Do NuWood Sta-Lite ceiling tiles contain asbestos?

This article series provides photographs and descriptive text of asbestos insulation and other asbestos-containing products to permit identification of definite, probable, or possible asbestos materials in buildings.

Do Nu-Wood Sta-Lite Cellulose ceiling tiles contain asbestos?

These questions & answers about ceiling tiles that do, do not, or might contain asbestos were posted originally at ASBESTOS CEILING TILE IDENTIFICATION - be sure to read that article.

2015/11/30 Leslie said:

I've been poking around the net trying to find out about tiles in a 1960 Maine lake house that fortunately still has the box in the attic

Nu-Wood Stay-Lite cellulose fiber ceiling tiles 40-004 class d

Reply: Cellulose is not asbestos but there were asbestos warnings for workers at several Nuwood processing mills.

Leslie, the Sta-Lite cellulose ceiling tile photo that you posted is self-described as a 12" x 24" painted-bevel cellulose product #40-004 - that's wood fibers not asbestos.

These products are classifed as low-density fiberboard. Quoting the U.S. FPL,

Fiberboard is a generic name for construction panels made of wood or vegetable fibers. (Wilson 2007).

Here is how the manufactur itself described Nu-Wood panels:

Made of clean wood fiber, this new wall and ceiling treat- ment consists of specially designed and accurately fitting tile, plank and wainscot units, in large, easy-to-handle sheets.

A high degree of insulation value is built into these Nu-Wood products. 

The image you contributed will be added here to assist other readers and to invite further comment that may give us more information. Thank you.

Watch out: The Wood Conversion Company who produced Nu-Wood products later became Conwed Cororation.

Court documents assert that some Conwed ceiling tiles contained asbestos. - (Wagner v. Bondex, Simpson, & Conwed, 2012)

See details at SIMPSON CEILING TILES

I'd be grateful if you'd take another look at the box for any other labels or markings. Please also use our page bottom CONTACT link to email photos of both sides of the ceiling tiles themselves as well as an installed ceiling if one is present in your home.

Nu-Wood is described by the U.S. Forest Service Technology & Development Program as a cellulose (wood-based) fiberboard product that was produced as early as 1938 including brand names Masonite, Nu-Wood, Du-X and Fir-Tex.

Those early products were not ceiling tiles but rather wood-fiber hardboard or softboard sheets used as a finish material or as a lath or base for plaster walls and ceilings.

Related products included other familiar brand names including Homasote, Beaver Board and Upson Board. These were wood-based products not asbestos products.

See SHEATHING, FIBERBOARD for detailed information about those products.

It is noteworthy that these products indeed included some ceiling products and installations as the U.S. Forest Products lab has documented, illustrating a fiberboard ceiling in a ranger station. Excerpting from the US FPL document cited below we include that image here:

However a number of asbestos and mesothelioma information sources point out that some fabrication plants that at one time processed asbestos materials also processed wood-fiber products and thus there were hazards of cross-contamination and worker exposure to asbestos in those locations.

None of those references that I have read (this is not an exhaustive research) confirmed asbestos hazards in the cellulose products themselves, even though such is technically possible. An example follows:

Watch out: further research is needed to confirm the relationship between Nuwood and Nu-Wood ceiling products but we have found a warning issued by the Minnesota State Health Department cautioning that workers were exposed to airborne asbestos fibers when working in three Nuwood production areas at the Cloquet plant in Minnesota between 1958 and 1974.

Excerpts and the document reference are given in the first citation just below.

Details are at SHEATHING, FIBERBOARD ASBESTOS CONTENT

More information about the Nu-Wood product line and its producer, the Wood Conversion Company, a Minnesota firm, is found at FIBERBOARD SHEATHING

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Reader Q&A - also see RECOMMENDED ARTICLES & FAQs

Question:

I believe I have Nu-Wood Ceiling tiles in my home, as they look the same to the photos on your website.

There are a few that are slightly damaged. I was wondering if these are safe, or if they contain asbestos, and I should be worried. - Anonymous by private email 2020/03/19

Reply:

Thank you for asking, Anon as that helps us understand where we need to be more clear in our information.

The article found above on this page gives our best information that addresses your question.

Or, re-phrasing, wood-based or cellulose-based products are not an asbestos-containing material in general but could become so if manufactured in a facility that also produced asbestos products and if exposed to cross-contamination during manufacture or storage.

In sum, asbestos in your ceiling is not likely but no one should be foolish enough to guarantee the presence or absence of any environmental hazard based on a brief e-text alone, as often other conditions, materials, history, dust levels etc. are present.

Asbestos-containing materials are generally safe and legal if un-disturbed, in good condition and left un-disturbed (paraphrasing advice from the US EPA) and are usually best left alone and covered-over.

Your options are:

- have a sample of the material tested

- treat the material as asbestos-suspect and use appropriate cleanup and dust control measures

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Continue reading  at DO THESE CEILING TILES CONTAIN ASBESTOS? or see ASBESTOS TESTING LAB LIST for access to certified asbestos testing labs, or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see these

Recommended Articles

• ASBESTOS CEILING TILE IDENTIFICATION
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  • CEILING TILE HISTORY / DATES - asbestos ceiling tile history & Dates
  • CEILING TILE IDENTIFICATION
  • CEILING TILE INGREDIENTS
  • CEILING TILE REMOVAL PROCEDURES
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  • ASBESTOS CEILING TILE IDENTIFICATION - 5 Easy Steps to tell if CEILING TILES are likely to contain asbestos
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• ASBESTOS-FREE CEILING TILES
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• ASBESTOS TESTING LAB LIST - certified asbestos testing labs

Suggested citation for this web page

NU-WOOD STA-Lite CEILING TILES at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.

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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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