Asbestos appears in several forms in product descriptions from U.S. window and wall air conditioner patents from the early 1930s to the mid 1980s.

This article series provides a master list of the forms in which asbestos was used, a list of known asbestos-containing materials, and links to detailed articles about individual asbestos-containing products & materials found in buildings and in a wide range of products used in both home and industry.

Page top photo: an air

Does my Window or Wall Air Conditioner Contain Any Asbestos?

On 2019-02-27 by joe m. - wall unit conditioner from 1983 conains asbestos?

Hi Dan, were you able find out if wall unit conditioner from 1983 contains asbestos i asked a HVAC tech person with 30 years of experience and he says no asbestos in wall units before year 1975 he says he is 99 percent sure Dan.

what information do you have on this topic i would greatly appreciate your input at your convience. Thank you

These questions and answers about the use of asbestos in a window or wall air conditioner were posted originally at ASBESTOS LIST of PRODUCTS - be sure to see that comprehensive list of products and materials that contained or used asbestos in any form.

Photo: un-identified white coating inside of a window A/C unit, possibly mold growth. Without a closer inspection and perhaps testing the soft fuzzy white "stuff" remains unidentified. See Eubank (1976).

[Click to enlarge any image]

Air conditioner product patents whose description included asbestos and that were patented AFTER 1975

• Eubank, Marcus P. "Reverse air cycle air conditioner." U.S. Patent 3,995,446, issued December 7, 1976.
  
  Excerpt: The acoustical and thermal insulation is readily supplied by known means; such as, by bonding glass wool, mineral wool, asbestos insulation or by spraying the asphaltic or asphaltic-asbestos undercoating
• Katona, Joseph W. "Clip-aire oven door window." U.S. Patent 4,253,286, issued March 3, 1981.
  
  Excerpt:
  An elongated asbestos cord 94 extends within the molding 92 and seals against the edge of the flange 86 of the rear door panel when the window unit is installed in the door. Instead of asbestos, the cord may be of fiber glass or in the form of a silicon extrusion.
• Kusuda, G. Kelly T., and J. Hill. "Potential for Energy Conservation in Heating, Ventilating, and Air-conditioning Equipment for Buildings." In Energy conservation through effective energy utilization: 1973 Engineering Foundation conference, New England College, Henniker, New Hampshire, August 19-24, 1973, no. 403, p. 163. US Dept. of Commerce, National Bureau of Standards: for sale by the Supt. of Docs., US Govt. Print. Off., 1976.
  
  Excerpt:
  This device is packed with lithium chloride-impregnated corrugated asbestos instead of metal shavings
• Iinoya, Koichi, and Kazutaka Makino. "Dust collector." U.S. Patent 3,945,813, issued March 23, 1976.
  Excerpt:
  screen 3 which may consist of a cloth nylon, glass fiber, asbestos or ...

Asbestos is not likely to be found in a U.S. TV made in 1996

On 2019-02-27 by (mod) - asbestos may have been used in room or wall or window unit air conditioners

Thanks for the follow-up, Joe.

A "99 percent sure" statement that asbestos is or is not in your air conditioner is nevertheless an un-supported OPINON unless we find an authoritative source.

And the question might also be poorly-phrased.

For example there was certainly asbestos used on some air conditioning ducts and asbestos in gasket form may have appeared in various HVAC equipment prior to 1975 as well as in the form of insulating sheets used inside some AC units - so I'm puzzled by the opinion you received, and furthermore it would be irrelevant to say NO PRODUCT X APPEARED BEFORE 1975 - when you are asking about a product FROM 1983.

Asbestos appeared in Air-EXCEL air filters that may have included filters used in wall unit air conditioners.

My own research finds that your HVAC tech person appears to be mistaken.

Certainly asbestos materials were used in several forms for several purposes in North America at least as early as the 1930s and apparently extending into the early 1980s.

For example see these

U.S. patent citations that describe the use of asbestos in air conditioners including wall units - 1933 - 1975

• Grosjean, Harry W., and Elmer MA Sizer. "Heating unit." U.S. Patent 2,469,963, issued May 10, 1949.
• Kinney, James F. "Air distributing system." U.S. Patent 2,901,959, issued September 1, 1959.
• Shy, Rosen. "Air conditioner attachment." U.S. Patent 2,824,575, issued February 25, 1958. Becker, Otto Alfred. "Thermally insulating wall units." U.S. Patent 3,929,186, issued December 30, 1975.
• Rogers, Follansbee, and Edward F. Ford. "Air circulating unit." U.S. Patent 2,625,872, issued January 20, 1953.
• Shimer, W.B., SCHWITZER CUMMINS Co, 1941. Air conditioning unit. U.S. Patent 2,250,139.
• Paul, Mohler, and Frantz Peter. "Air conditioning apparatus." U.S. Patent 1,898,591, issued February 21, 1933.
• Johansson, Sven-Olof. "Room air conditioning apparatus." U.S. Patent 3,977,466, issued August 31, 1976.
  
  Excerpt: Mounted in the central chamber 18 about horizontal pivots is a heat and moisture exchanging rotor 24 which is driven by a motor (not shown).
  
  The rotor 24 is in known manner composed of thin layers of e.g. asbestos which are alternately plane and corrugated and which form axial channels extending from end to end between the two plane front sides of the rotor.
  
  The asbestos layers are impregnated with a hygroscopic substance such as lithium chloride and may otherwise be formed and manufactured in the manner described e.g. in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,231,409.

On 2019-03-08 2 by joe m. - HVAC tech says he has never seen asbestos in A/C units but it's possible

Hi dan HVAC tech sent me a text said in his 30 years of experience he has not seen asbestos in wall units air conditioner but he says its possible.

l am confused and in a panic mode because i haved cleaned and used this wall unit 1983 air conditioner since 1983 and still works great but i dont if i have been exposed to asbestos.

My question is could my air conditioner have asbestos parts please send me reply which parts i would greatly appreciate it i am worried sick thank you ...

On 2019-03-08 by (mod) - assertion that no window AC units sold in North America before or after 1975 used any asbestos

No, Joe, your tech might be mistaken: that is, I have not found a single authoritative citation asserting that no window AC units sold in North America after 1975 used any asbestos.

If your tech can provide us with that information I'd be very grateful as would other readers.

Many residential uses of asbestos did stop in the U.S. as early as 1978 but not all.

On 2019-03-08 by (mod) - Asbestos Use in Window or Wall Air Conditioners: bottom line opinon: low risk

Right.

I appreciate that one's own experience (mine with HVAC dates from 1976) is useful, but working at a national or even multi-country level when studying building defects and hazardous material teaches us that just because "I've never seen XYZ" is not a completely reliable basis for a conclusion that "XYZ never occurs".

Our own experience, even when we're old and very experienced, is nevertheless limited in many respects (geography, products, clients, area of expertise), is not exhaustive, and often is therefore not statistically valid.

Put another way, absence of evidence is not evidence of absence (in one's experience).

I'm sorry to have to repeat that I can not answer with certainty whether or not there is asbestos in an arbitrarily selected wall or window air conditioner made in 1983 or any other year or country.

Probably not, but possibly so - at least for equipment made up to about 1985 or 1986 when pretty much every manufacturer was eschewing use of asbestos in consumer products, regardless of actual hazard level, and regardless of the more-limited asbestos bans, because consumers didn't want such products by then.

We should not seek to nor pretend that we can reduce all risks to zero, nor that reducing them evenb to near zero can be done at reasonable cost and certainty.

Our photo above shows asbestos fabric used as a gasket material in an air handler - discussed at

ASBESTOS DUCTS, HVAC FAQs-2

One would only find this asbestos fabric by dis-assembling this older unit. Harmful? Probably not unless damaged or distrubed.

Asbestos was used in several forms in air conditioning units that I've cited in various patent applications and research articles, such as gaskets, in plastic form as cast components and control knobs (not exactly hazardous), as vibration dampeners, even in some putty used as sealant in or around window and wall air conditioners, and in some air filters.

You have but to read the product descriptions in the citations I've offered to see those examples.

There is not a single shred of a reason that you should be in a panic mode about this question.

Nor have we found scholarly articles citing un-damaged, intact window or wall A/C units as a significant source of indoor airborne asbestos hazards in homes.

But if nevertheless your air conditioner asbestos worry is continuing to generate panic, it'd perhaps be useful to try to put it to bed by doing a simple settled dust test or two from your own environment. That can tell you if there are unusual levels of asbestos particles in your living space.

If you are still badly frightened by your air conditioner after those results, the health effects of that worry are perhaps greater than the asbestos hazard and would in that case merit having the air conditioner removed and replaced.

Watch out: OPINION: Readers whose level of worry about environmental or other building topics is very high (whether justified or not) are at risk of facing excessive costs sometimes if following advice of consultants who are made nervous by being asked to assume liability and responsibility that they cannot rightly be asked to do.

For that reason I've written this opinion that might be worth a look: OTHER PEOPLE's MONEY

It would be helpful on your part if you would post some sharp photos of your air conditioner - its exterior, brand name, interior, data tags, components.

Use the Add Image button - you can post one image per comment.

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Continue reading  at ASBESTOS DUCT DAMPENERS or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see these

Articles on Asbestos in HVAC Systems & Equipment

• ASBESTOS in AIR CONDITIONERS
• ASBESTOS DUCT DAMPENERS
• ASBESTOS DUCTS, HVAC
• ASBESTOS PRODUCT FAQs-3 - where a reader asked about asbestos in a range of common household appliances and products
• ASBESTOS IDENTIFICATION IN BUILDINGS
• ASBESTOS PAPER DUCT INSULATION
• ASBESTOS PHOTO GUIDE to MATERIALS
• ASBESTOS PRODUCTS BANNED vs PERMITTED U.S. 2023
• ASBESTOS in TALCUM POWDER - contamination from a portable air conditioner fouls asbestos tests of baby powder
• ASBESTOS TESTING LAB LIST
• TRANSITE ASBESTOS CHIMNEYS, DUCTS, PIPES

Suggested citation for this web page

ASBESTOS USE in AIR CONDITIONERS at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.

Or see this

INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to ASBESTOS HAZARDS

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Citations & References

In addition to any citations in the article above, a full list is available on request.

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