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InspectAPedia ® Home ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS - INSPECT, TEST, REMEDY ACOUSTICAL SEALANT CHOICES AGE of a BUILDING - how to determine AIR BYPASS LEAKS AIR LEAK DETECTION TOOLS AIR LEAK MINIMIZATION AIR LEAK SEALING PROCEDURE AIR POLLUTANTS, COMMON INDOOR ALLERGENS in BUILDINGS, RECOGNIZING ANIMAL ALLERGENS / PET DANDER APPLIANCE EFFICIENCY RATINGS ARCHITECTURE & BUILDING COMPONENT ID ASBESTOS CEILING TILES, Asbestos-Containing ASBESTOS CEMENT ROOFING ASBESTOS CEMENT SIDING ASBESTOS DUCTS, HVAC ASBESTOS-FREE INSULATION MATERIALS ASBESTOS IDENTIFICATION IN buildings ASBESTOS FLOORING HAZARD REDUCTION ASBESTOS FLOORING REMOVAL GUIDE ASBESTOS LIST of PRODUCTS ASBESTOS MATERIAL REGULATIONS ASBESTOS MATERIAL REGULATIONS Update ASBESTOS MATERIAL REGULATIONS, OSHA ASBESTOS PHOTO GUIDE to Materials ASBESTOS REMOVAL, Amateur, Incomplete Asbestos Removal, Certification ASBESTOS REMOVAL, Wetting Guidelines ASBESTOS RISK ASSESSMENT Asbestos Under the Microscope ATTIC LEAKS, CONDENSATION & MOLD ATTIC VENTILATION BASEMENT HEAT LOSS BASEMENT WATERPROOFING BLOWN-IN INSULATION BUCKLED FOUNDATIONS due to INSULATION? BUILDING NOISE DIAGNOSIS & CURE CATHEDRAL CEILING INSULATION CEILING FINISHES INTERIOR CEILINGS, DROP or SUSPENDED PANEL CEILINGS, PLASTER TYPES CERAMIC TILE FLOOR, WALL CERAMIC TILE, ASBESTOS in? CHIMNEY INSPECTION DIAGNOSIS & REPAIR CHINESE DRYWALL HAZARDS CRAWL SPACES DEHUMIDIFICATION PROBLEMS DEW POINT CALCULATION for WALLS EFFLORESCENCE, Salts & White / Brown Deposits FIBERGLASS INSULATION FIBERGLASS HAZARDS FIBERGLASS INSULATION MOLD FLOOR TILE HISTORY & INGREDIENTS FLOOR TILES ASBESTOS FLOOR TYPES & DEFECTS FOUNDATION WATERPROOFING HEAT LOSS in BUILDINGS HOUSE DOCTOR, how-to be HUMIDITY LEVEL TARGET ICE DAM PREVENTION INDOOR AIR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT GUIDE INSULATION CHOICES INSULATION FACT SHEET- DOE INSULATION IDENTIFICATION GUIDE INSULATION MOLD INSULATION R-Values & Properties METAL LATH, PLASTER & STUCCO METHANE GAS SOURCES MOISTURE CONTROL in BUILDINGS MOLD: A COMPLETE GUIDE TO MOLD Museum Artifact Preservation Nanomaterials Hazards NOISE / SOUND DIAGNOSIS & CURE ODORS & SMELLS DIAGNOSIS & CURE PAINT FALURE, DIAGNOSIS, CURE, PREVENTION PLASTER & BEAVERBOARD & DRYWALL PLASTER BULGES & PILLOWS PLASTER LATH, METAL PLASTER, LOOSE FALL HAZARDS PLASTER TYPE IDENTIFICATION PLASTER VENEER Best Practices RADIANT BARRIERS RADIANT HEAT ROOF VENTILATION SPECIFICATIONS SAFETY HAZARDS & INSPECTIONS SEARS KIT HOUSES SOUND CONTROL in buildings Splits in Structural Wood Beams STAIN DIAGNOSIS on BUILDING EXTERIORS STAIN DIAGNOSIS on BUILDING INTERIORS STUCCO WALL METHODS & INSTALLATION STRUCTURAL DAMAGE PROBING SWEATING (CONDENSATION) on PIPES, TANKS Thermal Expansion Cracking of Brick THERMAL EXPANSION of MATERIALS THERMAL IMAGING, THERMOGRAPHY THERMAL MASS in BUILDINGS THERMAL TRACKING Indicates Heat Loss VAPOR BARRIERS & CONDENSATION in BUILDINGS VENTILATION in BUILDINGS VINYL CHLORIDE HEALTH INFO Volatile Organic Compounds VOCs WALL CONSTRUCTION BARRIER vs CAVITY WATER ENTRY in buildings WINDOWS & DOORS WINTERIZE A BUILDING WOOD Burning Heaters Fireplaces Stoves World Trade Center Collapse Dust Photos More Information |
Visual guide to asbestos risk assessment in buildings: This article discusses basic asbestos risk factors in buildings, simple visual inspection procedures, and summarizes current best judgment on removing versus leaving asbestos alone indoors. Visual inspection for asbestos is not a substitute for forensic investigation, air and dust sampling to detect asbestos contamination in buildings due to disturbance of that material. This is part of our document which assists building buyers, owners or inspectors who need to identify asbestos materials (or probable-asbestos) in buildings by simple visual inspection. Also see ASBESTOS DUCTS, HVAC a field identification guide to visual detection of asbestos in and on heating and cooling system ducts and flue vents. Green links show where you are. © Copyright 2013 InspectAPedia.com, All Rights Reserved. Author Daniel Friedman. ASBESTOS RISK ASSESSMENT - Asbestos Risk FactorsAsbestos, a mineral fiber mined from the earth and used as a fire proof insulating material as well as in other products, has been a major occupational and safety hazard of great concern since the 1930's. Out of the work place, in homes and offices, there are also potential health hazards, in particular if asbestos material is damaged, disturbed, in poor condition, or located where it is likely to suffer these effects. But often asbestos-containing material can and should simply be left alone, undisturbed. Unnecessary disturbance of asbestos materials in such buildings is at risk of creating a more severe hazard than leaving it alone. In other cases asbestos encapsulation may be recommended. The decision to leave asbestos alone, encapsulate it, or removing asbestos depends largely on the type of material, its location, its condition, and its exposure to mechanical damage or fiber release. Comments at each example shown in this document indicate the reasons that further asbestos testing or removal are likely to be needed or likely to be unnecessary. Human exposure to airborne asbestos fibers has been linked to asbestosis and is a health hazard. Here is a series of photographs of places I've found common asbestos materials in buildings, and also where I've found recognizable asbestos in a few surprise locations.
Curved asbestos fibers chrysotile. Straight asbestos fibers are amphiboles. The five amphiboles include amosite, anthophyllite, tremolite, actinolite, crocidolite. Chrysotile is the most commonly-found asbestos fiber. The carcinogenicity of asbestos varies according to fiber length and diameter. The most dangerous fibers were those longer than 8microns and less than 1.5 microns in diameter. Asbestos fibers shorter than 3-5 microns in length were reported to have a very low, if any, carcinogenicity. (According to McCrone who in turn quoted studies by King, Klosterkotter, Hilscher, Davis Stanton, Pott, eta als.) The Essential Asbestos Questions to Ask in Assessing the Asbestos Hazard Risk in a Building
McCrone's five questions are focused on the examination of a particle sample, probably an air sample of an indoor environment being tested for asbestos. Field experience suggests adding a 6th and a 7th question:
In effect, these questions assist in evaluating the potential asbestos hazard in a building. Simply looking at a snapshot of airborne asbestos particles is very unreliable. Our work examining airborne particles in a large number of buildings indicates that very significant variations in the level of airborne particles (of all kinds) occur as a result of variations in normal building activity such as whether or not people are even in the building, fans being turned on or off, windows open or shut, vacuuming of surfaces during "cleaning", etc. So a "low" number in any airborne particle measurement is not, alone, reliable in characterizing building risk. [DF] Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)... Ask a Question or Search InspectApediaQuestions & answers or comments about making a visual determination of the level of risk based on the condition or nature of asbestos-containing materials in buildings. Ask a Question or Enter Search Terms in the InspectApedia search box just below. Technical Reviewers & ReferencesRelated Topics, found near the top of this page suggest articles closely related to this one.
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