Asbestos containing vinyl asbestos floor tilesRemediation Methods for Asbestos Tile Mastics, Cutback Adhesive, or Roofing Sealants & Mastics

Suggestions for covering or remediating asbestos-suspect floor adhesive or mastic.

This article points out that while most mastics and adhesives are not friable thus not easily airborne, there may be reasons to cover up such materials to reduce possible future indoor airborne asbestos exposure.

This article series answers questions about floor tile, sheet flooring, or roofing cutback adhesives or mastics that may contain asbestos. Does or did roofing mastic products & sealants contain asbestos? What are the hazards of demolishing or working on floors or roofs where asphalt-based asbestos-containing mastics, cutback adhesives, or sealants were used? Page top photo of black mastic floor tile adhesive provided courtesy of reader G.M.

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Asbestos-Suspect Floor Tile Mastic Remediation - Cover-Up

Reader Question: has this asbestos-containing flooring adhesive mastic been properly covered and is it safe?

Asbestos-suspect floor tile mastic cleanup job (C) InspectAPedia RFHi, I came across your site while looking into asbestos and hoped you could answer a question.

[Click to enlarge any image]

We took possession of a property which had some asbestos removal and cleaning done to it. We were told that there was bitumen adhesive in the bathroom but that it had been covered to make it safe.

Can you tell from the picture I have included if a covering has been put on [effectively]? Thanks R.F. - United Kingdom, 10 September 2013

Reply:

Normally I'm reluctant to make a firm promise or diagnostic about building conditions from a simple email or a photo or two. We know that an onsite expert will virtually always see important clues or even more dangerous conditions than those that might be reported by a normal homeowner or occupant.

That apologia made, if you click-to-enlarge the photo at above left - that you provided in nice detail, one can see that a tan floor tile mastic remains in place and even looks a bit fragile in some areas (photo right side).

I also see what looks like pinkish paper-like material that may have been red rosin paper or more likely, the backer of sheet or tile flooring that was removed from the area shown.

In my OPINION we are looking at a sloppy, amateur floor covering removal that left old materials in place.

As you can read beginning at MASTIC, CUTBACK ADHESIVE, FLASHING CEMENT ASBESTOS, some floor adhesives contain asbestos, others don't. If your floor was installed prior to 1985, it would be prudent to treat the flooring as well as its adhesive as "PACM" or presumed-asbestos-containing material. Where costs to remove, clean, or cover-over such a floor are not a major expense I'm not sure that testing is warranted.

The EPA and other expert sources explain that the presence of asbestos in buildings does not necessarily warrant its removal, stating:

... not all asbestos-containing products are dangerous. A health risk exists only when asbestos fibers are released from a product [into the air where they are inhaled for example]. Products that are friable (easily crumbled or made into dust that is easily airborne) are more dangerous than products in which binders immobilize the asbestos fibers.

EPA also indicates that not everyone exposed to asbestos will develop an asbestos-related illness or disease. Most people exposed to small amounts of asbestos do not develop asbestos-related health problems. Cigarette smokers are at much higher risk of asbestos-related disease. [1][2][3][4][5]

It is usually reasonable to cover over an asbestos-suspect floor, thereby significantly reducing the risk of sending asbestos fragments or particles of flooring or floor adhesive into the air at detectable levels. And by leaving the flooring material in place you actually expose the building to less asbestos hazard risk than by removing it (in most cases).

For a sloppy job such as the floor in your photo, I would consider the following:

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Reader Comments, Questions & Answers About The Article Above

Below you will find questions and answers previously posted on this page at its page bottom reader comment box.

Reader Q&A - also see RECOMMENDED ARTICLES & FAQs

Question: Best way to seal remaining asbestos-containing floor tile mastic

Asbestos-containing black / brown floor tile mastic remains after flooring removal (C) InspectApedia.com JK

Last week I had the asbestos tile and mastic removed from the concrete floor in our basement. The project manager seemed like he was really rushing to get it done in one day so that his crew could have a long Labor Day weekend.

He told me to wait until the solvent completely dried and then rinse the floor. He also said that there was some mastic left over that it was impossible to remove.

He said that, if they couldn’t get it off, there was no way it was going to harm us.

Asbestos-containing black / brown floor tile mastic remains after flooring removal (C) InspectApedia.com JK ... Asbestos-containing black / brown floor tile mastic remains after flooring removal (C) InspectApedia.com JK

I waited for the floor to dry and was about to mop, when I stepped on some of the mastic and it stuck to my foot like tar. A lot of the mastic they left was now tar-like and sticky.

It appears that the solvent penetrated the mastic more deeply after a few days. There’s also a lot of leftover sawdust under the baseboards.

Is that normal? Or did they rush this? I have called them and they are not responding. Not sure what to do.

Any advice is appreciated. - 2020/09/07 Anonymous by private email

Asbestos-containing black / brown floor tile mastic remains after flooring removal (C) InspectApedia.com JK ... Asbestos-containing black / brown floor tile mastic remains after flooring removal (C) InspectApedia.com JK

Moderator reply:

They rushed and didn't finish the job, though I cannot see large troubling areas in your photos and I agree that it's nearly impossible to remove all traces of asbestos-suspect black or brown flooring mastic adhesive;

I agree with the foreman that sticky tile mastic is not friable and even if it contains asbestos isn't likley to produce a detectable airborne asbestos hazard unless it's part of a grinding sanding operation in the future. Just covering it over is fine.

If it's sticky and remains exposed, old flooring mastic adhesive does need to be treated to avoid that aggravation.

Fortunately there are sealants that can bind, coat, and stabilize old mastics - discussed at our website.

See suggestions at

FLOORING ADHESIVE MASTIC SEALANTS

On 2019-06-03 by (mod) -

It makes sense to treat the floor and adhesive as presumed to contain asbestos.

On 2019-06-03 y Hannah

My husband has pulled up the carpet in a house we've bought, there was carpet, underlay then under that real cork, and under that this black substance over concrete? Trying to understand if it is black mastic adhesive, it's dried out and brittle in places and in others perfectly solid with long seam lines. Appreciate any advice. Can't be sure but the house's interior was in keeping with 50's/60's style but built 1885

On 2018-10-06 by Anonymous

Remodeling a townhome and changing out ceramic tile. When pulling up the ceramic in the kitchen, it is apparent there was some smaller tile 9x9 previously in place. Apparently some time in the past someone pulled the vinyl tiles and laid ceramic over the black adhesive. Now that i am pulling up the ceramic do i need to be concerned about asbestos? Am I ok to continue removal? I intend to simply lay new tile on top. I do not plan to sand or scrape. However the floor may remain uncovered for a few weeks.

On 2017-04-17 by (mod) -

You're right, Cassie that when a material contains less than 1% asbestos, according to the U.S. EPA standards it doesn't have to be treated as an asbestos-containing-material (ACM).

My OPINION is that I prefer to avoid sanding if possible because of the tremendous levels of dust raised and the risks, especially in an older home, that such dust may be high in multiple irritants and possible contaminants: insects, mold, lead, and sometimes asbestos. However when sanding is really necessary what makes sense is to use intelligent precautions: dust control for the work area and personal protection equipment.

You might find that getting up black tarry mastic is a messy job. If you go to sanding right off you'll find that the mastic clogs the sanding belt, increases the job time, and risks heating and melting the tarry mastic back into the now gouged (from first pass rough sandpaper) wood. That's been my experience but of course I haven't seen your jobsite.

If the adhesive is not thick on the floor you might go right to sanding. But alternatively, using a solvent can sometimes help get the thick goop off using a scraper and reducing the later sanding needed. Solvents range from odorless paint thinner to even plain water - do some simple tests to see what dissolves your adhesive. (I suspect that old black mastic is probably a tar or bituminous product that'll need an organic solvent).

In general for any old house restoration work it's best to start by trying the least aggressive cleaning or stripping methods first - solvent, scrape, and less aggressive sanding on floors.

Finally, (well it's never really final until we're dead), additionally, then, check for evidence that the floor was sanded previously - you'll often find older ridges of higher flooring near walls or in corners. If the floor was sanded previously and it's T&G, you'll have another reason to sand off as little of the top surface as you can since you don't want to over-thin the floor (risking exposing the tongues/grooves).

Please also see WOOD FLOOR REFINISHING SAFETY - courtesy of my friend Mike Litchfield, found at https://inspectapedia.com/Home_Renovation/Wood_Floor_Refinishing_Safety.php

On 2017-04-17 by Cassie Tharinger

Hello,

We've recently purchased a house built in 1908-9 (in New England) and a contractor pulled up the kitchen flooring (vinyl stick-on tiles, and some sort of tiles or possibly sheet flooring underneath?) We were planning to sand/refinish the pine floors underneath) After reading a lot on this site, we sent samples of what was left stuck to the floor to be tested by Western Analytics, and the results came back showing trace amount of chrysotile in the mastic.

Kitchen Linoleum - Brown-black granular/ fibrous - Non-friable - None Detected - Cellulose 60% Horse hair 5% - Granular Minerals Organics (tar)
Kitchen Adhesive - Lt. Yellow granular - Non-friable - Chrysotile <1% - none detected - granular minerals organics

and the lab said in their notes: "mastic / adhesive contains less than 1% asbestos (type: chrysotile). it appears asbestos is due to contamination from remnants of an older asbestos linoleum backing. if i'm not mistaken in your state a material having less than 1% asbestos concentration is equivalent to non-asbestos containing. still, do not sand this material."

though our research online shows that less than 1% is not technically acm, we are concerned about sanding, and having a lot of trouble finding any information about this particular scenario.

any advice or info on how to handle this situation and whether we can use/preserve the wood flooring would be so helpful!!!!

-cassie
rhode island


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