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This page assists in the recognition of transite pipe used for chimneys or heating flues and discusses potential hazards of this material when it is found in buildings. Transite pipe is an asbestos-cement product which was used for both HVAC ducts and for chimney or flue material to vent gas-fired appliances. In use as a gas-fired appliance chimney/vent transite pipe may have been classed as a type "B" flue vent which required 1" clearance from combustibles. We are looking for a citation to this effect--DF] Cement-asbestos transite pipe may also have been used for water piping in some communities.

Because asbestos cement transite pipe chimneys may have operating and safety problems, concerns completely separate from asbestos handling questions, readers should see our chimney inspection suggestions at CHIMNEY INSPECTION DIAGNOSIS REPAIR.

This is a chapter in our 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, dust or drinking water 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.

Contact us to suggest text changes and additions and, if you wish, to receive online listing and credit for that contribution. © Copyright 2009 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

TRANSITE PIPES OR DUCTS - Transite Chimney and Duct Material Warnings

Unsafe transite pipe heating flue vents may only be noticed by a careful building inspection such as shown in these rooftop photographs of a transite flue vent pipe which deteriorated, became swollen, and risk becoming blocked. In cold climates with these vents from the 1950's era, the real hazard is not so much asbestos fibers as the dangerous obstruction of the vent/flue by the deterioration of the interior of the pipe. [Photographs above and text just above on transite flue deterioration were provided courtesy of Roger Hankey].

In the transite chimney vent photo at above right we note that the exterior has been painted black. We don't know why, possibly the naturally gray-white transite flue was painted black for cosmetic reasons, or perhaps in an effort to slow down its surface deterioration.

Carbon monoxide hazards with transite asbestos cement chimneys

Where transite pipe (asbestos-cement pipe) has been used as a building chimney to vent combustion gases, if the chimney becomes blocked there could be a dangerous carbon monoxide hazard in the building.

The transite pipe chimney - carbon monoxide hazard occurs when the (usually above-roof outdoor portion) of a transite pipe chimney becomes soft with age and exposure to weather, leading to swollen chimney sides and even chimney internal collapse.

The swollen and collapsing transite pipe chimney blocks the venting of exhaust gases from the building heating equipment.

Blocking the venting of exhaust gases, particularly for natural gas or LP gas fired heating appliances, is very likely to interfere with proper combustion at the appliance itself. In turn, this condition results in the production of carbon monoxide at high levels.

1. Ultimately transite pipe cement asbestos chimney vent flue that becomes blocked creates a multiple safety hazard:
2. Increased production of carbon monoxide at the heating appliance
3. Failure to vent combustion gases fully outside the building
4. Leakage of carbon monoxide gases into the building

See CHIMNEY INSPECTION & REPAIR GUIDE and see CARBON MONOXIDE for more information.

Transite pipe, which contains significant percentage of asbestos fibers, was often used for heating ducts and on occasion heating and cooling ducts in older buildings.

The transite pipe was used in a buried-in-slab construction methods which placed the transite piping below or in a building floor slab, and asbestos-containing transite pipe ducts were also used in exposed areas such as shown in the crawl space photographs above. [Photo above showing transite duct material is provided courtesy of Thomas Hauswirth, a Connecticut home inspector.]

Our photo below shows a transite (asbestos cement) chimney on the exterior of an older home. This chimney may be too cold to perform safely, especially if venting a gas-fired appliance. At CHIMNEY INSPECTION DIAGNOSIS REPAIR we describe chimney inspections in detail.

A Brief Summary of Health Hazards from Handling Transite Pipe or Asbestos Cement Piping for Vents, Chimneys, or Air Ducts

Where are the chief health risks with cementious asbestos materials?

Transite pipe, whether it has been used as an air duct, flue vent, chimney, or water pipe, is still a cementious material that is unlikely to release high levels of airborne fibers when it is in good condition.

Touching transite pipe, or simply removing and disposing of an intact section of this material from a building by carrying it outside should not release a significant level of airborne asbestos fibers unless:

• The transite pipe was deteriorated, soft, friable - crumbly and easily made into powder and debris - this can happen where the material was exposed to weather such as the upper portion of a flue vent, plumbing vent, or chimney where it extends above a building roof or where transite air ducts were placed below a floor slab and exposed to water.
• The transite pipe was removed or attacked using power tools such as saws, grinders, or sanders, producing asbestos-containing dust
• The transite pipe was removed or attacked during demolition using hammers and similar implements

In summary, if it has become soft and friable, or if transite pipe is damaged or is cut mechanically (such as by using power equipment), friable, airborne asbestos fibers may be generated - a health and potentially a costly cleanup concern.

Incorrect spellings of transite piping or transite duct material that we've seen include transit pipe, transit ducts, Transide pipe, transide ducts, tranisite pipe, and transight pipe. "Transite" is the correct spelling.

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• ASBESTOS HVAC DUCTS - Guide to Identification of Asbestos Materials On or In Heating and Cooling Duct Work: carbon monoxide hazards of transite chimneys and vents
• ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS - INSPECT, TEST, REMEDY - Environmental Hazard Detection, Testing, Repair, Illness, Symptoms, & Prevention in Buildings
• IDENTIFICATION of ASBESTOS in BUILDINGS - Asbestos Identification in Buildings: How to find & identify asbestos-containing materials
• Transite Pipe Air Ducts - Hazards of Asbestos-containing Transite Pipe HVAC Ducts: duct collapse, mold, radon, asbestos fiber release
• Transite Pipe Chimneys & Flues - Guide to Identifying Asbestos Transite Chimneys & Flues & their Hazards in Buildings
• Transite Pipe Water Supply Piping - Guide to Identifying Asbestos Cement Transite Water Pipes & their Hazards in Buildings

ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS - INSPECT, TEST, REMEDY
ASBESTOS IDENTIFICATION IN BUILDINGS
Asbestos Risk Assessment
Asbestos in Good Condition
Asbestos in Poor Condition
Asbestos Removal, Amateur, Incomplete
Asbestos Foamed-Over
Asbestos Air Ducts
Asbestos Air Duct Vibration Dampers
Asbestos Pipe Insulation
ASBESTOS REGULATION Update
Asbestos Roofing Materials
Asbestos Siding Materials
Asbestos in unusual places
Carbon Nanotube Materials
Ceiling Tiles Containing Asbestos
Fireproofing containing Asbestos
Floor Tiles Containing Asbestos
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 Containing Asbestos
Other Asbestos-Containing Materials
Asbestos Under the Microscope

Insulation Material Identification Guide
Asbestos-Free Insulation Materials

• Roger Hankey is principal of Hankey and Brown home inspectors, Eden Prairie, MN. Mr. Hankey is a past chairman of the ASHI Technical Committee and the ASHI Standards Committee. Mr. Hankey serves as co-chairmain of ASHI legislative committee, and has served in other ASHI professional and leadership roles. Contact: 952 829-0044 - hankeybrown@comcast.net

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More Information on Building Diagnostic Inspections and Repairs

• Asbestos: How to find and recognize asbestos in Buildings - visual inspection methods, list of common asbestos-containing materials
• Asbestos HVAC Ducts and Flues field identification photos and guide
• 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.
• 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

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