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How to spot asbestos in poor condition & what to do about it InspectAPedia®  -          How to spot asbestos in poor or damaged condition in buildings & what to do about it How to spot evidence of improper asbestos removal efforts Abandoned asbestos pipe insulation or duct materials Photographs of asbestos in building products

This article discusses how to spot asbestos in poor or damaged condition in buildings & what to do about it, including identification of amateur or improper asbestos "abatement" projects that failed to properly remove materials or that left abandoned asbestos materials in place.

This document assists building buyers, owners or inspectors who need to identify asbestos materials (or probable-asbestos) in buildings by simple visual inspection. We provide photographs and descriptive text of asbestos insulation and other asbestos-containing products to permit identification of definite, probable, or possible asbestos materials in buildings.

While an expert lab test using polarized light microscopy may be needed to identify the specific type of asbestos fiber, or to identify the presence of asbestos in air or dust samples, many asbestos-containing building products not only are obvious and easy to recognize, but since there were not other look-alike products that were not asbestos, a visual identification of this material can be virtually a certainty in many cases.

Readers should see Wear Signs on Cement Asbestos Shingles and  Wear signs on cement asbestos walls for indications of worn, friable cement-asbestos products. For flooring, see Asbestos Flooring Hazard Level of Risk. Also see Asbestos HVAC Ducts a field identification guide to visual detection of asbestos in and on heating and cooling system ducts and flue vents. Also see Micro-Photographs of Dust from the World Trade Center collapse following the 9/11/01 attack. Links to U.S. government and other authoritative research and advice are included.

© Copyright 2012 InspectAPedia.com, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use page top links to major topics or use links at the left of each page to navigate within topics and documents at this website. Green links show where you are in a document series or at this website.

ASBESTOS IN POOR CONDITION on heating pipes - How to Recognize

Asbestos insulation in poor condition like this water pipe asbestos insulation in an 1875 home (falling off, or mechanically damaged) should be removed and properly disposed-of by an asbestos abatement professional.

INCOMPLETE, AMATEUR REMOVAL - Asbestos on heating pipes - incomplete, amateur removal - highly suspect for contamination

Fuzzy scraps of asbestos-suspect material left on a rusty steel heating pipe in a basement indicate that asbestos insulation was removed without cleaning and sealing the surface of the pipe.

Here is a close up of asbestos debris left on a heating pipe. The insulation was simply removed without cleaning.

This is another heating pipe elbow which was not cleaned of asbestos insulation. Unlike the "corrugated paper" asbestos insulation used on horizontal pipe runs, an asbestos paste was used at pipe elbows and on other irregular shapes.

A professional asbestos abatement company with properly-trained workes and competent supervision would have washed these pipes and probably painted them with a sealant.

Finding scraps of asbestos insulation material left on heating pipes (such as in these photos) is a strong indicator that removal was done by an amateur. In such cases I recommend that the building air and settled dust on surfaces be tested for asbestos contamination since removal was by amateurs.

Any air handling equipment (such as a central air conditioning system) should also be checked for asbestos fiber contamination.

When we see evidence of short cuts and amateur workmanship in an asbestos remediation project we're worried that there may have been asbestos contamination of other site or building areas.

So the expense to "correct" this condition, if testing confirms cross-contamination of the site with asbestos fibers, could be greater than the simple cost to clean and re-insulate the piping. Professional cleaning of other building areas could be needed.

Certification & Licensing for Asbestos Abatement, Removal, & Cleanup Companies

As we discuss at ASBESTOS REMOVAL, Amateur, Incomplete, building owners arranging for asbestos cleanup, or any other environmental cleanup for that matter, should be sure that the company they are using is properly certified, licensed, and that the work is conducted with proper supervision and by workers who themselves are properly trained. Failure to take these precautions risks serious consequences including contamination of other building areas by asbestos dust and debris, health risks and harm to the cleanup workers themselves, and future health risks and harm to building occupants as well as potential issues should the property later be offered for sale.

Details are at ASBESTOS REMOVAL, Amateur, Incomplete and Asbestos Removal, Certification. Excerpts are below.

Watch out: in 2010 The New York Times reported [paraphrasing from that article] that over a five year period beginning in 2001 hundreds of asbestos-removal training certificates were given to people who had completed no training whatsoever. The U.S. E.P.A. reported [according to the Times] that Albania Deleon, operating Environmental Compliance Training, a certified asbestos-removal training school in Methuen, MA and the largest such asbestos cleanup training school in the state. 65 to 80 percent of those receiving certification as qualified asbestos removal experts had not received the necessary training.

Many "Graduates from Environmental Compliance Training also obtained jobs through a temporary employment agency also owned by Deleon, were sent out to perform dangerous asbestos cleanup jobs, and were paid "under the table". Deleon was convicted in 2008 of criminal charges but fled the U.S.. She was captured in the Dominican Republic in 2008

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ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS - INSPECT, TEST, REMEDY

ASBESTOS CEMENT & FIBER CEMENT ROOFING
ASBESTOS MATERIAL REGULATIONS
ASBESTOS REGULATION Update
ASBESTOS FLOORING HAZARD REDUCTION
ASBESTOS-FREE INSULATION MATERIALS
ASBESTOS IDENTIFICATION IN buildings
ASBESTOS ROOFING / SIDING DUST
Asbestos Risk Assessment
Asbestos in Good Condition
Asbestos in Poor Condition
ASBESTOS REMOVAL, Amateur, Incomplete
Asbestos Removal, Certification
Asbestos Foamed-Over
Asbestos Air Ducts
Asbestos Air Duct Vibration Dampers
Asbestos Pipe Insulation
ASBESTOS MATERIAL REGULATIONS
ASBESTOS REGULATION Update
ASBESTOS REMOVAL, Wetting Guidelines
Asbestos Roofing Materials
Asbestos Roof Power Washing
ASBESTOS CEMENT & FIBER CEMENT SIDING
Asbestos in unusual places
Carbon Nanotube Materials
CEILING TILES - Asbestos-Containing
Fireproofing containing Asbestos
ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE IDENTIFICATION
Paper Duct Insulation Containing Asbestos
TRANSITE PIPE AIR DUCTS
Transite Pipe Chimneys & Flues
Transite Pipe Water Supply Piping
Urea Formaldehyde Foam Insulation UFFI
VERMICULITE INSULATION
ASBESTOS Photo Guide to Materials / Products
ASBESTOS REMOVAL, Wetting Guidelines
Asbestos Under the Microscope
INSULATION IDENTIFICATION GUIDE
  ASBESTOS-FREE INSULATION MATERIALS
  ASBESTOS IDENTIFICATION IN buildings
  Asbestos Pipe Insulation
  Balsam Wool Batt Insulation
  BLOWN-IN INSULATION
  BRICK LINED WALLS
  BRICK VENEER WALL INSULATION
  Cellulose loose fill insulation
  Ceramic Insulation
  Concrete insulation, light-weight
  Cotton Insulating Batts
  Fiberglass Insulation
  Foam Board Insulation
  Foam Insulation Types - Visual Id
  Homasote & Other Insulating Board
  Icynene Foam Spray Insulation
  Mineral Wool - Rock Wool Insulation
  Paper Duct Insulation
  Perlite Insulation
  PHENOLIC FOAM INSULATION
  POLYISOCYANURATE FOAM INSULATION
  POLYISOCYANURATE FOAM BELOW SLABS
  POLYSTYRENE FOAM INSULATION
  STRESS SKIN INSULATED PANELS
  STUCCO OVER FOAM INSULATION
  SUPER HI-R INSULATION
  SUPERINSULATION RETROFIT
  URETHANE FOAM Deterioration, Outgassing
  VERMICULITE INSULATION

INSULATION INSPECTION & IMPROVEMENT
INSULATION LOCATION - WHERE TO PUT IT
INSULATION MOLD
INSULATION R-Values & Properties
MOLD in FOAM INSULATION, RESISTANCE
LEAD POISONING HAZARDS GUIDE
MOLD: A COMPLETE GUIDE to TEST CLEAN PREVENT
Nanomaterials Hazards

• 3/07: thanks to Gary Randolph, Ounce of Prevention Home Inspection, LLC Buffalo, NY, for attentive reading and editing suggestions. Mr. Randolph can be reached in Buffalo, NY, at (716) 636-3865 or email: gary@ouncehome.com
• 06/07: thanks for photographs of transite asbestos heating ducts, courtesy of Thomas Hauswirth, Managing Member of Beacon Fine Home Inspections, LLC and (in 2007) Vice President, Connecticut Association of Home Inspectors Ph. 860-526-3355 Fax 860-526-2942 beaconinspections@sbcglobal.net

Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair

• Our recommended books about building & mechanical systems design, inspection, problem diagnosis, and repair, and about indoor environment and IAQ testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore. Also see our Book Reviews - InspectAPedia.

Asbestos Hazard, Testing, Removal, References & Products

• Environmental Health & Investigation Bibliography - our own technical library on indoor air quality inspection, testing, laboratory procedures, forensic microscopy, etc.
• ASBESTOS IDENTIFICATION IN buildings How to find and recognize asbestos in buildings - visual inspection methods, list of common asbestos-containing materials
• Asbestos Identification and Testing References
• Asbestos Identification, Walter C.McCrone, McCrone Research Institute, Chicago, IL.1987 ISBN 0-904962-11-3. Dr. McCrone literally "wrote the book" on asbestos identification procedures which formed the basis for current work by asbestos identification laboratories.
• Stanton, .F., et al., National Bureau of Standards Special Publication 506: 143-151
• Pott, F., Staub-Reinhalf Luft 38, 486-490 (1978) cited by McCrone
• Asbestos in Good Condition
• Asbestos in Good Condition
• Asbestos in Your Home U.S. EPA, Exposure Evaluation Division, Office of Toxic Substances, Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington,D.C. 20460
• Asbestos HVAC Ducts and Flues field identification photos and guide
• Asbestos NESHAP Adequately Wet Guidance, EPA340/1-90-019, December 1990, U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, Stationary Source Compliance Division, Washington, DC 20460,original web source: http://www.epa.gov/region04/air/asbestos/awet.htm
• Asbestos paper duct wrap
• Asbestos products and their history and use in various building materials such as asphalt and vinyl flooring includes discussion which draws on Asbestos, Its Industrial Applications, D.V. Rosato, engineering consultant, Newton, MA, Reinhold Publishing, 1959 Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 59-12535 (out of print, text and images available at InspectAPedia.com).
• Asbestos Transite Chimneys, Flues, & Pipes in buildings
• Asbestos under the microscope
• Asbestos Vibration Dampers & Asbestos in the Air Handler
• Ceiling tiles: How to recognize ceiling tiles that may contain asbestos
• Examples of unusual uses of asbestos in buildings
• Fiberglass: Indoor Air Quality Investigations: Health Concerns About Airborne Fiberglass: Fiberglass in Indoor Air from HVAC ducts, and Building Insulation
• Enviro-Scare: Electric Power Lines, Electromagnetic Fields, Cancer Risk, & "Enviro-Scare" - The Normal Curve Cycle of Public Fear of Environmental Issues
• Dust from the World Trade Center collapse following the 9/11/01 attack: the lower floors of this building contained spray-on fire-proofing asbestos materials.
• Asbestos Information Links: Asbestos Detection, Testing, Recognition, Hazards, Field Photos, and Information Sources, including health-related links such as legal services and information about mesothelioma and other cancers.
• "Handling Asbestos-Containing roofing material - an update", Carl Good, NRCA Associate Executive Director, Professional Roofing, February 1992, p. 38-43
• EPA Guidance for Controlling Asbestos-Containing Materials in buildings, NIAST, National Institute on Abatement Sciences & Technology, [republishing EPA public documents] 1985 ed., Exposure Evaluation Division, Office of Toxic Substances, Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington,D.C. 20460