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Photo Guide to Asbestos Fireproofing Materials in Buildings InspectAPedia®  -     How to recognize asbestos fireproofing materials in buildings Photographs of asbestos in building products Photographs of Tremolite asbestos in buildings

This page describes common asbestos fireproofing materials used in buildings on ceilings and walls. We have not prepared but will add description of spray-on fiberglass coatings used on steel columns and ceilings in high rise buildings such as the lower floors of the NY World Trade center.

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.

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 2010 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.

ASBESTOS FIREPROOFING - Tremolite Asbestos-containing Spray-on or Slab (Tremolite) Fireproofing in buildings

Slabs of 1" thick asbestos insulating board, typically 6" wide, were used as fireproofing on commercial building ceilings and possibly walls.

According to some experts, this material is usually Tremolite, a particularly hazardous form of asbestos which occurs as both fibrous asbestiform (see 1st lab micro photograph) and non-fibrous granular form which in our samples includes high percentage of ultra-small sub-micron asbestos particulates (see 2nd lab micro photograph).

This material when viewed overhead from below, can appear to be simple concrete.

But a closer look shows its fibrous nature, and inclusions which do not resemble concrete. Unlike cementious asbestos board, this material is soft, very friable, and easily damaged or disturbed. [This tremolite insulation was removed from the building by experienced professional asbestos abatement workers. It should not be handled by amateurs.]

Microphotographs taken in our forensic laboratory show what this particular asbestos material looks like under high magnification and polarized light. See Asbestos Under the Microscope.

Not commonly used in single family residences or small buildings, but common in high-rise buildings into the 1970's, including the lower floors of the World Trade Center, leading to asbestos fiber release at "ground zero" on 9/11/00. At some locations where this material was sprayed on the under-side of steel roofing and on steel columns, it may be hidden by finish materials and enclosures.

Spray-on Fire Resistant Materials May or May Not Contain Asbestos

Some modern spray-on building fireproof or fire-resistant coatings look a bit like products used in the 1970's and prior, but the new materials do not contain asbestos as its use in this application is now prohibited.

Continue reading in this article using direct links to the sections listed below, or

This photograph of building construction with a spray-on fire resistant coating was taken in the Bronx, New York, in 2008.

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Use links just below or 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.

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 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
ASBESTOS: Photo Guide to Materials / Products
Asbestos Under the Microscope

Insulation Material Identification Guide
Asbestos-Free Insulation Materials
  Asbestos Pipe Insulation
  Balsam Wool Batt Insulation
  Cotton Insulating Batts
  Cellulose loose fill insulation
  Concrete insulation, light-weight
  Fiberglass Insulation
  Foam Board Insulation
  Foam Insulation Types - Visual Id
  Homasote & Other Insulating Board
  Icynene Foam Spray Insulation
  Insects & Foam Insulation
  Mineral Wool - Rock Wool Insulation
  Mold in Fiberglass Insulation
  Mold in Foam Insulation
  Paper Duct Insulation
  Perlite Insulation
  PHENOLIC FOAM INSULATION
  POLYISOCYANURATE FOAM INSULATION
  POLYISOCYANURATE FOAM BELOW SLABS
  POLYSTYRENE FOAM INSULATION
  SUPER HI-R INSULATION
  Vermiculite Insulation

• 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
• ...

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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