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Finland sheet flooring possible asbestos (C) InspectApedia.com KK 2016Finland Resilient Flooring or Sheet Flooring that May Contain Asbestos

Asbestos-containing sheet flooring or resilient flooring product identification in Finland:

This article includes photographs of sheet flooring products sold or installed in Finland and that may contain asbestos. More reader photos, questions, or asbestos test results for flooring in Finland are invited.

This article series describes sheet flooring products known to contain significant levels of asbestos. We describe sources of asbestos in older forms of sheet flooring including felt-backed flooring, rubber-backed flooring, and vinyl cushion-backed resilient flooring products. We include research citations on asbestos use in sheet flooring backer materials.

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Finland Sheet Flooring Products that May Contain Asbestos

Finland sheet flooring possible asbestos (C) InspectApedia.com KK 2016 Finland sheet flooring possible asbestos (C) InspectApedia.com KK 2016

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Question: Finnish sheet vinyl flooring in an old farmhouse in Finland

2016/07/02 My husband and I just began tearing up the sheet vinyl flooring in an old farmhouse in Finland. We were wearing particulate filtering masks and working on the floor for about 5hrs. The laminate flooring was installed in the 70's and and the installer (our father-in-law) assured us there was no asbestos.

But we decided it was better to be safe than sorry and I hope someone can help us to identify these laminate floor designs. I unfortunately do not know the brand or where they were manufactured.

Also, should we be concerned about how much we were already exposed to the dust if there did happen to be asbestos in the floor?
Thank you for your help! - Anonymous by private email, Finland.

Finland sheet flooring possible asbestos (C) InspectApedia.com KK 2016 Finland sheet flooring possible asbestos (C) InspectApedia.com KK 2016

Reply:

I do not recognize the exact pattern of your flooring, but given the apparent age of the floor covering it would be prudent to treat it as presumed to contain asbestos.

If you were able to simply lift up and roll up the sheet flooring to remove it, that is you didn't chop, sand, saw, or grind the flooring to make a dusty mess, the risk of exposure to high levels of asbestos dust from the flooring itself was probably minimal.

If the flooring is glued down, fragile, crumbling, see the asbestos floor hazard removal and hazard minimization articles I give in text below.

Watch out: if the flooring was glued-down, some flooring mastic adhesives also contained asbestos. Details are

at MASTIC, CUTBACK ADHESIVE, FLASHING CEMENT ASBESTOS

(There are so many manufactures and floor tile patterns, types, sizes, and colors over many decades that just looking through catalogs organized by even color or pattern can daunting task. We identify most widely-used brands in articles at InspectApedia.com but I don't know which companies marketed sheet flooring in Finland.)

If there are any stamps or markings on the floor back-side take photos of those and send them to me for further comment.

ADVICE: For buildings with floor tiles or sheet flooring that can be assumed to have been installed in North America before 1986 it would be prudent to treat the flooring as "PACM" or "Presumed Asbestos Containing Material".

That does not mean we should panic nor undertake an expensive and dangerous asbestos removal project.

Asbestos is safe and legal to remain in homes or public buildings as long as the asbestos materials are in good condition and the asbestos can not be released into the air.

Generally the safest approach is to leave such flooring alone and to cover it over with a coating or with another layer of flooring.

If you are removing the sheet flooring in large pieces without grinding, hacking, chopping, the dust hazards are probably minimal; Keep in mind, however that some of the mastic adhesive products also contained asbestos.

See
ASBESTOS FLOORING HAZARD REDUCTION

ASBESTOS FLOORING REMOVAL GUIDE

IF you are faced with a requirement for very messy dust-creating demolition and if you are uncertain about the flooring's asbestos content and cannot identify it through our guides, then you have a sample tested.

NOTE: if you agree, I can post your flooring photos at an appropriate page (and of course give you the link) to solicit replies from others who may know this particular flooring pattern. Our default is to keep you anonymous unless you want your name and/or contact information made public.

Readers who know more about this flooring brand, age, asbestos content, or who have questions about the asbestos content in other flooring products sold / installed in Finland are welcome to CONTACT us by email with questions & photographs.

Scandanavian Test Labs for Asbestos

Scandanavian certified test labs in Finland and Sweden.

SGS Laboratories
SGS Inspection Services Oy
P.O. Box 128
Särkiniementie 3
Helsinki, FI-00211
Finland
t +358 9 696 3701
f +358 9 692 4673
Website: http://www.sgs.fi/

ALS Scandinavia AB
Street address: Aurorum 10
Postal code: SE-977 75
City: Luleå
Phone: 0920-28 99 00
Fax: 0920-28 99 40
E-mail: info.lu@alsglobal.com
Website: https://www.alsglobal.se/en/environment/asbestos ALS Global

ALS Global
Street address: Rinkebyvägen 19c
Box number: Box 700, SE-182 17 Danderyd
Postal code: SE-182 36
City: Danderyd
Phone: +46 (0) 8-5277 5200
Fax: +46 (0) 8-768 3423
E-mail: info.ta@alsglobal.com

Website: https://www.alsglobal.se


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