Asbestos in FRF Ceiling Tiles
- POST a QUESTION or COMMENT about how to identify ceiling tiles that contain asbestos
Some ceiling tiles bearing the FRF brand or stamp may contain asbestos, but to date, lab test reports found no asbestos in this product.
In this article series we discuss how to recognize & handle ceiling tiles that may contain asbestos.
We describe the appearance, ingredients, years of manufacture, history, and producers of various types of ceiling tiles & coverings as an aid in determining whether or not a particular ceiling covering or tile is likely to contain asbestos.
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Asbestos hazard FRF ceiling tiles?
Is There an Asbestos Hazard in these 12" x 24" x 9/16" FRF ceiling tiles in a 1960's home?
Our InspectApedia reader
I posted this question but no readers added comments
so I'm repeating the information here with more photos.
I recently purchased a ranch home built in 1960.
The basement has ceiling tiles that I would like to remove. Concerned about possible asbestos content.
Only visible notation is the lettering "FRF" on the back [of the ceiling tiles]
Your thoughts on the likelihood of these containing asbestos would be appreciated.
Thank you - S.P. 11/8/2014
Reply: Unlikely; it looks like wood-cellulose, but for absolute certainty, a lab test is needed
The images of your ceiling tiles look like a wood cellulose product.
There were some manufacturers (Armstrong) who say their ceilings never contained asbestos.
Thermafiber FRF® Ceiling Tiles from US Gypsum
The "FRF" mark on your ceiling tiles probably identifies the material as Thermafiber FRF® brand produced by USG Interiors, Inc. - see U.S. Patent "Low density non-woven material useful with acoustic ceiling tile products US 8062565 B2"
The patent application (filed in 2009 - well after the cessation of use of asbestos in most building products in most countries) for that modern material describes it as follows:
[Note that there will most likely also be earlier versions of this product addressed by earlier patents and that the ceiling materials in your photos may indeed be older than this patent]
A non-woven material, that can be formed into an acoustic ceiling tile, is provided.
The material includes a substantially planar and self-supporting core of an inorganic base fiber and a synthetic thermal bonding fiber.
The synthetic thermal bonding fiber preferably has an increased bonding surface area that improves adhesion and porosity to provide a base mat or core with a low density to provide sound absorption required by an acoustic ceiling tile. - Cao, Bangji, Donald S. Mueller, Weixin D. Song, and Qing Yu. "Low density non-woven material useful with acoustic ceiling tile products." U.S. Patent 8,062,565, issued November 22, 2011.
The word "asbestos" never appears in this patent description.
The ceiling tiles are described as an acoustic product intended for noise reduction and meeting ASTME84 (flame spread resistance) and ASTM C423 (Having a noise reduction property or coefficient (NRC) of at least 0.55).
More about the history of Thermafiber® and other applications of the material is at SHEATHING, FIBERBOARD
In general for ceiling tiles that are not identified absolutely, as we can't know an answer to the asbestos question for certain based on just these photos (without a lab test or ID of the manufacturer) and based on the age of the material it would be prudent to assume the materials are or could contain asbestos.
If you are faced with a costly or messy demolition then it's worth sending off a sample to an asbestos test lab - the cost is typically $50-$50 U.S.
- Thermafiber, Inc. (now a division of Owens Corning®) at Thermafiber, Inc., 3711 Mill Street, Wabash, IN 46992, Tel: 888-834-2371 (U.S. & Canada) - 260-563-2111 Website: www.thermafiber.com or Thermafiber technical services at 888-834-2371 (U.S. & Canada) ; Phone: 260-569-0801, Fax: 260-563-8979 or Email: technicalservice@owenscorning.com
More Research on Thermafiber FRF Ceiling Tile Material Composition
- Cao, Bangji, Weixin D. Song, Oing Yu, and Donald S. Mueller. Low density non-woven material useful with acoustic ceiling tile products [Patent web page] U.S. Patent Application 13/268,200, filed February 2, 2012.
This patent was assigned to USG Interiors, LLC. in 2012. The word "Asbestos" does not appear anywhere in this patent disclosure. - Mueller, Donald S., Bangji Cao, Weixin D. Song, and Qing Yu. Low density non-woven material useful with acoustic ceiling tile products. [PDF] U.S. Patent 8,062,565, issued November 22, 2011.
Excerpt: A non-woven material, that can be formed into an acoustic ceiling tile, is provided. The material includes a Substantially planar and self-supporting core of an inorganic base fiberand a synthetic thermal bonding fiber.
The synthetic thermal bonding fiber preferably has an increased bonding Surface area that improves adhesion and porosity to provide a base mat or core with a low density to provide Sound absorption required by an acoustic ceiling tile.
This patent was filed by USG Interiors, LLC. The word "asbestos" does not appear in the patent disclosure.
Reader Follow-up:
... I will send out a sample today and get the results back to you.
I feel very certain that these tiles are much older than 2009 as the gentlemen who owned the house has had breathing issues for many years and had done little to the house for the last 15 yrs.
He recently passed away at 82 after living in the house since building it in 1960. ...
Reply:
Yes the wood fiber version of insulating board and ceiling tiles dates back more than 50 years. However when we searched by product name suggested by the marking on your tiles, I did not (yet) find patent registration or other older data that would give a sure product name.
Most likely your ceilings don't contain asbestos but the lab report will be helpful both to protect you and to assist other readers who can recognize the same material.
Reader Follow-up:
Please find attached the [CEILING TILE ASBESTOS TEST] report [PDF] from EMSL regarding the ceiling tiles we were discussing previously.
As suspected by you from the start, they did not contain any asbestos.
Hopefully this helps someone else in the future. - S.P. 19 Nov 2014
Comments on FRF Ceiling Tile Asbestos Risk
This is a very thorough article! I never realized asbestos was so common in residential homes. I guess I just always assumed it was used more often in commercial buildings. I'll have to double check a few areas in my home for asbestos tiles. Thank you for your advice! (Mar 13, 2015) Sergio Freddson
Mod replies:
Generally asbestos-containing materials such as ceiling tiles are safest left alone and in-place unless the material is damaged, falling down, shedding, leaving debris that can be tracked through a home or otherwise made airborne.
It's ok to paint over, encapsulate, seal, or cover-over such materials if occupants prefer. Unnecessary removal is actually more likely to be hazardous than leaving the material alone.
...
Continue reading at ASBESTOS CEILING TILE REMOVAL PROCEDURES or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.
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Citations & References
In addition to any citations in the article above, a full list is available on request.
- [12] Wikipedia Web: https://www.wikipedia.org/ provided background information about some topics discussed at this website provided this citation is also found in the same article along with a " retrieved on" date. NOTE: because Wikipedia entries are fluid and can be amended in real time, we cite the retrieval date of Wikipedia citations and we do not assert that the information found there is necessarily authoritative. Web search 6/30/12: "Ceiling Tiles"
- [16] Steven Mlynarek, Morton Corn, Charles Blake, "Asbestos Exposure of Building Maintenance Personnel", Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology, 23, 213–224 (1996) ARTICLE NO. 0045, http://library.certh.gr/libfiles/PDF/GEN-PAPYR-4810-ASBESTOS-by-MLYNAREK
-in-RTAP-VOL-23-ISS-3-PP-213-224-Y-1996.pdf - [18] U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA—Green Book) (1990). In Managing Asbestos in Place: A Building Owners Guide to Operations and Maintenance Programs for Asbestos-Containing
- [28] D. Auribault, "Note sur l'Hygiène et la Sécurité des Ouvriers dans les Filatures et Tissages d'Amianté (On hygiene and security of the workers in the spinning and weaving of asbestos)" in Le Bulletin de l'Inspection du Travail, 1906, pp 120–132.
- [29] Wikipedia entry on Asbestos and various citations from that article, web search 6/30/12, original source: en.wikipedia.org "Asbestos"
- Asbestos Identification and Testing References
- Asbestos Identification, Walter C. McCrone, McCrone Research Institute, Chicago, IL.1987 ISBN 0-904962-11-3. Dr. McCrone literally "wrote the book" on asbestos identification procedures which formed the basis for current work by asbestos identification laboratories.
- Stanton, .F., et al., National Bureau of Standards Special Publication 506: 143-151
- Pott, F., Staub-Reinhalf Luft 38, 486-490 (1978) cited by McCrone
- EPA Guidance for Controlling Asbestos-Containing Materials in buildings, NIAST, National Institute on Abatement Sciences & Technology, [republishing EPA public documents] 1985 ed., Exposure Evaluation Division, Office of Toxic Substances, Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington,D.C. 20460
- In addition to citations & references found in this article, see the research citations given at the end of the related articles found at our suggested
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Thanks to Alan Carson and Bob Dunlop, for permission for InspectAPedia to use text excerpts from The HOME REFERENCE BOOK - the Encyclopedia of Homes and to use illustrations from The ILLUSTRATED HOME .
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