Do or did ceramic wall or floor tiles contain asbestos or lead?

Do or did tile grout, tile bedding compounds, thin-set mortars, or tile mastic used with ceramic tiles contain asbestos or lead?

We explain the ingredients in ceramic floor tiles, cite authoritative research on the presence or absence of asbestos in these ceramic tile, or its absence, and we point to sources of confusion about the question of which ceramic products (tiles, pottery, filters) contain or ever contained asbestos as a filler or as a fiber strengthener.

We include research citations indicating various hazards in the production of some tile products.

We report on an international survey of certified asbestos testing laboratories who were asked for their experience in receiving ceramic tile samples or mortar/grout samples and testing them for asbestos content.

Does Ceramic Floor Tile or Ceramic Wall Tile Contain Asbestos?

Is asbestos found non-resilient flooring such as ceramic floor tiles?

Our page top photo illustrates a fragment-section of old ceramic floor tile. At left we show a side-view or cross-section of how this old ceramic floor tile was installed by bedding it directly into concrete. We would not expect to find evidence of asbestos in this tile installation.

[Click to enlarge any image]

This example was found in a pile of demolition debris left at a building renovation site. The tile was set into and well bonded to concrete, and was removed under wet conditions.

The short answer for now appears to be "yes and no" depending on the tile and tile grout age and source, as follows:

• Artists materials including ceramics, clays, glazes often contain a variety of hazardous materials including arsenic, asbestos, lead, silica.
  
  See ASBESTOS in CERAMIC MATERIALS
• Ceramic floor and wall tile produced in North America would not be expected to contain asbestos.
  
  However you may find asbestos in some tile grouts and thinset tile mastics and possibly in hand-made tiles made as part of an art project using art clay.
• Ceramic floor and wall tile produced outside of North America may contain asbestos depending on where it was produced and what additives were intentionally or accidentally included by the manufacturer.
  
  This may be true particularly for files produced in the Mediterranean area [44] and for some ceramic tiles made in China, as we discuss in more detail
  
  at CHINESE CERAMIC TILE ASBESTOS

• Ceramic tile grout may contain asbestos as we discuss
  
  at CERAMIC TILE GROUT ASBESTOS
• Non-ceramic floor tiles such as terrazzo floor tiles (and possibly some unglazed ceramic quarry tiles), produced both in the U.S. and from other countries may contain asbestos depending on its formula.
  
  Some "manmade" "terrazzo" consisting of concrete, marble, and/or epoxy alone won't contain asbestos.

Details, including authoritative citations and an ongoing survey of the results of tile testing at asbestos testing labs in the U.S., Canada, Japan, Korea, the U. K. and other locales are provided below.

OPINION: researching this question we find that the dominant opinion among experts and amateurs is that ceramic tiles are made of clay subjected to high temperatures and finished with a hard glazed surface. Not asbestos.

If there are some ceramic tiles whose clay source included asbestos or to which asbestos was added [a topic of ongoing research that we report and update below] the tiles are nevertheless a non-friable material that would not normally be a hazardous source of asbestos in buildings.

Non-friable materials are hard and do not easily release particles into the indoor environment.

Watch out: grinding, tile-saw cutting, sanding or similar activities performed on ceramic tiles of any composition could produce fine dust and debris that should be controlled and treated as a respiratory hazard, asbestos-containing or not.

See ASBESTOS REMOVAL, WETTING GUIDELINES

Question: does this [ceramic] floor tile contain asbestos?

My husband & I are planning on replacing the floor tile in our entryway. I'm trying to research to see if it could contain asbestos as we have two young children. Our home was built in 1965 in a Pittsburgh suburb.

Could you take a look at this picture and let me know what you think? Thank you! - anonymous by private email, 2016/07/15

Reply:

From your photo this looks like ceramic floor tile. If it is a modern, U.S.-made product it probably does not contain asbestos. However some mastic adhesives did contain asbestos so care in removing that material would be appropriate.

See ASBESTOS-CONTAINING ADHESIVES

If you cannot remove the flooring without making a dusty mess, it may be worth having a sample of tile and more-likely the adhesive mastic tested.

See ASBESTOS TESTING LAB LIST

If you do decide to have the materials tested let us know the result as that may help other readers.

Do Ceramic Floor or Wall Tiles Contain Dangerous Levels of Asbestos or Not ? - research question status

Deliberate Inclusion of Asbestos as an Add-in to Ceramic Tiles?

Asbestos could have been included in some ceramic floor tile formulas into the 1970's as a filler or in fiber form as a strengthener.

At least one asbestos testing lab director reports that asbestos is found in ceramic tiles made in some parts of the world such as the Mediterranean area and in unglazed terrazzo (non-ceramic) tiles.[44]

Below at CHINESE CERAMIC TILE ASBESTOS we discuss reports of asbestos in some recent Chinese ceramic tile and flooring products.

Don't Confuse Asphalt-based or Vinyl-based Asbestos-containing Floor Tiles with Ceramic Tile Products

In our flooring photograph at left, the floor and stair tiles may be vinyl-asphalt or vinyl-asbestos floor tiles but they are not a ceramic product. For information about asbestos-containing vinyl or asphalt-based floor tiles,

see ASBESTOS FLOORING IDENTIFICATION.

Certainly as we see in Rosato [23], the asbestos industry was constantly looking for uses of asbestos mining waste products that included granular asbestos dust and short asbestos fibers.

Although we cite field and lab reports and research in this article, we have not yet located an authoritative reference source (text, journal article, government document) that documents the deliberate or accidental inclusion of asbestos material added to modern (20th century and later) ceramic floor or wall tiles made in North America. Please contact us if you have such information.

In contrast, it is certain asbestos was used in those forms in vinyl-asbestos flooring (a different material from ceramic tiles). And as we document below, asbestos was used in mixture with ceramic fibers (for certain products such as filters) and in ancient pottery applications.

Our photo above illustrates a floor tile installation in Barcelona, Spain. These floor tiles are estimated at more than 50 years old.

Question: will I release dangerous asbestos if I clean these black and white ceramic floor tiles from a 1948 home in Georgia?

2018/05/06 Brittney said:

I’m wondering if you are able tell/may know if these floors contain asbestos just by looking at them?

My husband and I just purchased this house built in 1948 in Georgia. And I hadn’t thought much about asbestos in floors until finding this website and now I’m concerned. (See attached pic).

Do you think scrubbing the floors/grout should be safe ?

This question and reply were posted originally

at ASBESTOS FLOORING IDENTIFICATION

Reply:

It appears to me you're asking about a ceramic tile floor.

If That's the case, even if the style contained asbestos, which would be quite uncommon, the asbestos risk is beneath the limits of detection unless you're grinding chopping or sawing the material.

Cleaning the floor in your photos is not going to produce a measurable hazard even if there was asbestos in the tile or its grout - a situation that would be quite uncommon - as the materials are very hard and not at all friable.

Typically we need to use a liquid cleaner that includes mild bleaching agent to whiten the floor tile grout.

Question: do new ceramic tiles from China contain asbestos?

The ceramic tile that we purchased for our bathroom wall was made in China. What are the chances that it would contain asbestos? - Anon by private email 2017/03/24

Reply: maybe yes

A quick search for "Asbestos in Tile from China" intended to collect results on asbestos in ceramic tile made in China found these interesting and suggestive results, giving a definite possibility that your Chinese-made ceramic tiles could contain asbestos.

The most strongly-worded material comes from news reports, after which I cite some more-scholarly research on asbestos in Chinese ceramic tiles used on walls and floors.

• "Asbestos warning on tiles from China", ABC News Australia, 14 Feb 2010, retrieved 2017/03/24, original source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-02-15/asbestos-warning-on-tiles-from-china/331176, Quoting:
  
  A safety alert has been issued about wall tiles imported from China which may contain a deadly form of asbestos. WorkCover New South Wales says the decorative white natural stone tiles may contain tremolite - a form of asbestos.
  
  WorkCover says importers should contact their suppliers to check that the tiles do not contain the substance. If the tiles do contain tremolite, they should be disposed of at an approved asbestos waste facility.
  
  WorkCover says importers and retailers who suspect they may have tiles containing tremolite should contact WorkCover immediately. - This is a news report not a scholarly-research article - Ed.
• Johnson, Nathan, "Made in China (with asbestos): MBA raises alarms" [news article], 2015/02/26 - retrieved 2017/03/24, original source: http://www.architectureanddesign.com.au/news/made-in-china-with-asbestos-mba-raises-alarms
  Excerpt:
  
  Master Builders Australia (MBA) have released an alarming media release warning the Australian design and construction industry to be wary of imported Chinese building products “laced with asbestos”.
  
  MBA reported that Australian border-security officials have admitted to a limited capacity to stop contaminated goods entering Australia and that the Abbott government has conceded it is unable to guarantee Chinese imports are free of asbestos, amid some evidence of its use in the car, mining and building industries.
• Xinyan, Zhou, and Fan Jianping. "Production of Precipitated Silicon Dioxide from Asbestos Tailings [J]." Chem. Prod. and Technol 4 (1998): 38.
  Abstract:
  
  The best technology parameters are studied in the production of precipitated silicon dioxide,light magne sium oxide and by-products of sodium sulfate and iron oxide red from the asbestos tailings in a wet method.
  
  The process takes the advantage of natural resources and solves the environmental problems by the asbestos tailings, ...
• Lu, Xinwei, Guang Yang, and Chunhui Ren. "Natural radioactivity and radiological hazards of building materials in Xianyang, China." Radiation Physics and Chemistry 81, no. 7 (2012): 780-784.
• LIU, Xiaoming, Lingrong XU, and Youmin HUANG. "Study on Asbestos tailings used as highway cenment stabilized base material [J]." Highway Engineering 5 (2010): 011.
  Note: this discusses use of asbestos tailings but in highway construction, not tile - serving as an example of waste re-use - Ed.
• ZHENG, Y., LI, Q., GAO, S. and SHANGGUAN, Y., 2009. Research on property of chrysotile asbestos fiber reinforced polypropylene/wood fiber composites [J]. New Building Materials, 3, p.030.

Ceramic tile is not friable - if your particular tile contains asbestos, the measurable asbestos risk would come with cutting, grinding, chopping, demolishing the building material to create an asbestos-containing dust hazard.

Reader follow-up: I don't want the Chinese ceramic tile in my home: plans to remove Chinese Ceramic Tile

Well the flooring says made in PRC.....that means People's Republic of China.

Ii realize where the "measurable risk" comes from but since my now deceased husband died of mesothelioma, from supposed MINIMAL exposure to asbestos I don't want ANYTHING containing asbestos in my home.

Unfortunately the ceramic tile has already been installed and that involved lots of cutting. The flooring has not so I will be returning it. I have contacted the company from which I purchased the material but have not yet heard back from them.

Reply: minimize the risk of installed Chinese asbestos-suspect ceramic tile

I don't blame you for taking these things seriously, and I'm cautious too about products from China - there have been enough disasters already.

What I meant by measurable risk is that installed ceramic tile is not going to release asbestos at detectable levels in a building unless it's disturbed.

While it's a different product (flooring) the US EPA advice on minimizing asbestos hazards in the home emphasizes that unless the asbestos-containing but non-friable material is damaged or being disturbed, the lowest risk to occupants is to leave it alone, or perhaps cover it over.

Removing it will expose you and the building and its occupants to a much greater risk, even if you hired a professional remediator who used negative air, containment, etc. (you're looking also at a very big cost).

OPINION: My advice is to leave the tile in place, or if it's going to make you worry - which is itself bad for us - you could consider laminating over the existing tile with a second layer of new material in which you have confidence. That may at most require some adjustments at the tub/shower controls to bring them forward.

What is the Composition of Ceramic Tiles?

Is there Accidental Inclusion of Asbestos in Clays Mined for Use in Producing Traditional Ceramic Tiles?

The term "clay" refers to both a particle size (smaller than 2-4mm) and a type of rock or mineral comprised of fine-grained sheet silicates.[48] The fine-grained clays used to manufacture ceramic tiles include basically compounds of silica, alumina, and varying amounts of metallic oxides and other impurities. [32]

Ceramic tiles are made from natural clay [such as Cretaceous clays [30] (not asbestos)] or porcelain, and are glazed or un-glazed.

Typical ceramic tile composition (in more detail) includes 33% refractory clay, 20% quartz, 45% sodium feldspar. Other sources list common tile ingredients including aluminum oxide, zirconium oxide, and quartz (silicon dioxide). Other ceramics have more complex formulas.

Ceramic tiles are made of clay (predominantly feldspar), water, and some mineral additives, processed with high heat to solidify the product and whose top or exposed surface is sealed with a glaze.

Porcelain tiles are a harder ceramic tile made of kaolin mixed with china stone, or in other sources, by using ground sand. Porcelain is heated to a higher temperature than other ceramics (more than 2000 degF) and is more dense than ceramic materials made of clay.

Many other materials have been included in clays used in making various ceramic products since the Stone Age (pottery) and continue to be added to give special properties or colors to modern ceramic tiles, including perlite, fly ash, granite stone grinding and cutting waste, etc. Indeed expert sources date the oldest known ceramics date to 27,000 BCE.

The oldest known ceramics made by humans are figurines found in the former Czechoslovakia that are thought to date from around 27,000 B.C.E.

It was determined that the figurines were made by mixing clay with bone, animal fat, earth, and bone ash (the ash that results when animal bones are heated to a high temperature), molding the mixture into a desired shape, and heating it in a domed pit. T

he manufacture of functional objects such as pots, dishes, and storage vessels, was developed in ancient Greece and Egypt during the period 9000 to 6000 B.C.E. [33]

We have not found a citation that includes asbestos among these. Contact us if you have related information.

List of Authoritative sources reporting the use of [or absence of] asbestos in any form of ceramic floor tiles

• Asbestos-containing ceramics, including wall tile or floor tile, or other flooring materials such as tile mastic: [excluding resilient flooring discussed separately
  at ASBESTOS FLOORING IDENTIFICATION]
  • ASBESTOS in CERAMIC MATERIALS later in this article discusses asbestos and other hazardous materials common in artists tile, glazing, pottery materials and work areas.
    
    Also see ARTS & CRAFTS MATERIAL HAZARDS & TOXICITY
  • Cement asbestos slates: 
    
    Were described in the Journal of Hazardous Materials as [safely] recyclable in production of stoneware tile mixtures in 2008 [27] and a procedure for producing [safe] lightweight ceramic materials by a process bonding chrysotile asbestos fibers was described by Mackenzie and Meinhold in 1994. [28]
  • ACM flooring underlayment  [underlayment is not ceramic tile itself]:
    
    Has been found under flooring in demolition projects, a practice that can extend to ceramic floor tiles [4]
  • Asbetic flooring:
    
    Using asbestos mine waste products (largely dust and very short asbestos fibers) is described by Rosato [23]. The result was a "hard but not completely water tight" flooring material. Asbetic is a mixture of ground mother rock and the shortest, otherwise unusable asbestos fibers. [He does not name ceramic tile flooring in this category.]
  • Asbestos in tile mastics:
    
    Some tile mastics and adhesives including adhesives used for floor or wall tiles did contain asbestos as a filler or fiber strengthener. Traditional ceramic tile installations were bedded in cement [photo at page top], not mastic, and not an asbestos containing material.
    
    But from the 1960's some ceramic tile installations used a thin-set mortar or a thin-set mastic that might contain asbestos. For details
    
    see MASTIC, CUTBACK ADHESIVE, FLASHING CEMENT ASBESTOS
  • Asbestos in tile mortar:
    
    Asbestos used as an ingredient in tile mortar is described in a patent dispute.[27]
  • CHINESE CERAMIC TILE ASBESTOS discusses risks of asbestos in current ceramic tile products from China and includes additional research citations.
  • CERAMIC TILE GROUT ASBESTOS discusses the risks of asbestos in a more-friable form in some tile grouts
  • Survey of Accredited Laboratories for Asbestos Fiber Analysis [42]
  • REFERENCES at the end of this article includes additional research citations reporting on the presence of and health risks of asbestos-containing ceramic tile.
• Possible sources of confusion about asbestos content in ceramic floor tiles:
  • Asbestos in clay products:
    
    Asbestos has been reported in art clay (such as Fibro-Clay)[37] used in schools and in pottery clay where it occurred in the form of talc added as a flux to lower the firing temperature.
    
    Talc and clay from at least one U.S. mine contained anthophyllite asbestos. It was unclear whether or not this material fell under the aegis of asbestos regulation.[36] The asbestos content of talc depended on where it was mined, and some talcs were asbestos-free[40].
    
    Depending on the quarry source there may be deliberate or accidental inclusion of asbestos in terra cotta tiles such as roofing tiles.
    
    Other clay products that may have had asbestos added in the form of talc or vermiculite (some vermiculite contains asbestos) in addition to art clays, may include clays used as pipe joint seals or insulation, and in the production of firebricks used to line the combustion chambers of heating equipment such as boilers or furnaces, and other school art projects such as paper maches.[38][39]
  • Pre-historic origins of use of asbestos in clay pottery:
    
    The use asbestos-strengthened ceramic wares (pottery) dates from the Stone Age and continued throughout the Bronze Age and into the Iron Age.
    
    Specifically, asbestos fibers were used to strengthen earthenware pots and cooking utensils as long s 4,500 years ago, an application documented by various sources.[26] Also, a Wikipedia entry on Asbestos-ceramic describes pottery made with asbestos and clay [25].
  • Asbestos textiles: 
    
    Were used as safety protective clothing & gear for workers in the ceramics industries - a possible source of confusion associating the terms "ceramic tile" and "asbestos" in some search engine results. Some mesothelioma information and legal resource websites name "ceramic tiles" as containing asbestos [22] without citing an authoritative source.
  • ASBESTOS List of Asbestos-Containing Products - the InspectAPedia master list of asbestos forms and asbestos-containing products, enumerates asbestos-containing-materials (ACM) using historical information derived from Rosato and other industry sources.
    
    Rosato who provided an extensive discussion of asbestos used in flooring materials, referred exclusively to the use of asbestos in resilient flooring products (such as vinyl asbestos floor tiles) and excluded non-resilient flooring (stone, slate, ceramic tile).
    
    Rosato confirms use of asbestos and clay as mixture ingredients in premix-molding-compounds and the use of asbestos fibers mixed with ceramic fibers to form filter paper for the paper making industry (these are not ceramic tile products) [23]
  • Asbestos ceramic bricks:
    
    Leonelli et als. refer to the disposition of asbestos by microwave treatment of asbestos waste into ceramic bricks - another possible source of association of the words "ceramic" and "asbestos" in web searches that does not extend to ceramic tiles. National Center for Biotechnology Information, NIH, USA[24]
• Quaintance, Paul A. "Silicosis: A study of 106 pottery workers." [PDF] American Journal of Public Health and the Nations Health 24, no. 12 (1934): 1244-1251.
• William, Zaisser. "Method of waterproofing hollow-tile walls." U.S. Patent 1,735,447, issued November 12, 1929.
  - describes use of asbestos in block or tile mortar joints as part of a water-resistant feature:

The mortar joints between the tiles are coated with a waterproofing mastic as at 24 Fig. 3, comprising asphalt, talc and asbestos v fibre applied in a liquid or pasty form over the adjoining surfaces of the tile. ...

2. in a waterproofin'gsysteni for hollow tile walls, the combination of a wall "constiucted froin "dOVEiZflIlGCi hollow tile with inort ar oin ts between ad o1n1ng tiles, a mastic coating comprising asphalt, talc and v asbestos :fibre for said joints overlapping the "edges of said tile, a waterprooi to the horizontal .joints of said tile

Do ceramic tiles risk releasing harmful particles into indoor air?

Ceramic floor or wall tiles of any formula, if in good condition have a low, most likely negligible risk of releasing harmful particles or fibers into indoor air. And a ceramic tile that comes loose intact or with a single break is also unlikely to release a measurable amount of dust or particulates into the building.

Watch out: Phillip A. Peterson Vice President Fibertec Industrial Hygiene Services, Inc.[49] advises that Although the tile themselves are unlikely to contain asbestos, the grout and bedding may well contain asbestos and the demolition of the tile will likely create an exposure hazard when the grout and/or bedding are disturbed.

Ceramic floor tiles that are being demolished, ground, sanded, or cut with a tile saw, if they are old enough to have been installed when asbestos was in common use in grout, tile bedding, or (in newer homes) thin set or tile mastic, could be hazardous and should be handled appropriately.

If you are considering demolition of old ceramic floor tiles or similar materials, or are using a sander, grinder or tile saw on such materials, there could indeed be an asbestos hazard and you should follow appropriate handling, dust control, personal protection, and cleanup procedures.

If you have a segment of floor tile (or any material) tested for asbestos the test should be performed by a certified asbestos testing laboratory.

In Any Case, Better to Leave Asbestos-Containing Floor Tiles In Place

As with known or suspected asbestos-containing floor tiles (such as asphalt or vinyl-asphalt asbestos floor tiles), when it's feasible expert sources recommend leaving the original floor tile material in place and covering it over with new flooring.

Leaving asbestos-suspect flooring in place, even if you need to level the floor before it is covered with new material, is not only less costly than a professional asbestos abatement project, it also is likely to be the course with the lowest risk of asbestos dust or fiber release and contamination in the building. According to the US EPA {discussing asbestos abatement in schools] :

... In addition, abatement activities may create more of a hazard than would normally exist if the ACM were simply protected and maintained in good condition as is the case for ceramic floor tiles. ...[3]

Similar sources indicate that simple deconstruction of a building with appropriately careful disassembly of its parts may not require asbestos abatement. [4]

Details about covering-over asbestos-containing floor tiles or other ACM flooring such as resilient sheet flooring are

at ASBESTOS FLOORING HAZARD REDUCTION

Special thank-you to reader A.H. who suggested clarification about the risk that ceramic wall tiles or ceramic floor tiles might contain asbestos. - Ed.

Contaminants & Health Hazards Ceramic Tile & of Other Ceramics: Clays, Pottery, Art Studios

For potential health hazards associated with exposure to artists materials for those working with ceramics, such as clays, glazing compounds, and pigments, see

our "ARTS & CRAFTS MATERIAL HAZARDS & TOXICITY entry included

at ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS - INSPECT, TEST, REMEDY and references at the end of this article. [51][52][53]

Also, as ingredients used in the manufacture of some ceramic tiles or in tile glazing may contain surprising contaminants of a wide variety, including heavy metals, lead, possibly arsenic, and radioactive materials, see

• Breedveld, Leo, Giorgio Timellini, Giorgio Casoni, Alberto Fregni, and Graziano Busani. "Eco-efficiency of fabric filters in the Italian ceramic tile industry." Journal of Cleaner Production 15, no. 1 (2007): 86-93.
• Candela, S., F. Ferri, and M. Olmi. "[Lead exposure in the ceramic tile industry: time trends and current exposure levels]." Annali dell'Istituto superiore di sanita 34, no. 1 (1997): 137-143.
• Counter, S. Allen, Marie Vahter, Goran Laurell, Leo H. Buchanan, Fernando Ortega, and Staffan Skerfving. "High lead exposure and auditory sensory-neural function in Andean children." Environmental health perspectives 105, no. 5 (1997): 522.
• Jordán, M. M., M. B. Almendro-Candel, M. Romero, and J. Ma Rincón. "Application of sewage sludge in the manufacturing of ceramic tile bodies." Applied Clay Science 30, no. 3 (2005): 219-224.
• Lavat, Araceli E., Monica A. Trezza, and Mónica Poggi. "Characterization of ceramic roof tile wastes as pozzolanic admixture." Waste management 29, no. 5 (2009): 1666-1674.
• Monfort, E., J. García-Ten, I. Celades, Ma F. Gazulla, and S. Gomar. "Evolution of fluorine emissions during the fast firing of ceramic tile." Applied Clay Science 38, no. 3 (2008): 250-258.
• Montero, M. A., M. M. Jordán, M. S. Hernández-Crespo, and T. Sanfeliu. "The use of sewage sludge and marble residues in the manufacture of ceramic tile bodies." Applied Clay Science 46, no. 4 (2009): 404-408.
• Romero, Maximina, A. Andrés, Rebeca Alonso, Javier Viguri, and J. Ma Rincón. "Sintering behaviour of ceramic bodies from contaminated marine sediments." Ceramics International 34, no. 8 (2008): 1917-1924.
• Vahter, Marie, S. Allen Counter, Göran Laurell, Leo H. Buchanan, Fernando Ortega, Andrejs Schütz, and Staffan Skerfving. "Extensive lead exposure in children living in an area with production of lead-glazed tiles in the Ecuadorian Andes." International archives of occupational and environmental health 70, no. 4 (1997): 282-286.
• Xinwei, Lu. "Radioactivity level in Chinese building ceramic tile." Radiation protection dosimetry 112, no. 2 (2004): 323-327.

Survey of Accredited Laboratories for Asbestos Fiber Analysis

Beginning in March 2012, and using the U.S. NIST directory of accredited laboratories certified for asbestos fiber analysis, [42] we polled at least one laboratory in each U.S. state, Puerto Rico, two Canadian Provinces, and laboratories in Japan and Korea, asking each if their laboratory had ever received ceramic tiles for asbestos testing and whether or not their lab had ever detected asbestos in ceramic tiles used on walls, floors, or other building services. Results will be included here.

We asked: "Can you tell us if your laboratory has ever received samples of ceramic wall or floor tile to test for asbestos, tell us if you have encountered asbestos in ceramic tiles used on walls or floors, and/or can you provide a reference to a paper, study, book, or expert who can tell us whether or not asbestos in any form was used in the production of ceramic wall tile or floor tile, or in terra-cotta or similar tile products." and we invited technical review of this article.

Notes to the table above:

(1) Survey initiated 3/8/2012

(2) Asbestos reported as extensive in ceramic tiles made out of North America, particularly in the Mediterranean area[44]

(3) Our calculated estimate of total number of actual lab samples processed by laboratories responding to the survey. Based on correspondence, e.g. P. P. to D.F. 3/14/12[49] estimated less than 150" tile samples over 20 years of ceramic tile, & 200 grout & bedding samples over 8 years of testing.

We estimated 6 tile samples per year or 25 grout samples per year per responding lab, and and multiplied that by known or estimated number of years of lab testing of tiles or grout. [E.g. 200 samples/8 yrs = 25 grout samples/year. 25 x 6(labs) x 10 yrs) =1500]

(4) In every case the asbestos mineral has been chrysotile asbestos and the concentration of asbestos has exceeded 2 percent (making them asbestos containing materials by definition). [49]

Watch out: while asbestos may be absent from your ceramic tile found on walls or floors, it may be present in joint compound used on drywall behind the tile or in some tile adhesive mastics. Also some ceramic tiles may contain lead.

 

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Reader Q&A - also see RECOMMENDED ARTICLES & FAQs

On 2023-09-01 by InspectApedia Publisher

@Brian,

We don't know if your ceramic tile, grout, and adhesive mastic contain asbestos or not. Even if not, silica dust is hazardous, so if you're chopping grinding sawing the hazard is increased. Beyond that, as I can't see the job and have no specifics, any answer is - sorry - just too speculative to be accurate.

On 2023-09-01 by Brian

@InspectApedia DF, so it should be safe to remove the tile, grout and thin set so long as we are careful not to damage it too much?

Thank you.

On 2023-08-29 by InspectApedia DF (mod)

@Brian,

It is unlikely if the tile was produced in the US. Although you may find asbestos in some tile grouts and thinset tile mastics.

Also keep in mind that even if the tiles did contain asbestos, if in good condition, they are nevertheless a non-friable material that would not normally be a hazardous source of asbestos in buildings

Please read more above on this page.

On 2023-08-29 by Brian

My house was built in 1964 in Florida. I have 6x6 tiles that I believe are ceramic. What are the chances they contain asbestos? (I know I have asbestos in the popcorn ceiling already).

On 2022-01-19 by Inspectapedia Com Moderator

@Ryan,

Keep in mind that ceramic tile is anything BUT friable: it's hard as the dickens. You can't make hazardous dust from such material unless you're doing a demolition. Any mastic would have been behind the tile.

On 2022-01-19 by Ryan

@moderator

On 2022-01-19 by Ryan

Just having to reno a bathroom. Boss didn't check tiles and mastic for asbestos. Nor did he check the multiple layers of vinyl tilea/sheet vinyl.

These tiles look old enough to be a concern for at least grout/mastic exposure. They have been painted white.. which also makes me wonder if someone else kniw they contain asbestos. Thoughts?

...

On 2021-11-17 by Inspectapedia Com Moderator

@ Asbestos grout in kitchen...?,

Not without more specific details or actual testing

On 2021-11-17 by Asbestos grout in kitchen...?

@Inspectapedia Com Moderator, i understood that there is now low asbestos in the kitchen since not zero, what is not the worst but also not the best and safest, but was also wondering if most of the grout was with asbestos, or only little percentage, if someone would know that. Thank you.

On 2021-11-17 by Inspectapedia Com Moderator

@ Asbestos grout in kitchen...?,

How did we get from low probability high worry?

On 2021-11-17 by Asbestos grout in kitchen...?

@Inspectapedia Com Moderator, Thank you very much! Whats the percentage/chance that the grout would contain asbestos in kitchen counter and bahtroom please in California? High chance?

Now I feel worried to use the counter as mugs and pots are coming with contact with the kitchen tiles/grout every day. Is it even safe to live in these possible asbestos houses? And is the garage and window safe in your opinion?

And when they cutting walls on that neighbours house without protections and just throwing in a truck without putting in bags, is that something to worry about, or is that normal procedure and the possible asbestos would not really affect house next to it or air while walking around the house.

Wondering also how safe it is to visit them. Thank you!

On 2021-11-17 by Inspectapedia Com Moderator

@Asbestos grout in kitchen counter/shower, window, garage?,

The probability of the Airborne asbestos at detectable levels from bathroom or other undisturbed, intact ceramic tile and tile grout is quite low but of course not zero as you can read in the article above on this page.

On 2021-11-16 by Asbestos grout in kitchen...?,

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Continue reading  at at FLOOR, CERAMIC TILE or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see CERAMIC TILE, ASBESTOS / LEAD FAQs - questions & answers posted originally at the end of this page

Or see these

Recommended Articles

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• ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE IDENTIFICATION PHOTOS 1949-1959
• ASBESTOS TESTING LAB LIST
• CERAMIC TILE, ASBESTOS / LEAD?
• CERAMIC TILE DAMAGE REPAIR
• FLOOR, CERAMIC TILE
• LEAD TESTS for the FAMILY
• MASTIC, CUTBACK ADHESIVE, FLASHING CEMENT ASBESTOS

Suggested citation for this web page

CERAMIC TILE, ASBESTOS / LEAD? 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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