referring to. Is this something that I should be concerned with and indeed would you think it warrants at the least an inspection and possibly should be covered? Thank you!

On 2019-05-18 01:37:00.233523 by (mod) -

Having an estimate of the age of the flooring would make a lot of difference in guessing from a photograph. But in general you would treat suspect flooring as presumed to contain asbestos or if you have to demolish it have a sample tested first

On 2019-05-18 01:03:53.603433 by Michael

Hi, we are wondering if these two types of sheet flooring look typical of flooring that contains asbestos? Construction began 1878... unfortunately the subfloor is uneven and sunken underneath. Thoughts appreciated:)

On 2019-04-25 15:16:16.331417 by (mod) -

Dave,

It Seems likely - looks like an asphalt asbestos floor tile BUT it would be far easier if on questions like this we had a bit of information like the country, city, and age of the building.

For a quick check and five easy questions that can help tell you if an unknown floor covering contains asbestos, try

DOES THIS FLOORING CONTAIN ASBESTOS? https://inspectapedia.com/hazmat/DIY-Asbestos-Floor-Test.php

On 2019-04-25 15:14:57.796073 by (mod) -

Seems likely - looks like an asphalt asbestos floor tile BUT it would be far easier if on questions like this we had a bit of information like the country, city, and age of the building.

On 2019-04-25 08:14:21.191610 by Dave

Any advise on this flooring maybe contain asbestos . Very loose and easy to come away from the floor

On 2019-04-20 02:56:26.283036 by (mod) -

Yes that looks like 1950s asphalt asbestos floor tile. You'll see an exact match in the photos in this article series.

On 2019-04-20 02:53:33.243007 by MM

Does this look like asbestos flooring and if so would vinyl tile be enough to cover it? It was in the home we bought 3 years ago that was built in the 1950s. No disclosure was made and we only just realized the possibility when looking to do new flooring.

On 2019-04-18 18:16:48.161434 by Peter

This flooring is in a home originally constructed in the 1800s. It is broken up a bit but mostly seems to be holding fast to the subfloor. The home owner has not done any testing, but their faith in its safety does not assuage my concern. The tiles are brown with streaks of darker and lighter brown and approx. 9" square. PACM or does anyone recognize this particular tile?

On 2018-08-21 02:53:27.639004 by (mod) -

I would agree that if a large area or the majority of your floor is deteriorating and cracking and the tiles contain asbestos and would be appropriate to use professional to do the cleanup

On 2018-08-21 00:39:00.712017 by The tiles in my new home are cracking

Hi

I m concerned these floors which I believe to have asbestos in them are now cracking and are a hazard . When i first bought the house in June they seemed to be in much better shape or so I thought now it looks like it’s cracking all thru the floor .

Is this enough wear and tear to hire an abatement contractor for pick-up and disposal? Or what should i do ? Please help

On 2018-08-21 by (mod) - when is an asbestos cleanup professional needed?

I would agree that if a large area or the majority of your floor is deteriorating and cracking and the tiles contain asbestos and would be appropriate to use professional to do the cleanup

On 2018-08-21 by The tiles in my new home are cracking

Hi

I m concerned these floors which I believe to have asbestos in them are now cracking and are a hazard . When i first bought the house in June they seemed to be in much better shape or so I thought now it looks like it’s cracking all thru the floor .

Is this enough wear and tear to hire an abatement contractor for pick-up and disposal? Or what should i do ? Please help

On 2018-08-19 by (mod) - is it safe for me to be sweeping these damaged asbestos floor tiles?

Probably not. In the ARTICLE INDEX see ASBESTOS FLOORING HAZARD REDUCTION - things you can do to minimize asbestos particle or fiber release from an existing asphalt asbestos or vinyl asbestos floor: tiles or sheet flooring

On 2018-08-19 by bushchook1

This is another picture of floor I work on.

Is it safe for me to be sweeping the floor with so many broken tiles? I do it before and after my shift.

On 2018-07-14 by gweezer

I used the same Schneider Kit from Amazon. My sample came back 0.37 % chrysotile...yes, less than 1%. That's a very low number...essentially asbestos free...right? I haven't decided what I doing with the tile yet, but a lot of it is loose/very easy to lift up due to some water damage over the years. I may just carefully remove it.

On 2018-06-12 by (mod) - 4% chrysotile in the linoleum layer.

Christian, thanks so much for the helpful post.

On 2018-06-12 by Christian

@Katie,
It looks a lot like the floor tile in my kitchen, possibly the original from 1965. My floor tile just came back from lab analysis as having 4% chrysotile in the linoleum layer.

BTW, I used Schneider Labs, which sells a kit on Amazon.com. I was extremely impressed by their customer service, and the price wasn't bad.

On 2018-04-05 by (mod) -

Katie,

I cannot say for certain but the flooring looks like 1970's era Montgomery Ward, Sears, or Armstrong vinyl asbestos tile. If the floor was installed before the mid 1980's you should treat it as presumed to contain asbestos or have a sample tested.

On 2018-04-05 by Katie

Is it possible to help identify this old floor tile? [photo above]

It does have asbestos but I don't know how much. . The vinyl flooring above it is always cracking (un-level floor because of the tiles beneath it). Its at work and I'm worried about asbestos fibers
thanks,

On 2018-03-03 14:33:09.411776 by Desi

Did not realize that there is a loose tile that contains asbestos in our laundry room identified Must have been from previous flooding We have not done anything with it.Is there a a possibility that we have been inhaling asbestos all the while?Yor answer wil be greatly appreciated

On 2017-11-26 23:23:13.713307 by (mod) -

Yes.

On 2017-11-18 17:06:37.786411 by Tariq

I have my vinyl floor tested. The reports says "Black mastic containing 5-7% chrysotile asbestos, 1-3% cellulose fibers in a tar binder.".
I already have a second layer of vinyl on top of the original one. Should I leave the floor alone?

On 2017-11-13 04:25:22.486173 by (mod) -

The asbestos content in floor tile vary by manufacturer, individual product, and even time of production.

There were some floor materials that used both fibers and asbestos powder for 50% or more asbestos content. However in my opinion you're asking the wrong question.

Since the amount of asbestos in a floor tile does not describe the hazard. A hazard would be if the tile is being chopped or ground or sanded or made into a Dusty mess.

On 2017-11-13 03:34:57.354835 by Nei

How much asbestos have one tile

On 2017-10-28 16:56:21.357684 by Anonymous

I am fairly sure the floor tiles in our basement contain asbestos. They are 9x9 and appear to look similar to those pictures, and our house was built in the 1940s.

The tiles are not covered but are in generally good condition, with the exception of some cracking. Is it recommended that these be covered?

We have a workout room down there and I also have concerns about the heat spreading any possible dust into our home.

On 2017-10-07 00:19:04.157428 by Abb

I tested my tiles and they do have 5% of asbestos is it something to worry about
Thank you

On 2017-08-18 18:00:44.923367 by (mod) -

Swan

If the floor is in good condition the risks are least if you leave it along or cover it over with a new layer of flooring.

On 2017-06-20 14:36:36.973894 by Mr. Swanson

I purchased kentiles in 1992 for my basement floor, now I see they may have asbestos. How can I have it removed, and will the company remove and replace it will safe tiles?

On 2017-03-11 09:28:58.006666 by Anonymous

Yes that's fine

On 2017-03-11 07:58:04.829940 by Nicci

I had new carpet with underlay put over old marley tiles one was loose in the corner so it was sealed with silicone back in place and the underlay and carpet put on top is that ok

On 2016-07-31 14:23:05.224417 by (mod) -

Check with your doctor, Deirdre, asking if your specific complaints might be caused or aggravated by exposure to house dust or debris you might encounter when cleaning an old floor.

On 2016-07-31 08:48:41.673017 by Deirdre Rutherford

I have green flooring in kitchen tiles and they have got lot of wear and tear some of tiles have loosened so I lifted them up but I'm scared because have been feeling unwell since lifting lino of which I had on top as lots of floor tiling especially at back door is water away

On 2015-03-04 15:21:33.115820 by Bob from Long Island

My asbestos-appearing floor tiles are in good shape except around the perimeter where I am removing the tack strips that held down the carpet (over cement). When I remove the tack strips, the tiles start to crack into small pieces. I assume I should remove the small pieces but is the floor otherwise okay to lay a pergo laminate floor over? Thank you.

Question: Possible asbestos-containing floor tiles in a school, questions about proper handling

Hi. I have a question about asbestos in floor tile and its removal. I work at a public school and the school had a contractor come in to remove some flooring that was starting to "buckle up" in some areas due to water seeping underneath it. When the contractor came I happened to be around and I asked him before he started if the tile could be asbestos (the school was built in 1952).

He looked at it and said it wasn't 9x9 inch, and he wasn't sure what was underneath it yet, so he couldn't say for sure.

When I started at the school I was made aware by my boss that there is asbestos tile underneath the carpet in the classrooms, but he didn't mention the hallways, where this work was going to be done.

I kept a watch on the contractors as they were removing the tile flooring, (I stayed a safe distance from them...like outside the building through a window)

. I noticed they used no masks and there was no plastic barriers put up inside the building. They were breaking the tile up though because I noticed them shoveling it up and putting it in the big 55 gallon plastic barrels used for garbage.

They stayed for about 2 days doing this. When they were done they left these filled barrels of the tile for us to dump! I didn't want to be involved at all in their dumping!

My boss came though and he said he needed my help in dumping the barrels in the outside container for garbage. I REALLY wanted nothing to do with this and I panicked inside.

I was afraid though to ask about its safety. When we went outside to dump them I kept my distance as much as possible.

When we dumped the first barrel I held my breath and we dumped it quickly and a HUGE bunch of dust went into the air.

I stepped far away and let the dust clear. I then asked if he had any kind of face mask.

He did, but only the N95 kind. I put two on and some goggles. We then dumped the rest. My question is, what are the chances that the flooring contained asbestos, and if it did, wouldn't the contractor and our head supervisor that ordered the work know about the flooring? - Mike 8/22/11

Reply:

Mike

No one can say just from text whether or not the floor tile that was taken up contained asbestos, though the lack of dust control and personal protection sounds to me like an amateur was doing the job. Even non-asbestos-containing dust can be hazardous, especially at acute exposure levels.

From the age of the school (1952) some asbestos containing materials would be expected to be present in lots of items, especially floor tiles. And the contractor's assertion that only 9" floor tiles contain asbestos is incorrect.

- ask your doctor for an opinion about your health and exposure to demolition dust that might have contained asbestos and any respiratory health complaints you may have

- if there is remaining dust or remaining examples of the same flooring they can be tested for asbestos

- building management can make be sure all of the demolition dust has been properly cleaned and removed - if it's asbestos-containing, a higher level of cleaning and post-cleanup testing are needed.

- Don't do more demolition without a competent risk assessment

And for your question of whether or not the contractor would or would not know if the floor contained asbestos?

My OPINION (not a lawyer) is that the contractor is legally obligated to be competent to perform the work for which s/he is hired; at a school, and removing flooring, that should include the ability to recognize a "red flag" that would stop the job until an asbestos hazard assessment has been made by a professional.

Faced with very high costs of an asbestos cleanup, and worried about causing a (perhaps inappropriate) panic among parents of school children, building managers I've met have sometimes opted for an "ignorance is bliss" argument.

At a large Community Center in New York where it was patently obvious that there was asbestos-containing pipe insulation and flooring, the building management showed me a "report" asserting that the building was "asbestos free". The report authors simply stayed out of building areas where asbestos found.

Question: floor tiles below asbestos in a 1950's house may contain asbestos

I was pulling up some carpet in my basement today and found that there is tile on the floor beneath it.

That didn't seem like a problem to me except in one corner the tile came up with the carpet and there is a green tile beneath that.

The house was built in 1950. should I be concerned that the green tile has asbesto in it?
The tile broke into pieces. - Don Mac 9/5/11

Reply:

Don from the age of materials you describe it's a good chance you have one or more layers of asbestos containing floor tiles, though of course I can only speculate with so little information.

However if the floor is covered with additional layers of tile or even carpeting, it's unlikely that it is being disturbed enough to produce a detectable level of asbestos (from that source) in the building air or dust.

A single piece or two of broken tiles are not measurable; what you want to avoid is demolition making a big dusty mess.

Search our site for "How to Reduce the Hazard Floor Tiles That May Contain Asbestos" or "ASBESTOS FLOORING HAZARD REDUCTION" to read about procedures for handling the flooring.

Question: dealing with unknown floor tiles

I purchased a co-op built in the 1950's. I need to put down a new floor.

The last layer of flooring is green 9x9 vinyl tiles. The pattern looks close to seneca white but the background is light green with dark green pattern. There is black tarry stuff underneath. The tiles are extremely thin. I ripped out the tiles and the plywood underneath them in the corner about 18" square.

The super told me to leave it alone as it might be asbestos, but all the contractors who have seen them, seem not to be worried about ripping up the tiles. I would feel better to play it safe and just floor over them. How do I e-mail a picture to you? - Jeanie in Queens NY 11/13/2011

I have a early 60's home with both bathrooms having what appears to be a solid surface material poured over a greenish felt. The flooring is tan with colored flecks in it throughout

. I have looked for the material but haven't found any info. Does anyone know what it is? Is it possible that this material contains asbestos? - Dan 1/10/12

the tile in the place I work appears to be asbestos tile. there are some squares that are damaged, and appear to be chipped out. there are small particles, chunks, etc. in the place where the tiles are missing. is this a danger to us? - Lynn 1/12/12

I want to renovate this ranch soon and am not sure what the tile is and who do I call? I want to renovate this ranch soon and am not sure what the tile is and who do I call?Ceiling tile is from 1940 - Jo 2/7/2012

I have an old ranch home w/ sheet lino.x2 layers, over OSB board, over another type of flooring over old hardwood.

From what I can see so far. The hardwood has blunt square ends, and is about 3-4" wide and appears to have paint on it. I know there is some rot in that area and would need replacing from reclaimed wood.

My question is what is the best way to remove all the lino and OSB and floor below that to get to the hardwood? I know it's going to be labor intensive but not sure how to go about it. - Tracey 2/13/2012

Utility room floor installed 1971 is Armstrong Excelon vinyl asbestos place and press tiles. Some of the tiles are loose. they are whole..just loose. Please recommend what glue to use to re-install them. - Anne 2/13/2012

I work at a Petland Discounts location that's over 20 years old. I've gotten severe breathing problems at this store.

The floor polishing company comes in and polishes the floor every month and there is this thick dust in the air and then it gets all over the products.

I am concerned that it contains asbestos. There are also many broken tiles in the store. - Despina 5/22/2012

In my kitchen we have a sub floor, then asbestos tiles, then another sub floor and then a layer of linoleum flooring down. We want to lay another floor down but our floor is already up an inch with everything on it.

We want to removed the whole flooring but have no clue how we should go about doing this without getting the asbestos in the air. It is also laid in our hallway and our whole basement. Thank you so much for any help you can provide. - Gigi - 6/11/2012

I was going to put new ceramic tiles in the kitchen floor, but when I removed the transition between the wood floor and ceramic tiles I saw vinyl tiles under the kitchen floor. My question is how I would know that the vinyl tiles are asbestos or not? - Mike 7/10/2012

i removed floor tiles by hand that look very similar to some of the ones you have pictured on your web site about 9 years ago. basically i used an old grill spatula to peel them up off of the cement floor. i did use a dust mask but i was unaware at the time that some older floor tiles contain asbestos. do i have anything to worry about? - Joe 8/1/2012

Hello I scraped up a tile floor in my house and I now fear that it was asbestos.

The backing is black not white. It did not grind to dust, but it came off in pieces. The floor is covered in the black backing still and I don't know how I should remove this. Should I be concerned about removing this part? Also I suspect these tiles continue into another room under a rug.

I would like to remove them eventually if possible. What do you recommend? - Mandy 10/29/2012

My husband and his family were doing some remodeling on a home we just bought (built in the 1930's).

When I stopped by the house i saw that they had ripped out the old flooring in the kitchen and bathroom. Underneath the old carpet and flooring were 9x9 squares that were on top of the original hardwoods. I freaked out because i remembered hearing something about 9x9 tiles and asbestos on hgtv.

These squares are black, but they are flexible, almost like a thick paper or a cardboard rather than a hard tile. We aren't sure if it is just some sort of backing, or an asphalt asbestos tile. They had already spent the weekend tearing most of it up and it is all over the place right now. any info/suggestions etc would be very greatly appreciated. - Jennifer 10/29/2012

Reply:

Asbestos-containing flooring in good condition does not have to be removed from a building, and worse, inept removal can create a much greater hazard than leaving most asbestos materials in place.

Asbestos was widely used as a filler in both asphalt-based and some vinyl based floor tiles of varying thicknesses, and extending to some thin, flexible self-adhesive backed tiles as well as some sheet flooring.

See ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE IDENTIFICATION PHOTOS 1949-1959 for an extensive photo guide to asbestos-containing flooring materials.

We recommend taking a look at the suggestions found

at ASBESTOS FLOORING HAZARD REDUCTION

Comment from reader: anonymous:

Hey Joe there's always a "risk" when removing anything that has to do with Asbestos

. I understand that you probably didn't take caution at all with the removal and you probably weren't wearing the proper protection. There's two things that could be red flags. 1. I'd be worried if you were a constant to heavy smoker. 2. I'd also be worried if you've done this type of removal many times before or after without protection.

The only way to know for certain if true damage has been done is tell your Doctor or care provider about this incident and ask for their advice.

InspectAPedia.com is an independent publisher of building, environmental, and forensic inspection, diagnosis, and repair information for the public - we have no business nor financial connection with any manufacturer or service provider discussed at our website.

...

Continue reading at ASBESTOS FLOORING HAZARD LEVEL ASSESSMENT or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see these

Recommended Articles

• ASBESTOS FLOORING HAZARD LEVEL ASSESSMENT
• ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE IDENTIFICATION COLOR KEY
• ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE COMPOSITION
• ASBESTOS FLOORING DAMAGE HAZARDS what sorts of damage to an asbestos-containing floor covering are likely to require further action?
• ASBESTOS FLOORING HAZARD REDUCTION - things you can do to minimize asbestos particle or fiber release from an existing asphalt asbestos or vinyl asbestos floor: tiles or sheet flooring
• ASBESTOS FLOORING LEFT IN PLACE - steps to avoid an asbestos hazard
• ASBESTOS FLOORING REMOVAL GUIDE - how to remove asbestos-containing flooring while minimizing the asbestos release or exposure hazard
• ASBESTOS REMOVAL, WETTING GUIDELINES
• ASBESTOS TESTING LAB LIST
• DOES THIS FLOOR CONTAIN ASBESTOS? - 5 easy questions to tell if your FLOOR probably contains asbestos -
• DOES THIS MATERIAL CONTAIN ASBESTOS? - 5 easy questions to tell if a BUILDING MATERIAL probably contains asbestos -
• FLOOR TILE / SHEET FLOORING PHOTO GUIDES

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ASBESTOS FLOORING HAZARD LEVEL ASSESSMENT FAQs at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.

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