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Tiles and Floors on asbestos
Asbestos
Floor Tiles - Everything You Need to Know
old vinyl
floor tiles
Asbestos
floor tiles are one of the most common properties on a certain age and need not
be a reason to panic, you might not even need to delete them. However, knowing
how to identify them and removing asbestos floor tiles is a serious business.
Hiring an accredited professional to remove asbestos tiles is the obvious
choice, but we will also see how to remove them yourself and, equally
importantly, how to safely remove asbestos.
How do you
know if you have it - Identify
Let's start
with the principle used in the floor and construction industry: If you think it
can be asbestos, treat it as asbestos, even if the ingredients have not been
tested.
Vinyl is a
type of plastic that has long been a popular material for tiles and slabs. Old
vinyl products containing asbestos remain in many buildings throughout the US,
creating danger for contractors and renovation experts themselves.
Working
with asbestos floors can release toxic dust. Lack of awareness in the past has
caused many workers to suffer from terrible diseases today such as mesothelioma
and asbestosis.
Workers
must take many precautions to safely remove asbestos floor tiles, and also be
advised to always be safest by leaving asbestos transfer to a qualified
professional.
What Makes Dangerous Asbestos Floors?
Asbestos is one of the toxic minerals ever mixed by American
producers into many building materials. When these old ingredients are
disrupted, they emit dust that can make people sick later on.
Fibrous asbestos, meaning that it can be pulled apart into a
soft consistency and also furry. Mixing asbestos fibers into building materials
makes it stronger and more heat resistant.
This is why asbestos has become a popular additive in vinyl
flooring products for most of the 20th century. Unfortunately, breathing in
asbestos dust can cause some serious diseases.
When you breathe microscopic asbestos fibers, they can get
stuck in your body forever. The human body cannot dissolve asbestos.
Conversely, asbestos fibers can eventually cause a buildup of scar tissue or
genetic changes that lead to cancer.
The asbestos industry covers the dangers of asbestos for
decades. However, in the 1970s, medical evidence had accumulated.
Thousands of traders who spend their careers working with
asbestos materials have died from related diseases. Although the use of
asbestos is now limited in the US, thousands still die every year due to the
use of toxic minerals in the past.
It is safest to assume that floor material placed before
1980 contains asbestos. Without a manufacturer's label, you cannot know whether
a product has asbestos in it or not, just by looking at it.
You can find out by asking a professional for an asbestos
reduction by checking the material. You can also send floor samples to the
laboratory to do the testing.
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Asbestos
Material that Can Be Compared vs.
Asbestos materials
are grouped into two categories depending on how dangerous they are.
Damaged
material is easily broken and also easily broken by hand. Reliable asbestos
materials are very dangerous because they can easily release toxic dust into
the air. An example is the isolation of old asbestos pipes.
Durable
non-ingredients. These products store asbestos fibers safely contained as long
as the material is not damaged. An example is a floor plate made of asbestos
cement.
When vinyl
asbestos floors are destroyed or damaged, they are considered fragile. In this
case, it needs to be removed very carefully to avoid exposure to asbestos.
But when
the vinyl asbestos floor is in good condition, it is considered not loose. That
means it's safe to walk but it's not safe to scrape, sand or use
electrical-related devices.
In many
cases, the best thing to do about vinyl asbestos floors is by placing a new
layer of floor on top. You can also cover it with epoxy floor paint.
Both of
these options will make asbestos stuck on the floor. Just keep in mind that
asbestos will remain if someone does demolition or renovation work in the
future.
If you
decide to remove non-loose vinyl asbestos floors, you must be careful for two
reasons:
- if you
break the floor into pieces when removing it, you have effectively turned it
into a fragile material.
- Even if
the vinyl floor is pulled up in full, the old adhesive underneath may also
contain asbestos.
How To
Safely Remove Asbestos Tiles
It is
always safest to leave the removal of the asbestos floor to professionals
asbestos reduction.
Workers
need protective equipment to prevent asbestos exposure, and they must also
follow special procedures to avoid contamination of the entire building.
In general,
the law requires licensed professionals to carry out asbestos removal in
commercial buildings.
Some
jurisdictions allow private homeowners to remove asbestos material themselves,
but DIY asbestos reduction has never been recommended.
Before you
remove the asbestos floor yourself, you should check state and city regulations
to remove and dispose of asbestos.
To do work
without putting yourself or your household at risk, you must take the same
precautions as professionals.
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Equipment
for removing safe asbestos floors include:
Plastic
sheet to cover the work area. In order not to spread asbestos contamination,
workers must close the air vents, doors and windows with plastic covers and do
not forget to turn off the heating, ventilation or air conditioning unit. All
items that cannot be removed from the work area must also be covered in
plastic.
Respirator
with a high efficiency particulate air filter (HEPA). Ordinary dust masks do
not protect from microscopic asbestos fibers. Every worker needs a half mask or
face full of HEPA filters.
Air
purifier with HEPA filter. Setting up air purifiers in the work area reduces
the risk of contamination.
Clothes and
gloves are only disposable. Asbestos is difficult to wash from clothing.
Workers must wear clothing or disposable clothes that they plan to throw away
when the work is finished.
The pump
sprayer is filled with water. Keeping asbestos material wet helps prevent dust
from entering the air. Workers must spray the floor and the old adhesive
underneath to keep it moist at all times. Solvents may be useful for dissolving
old adhesives.
Wet wipes
or HEPA vacuum. Workers must clean the work area and not forget all tools with
disposable wet wipes to avoid stirring asbestos dust. Another option is to use
a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter to trap dry dust.
Sealable
plastic bag for disposal. Many jurisdictions require asbestos material to be
collected and disposed of in specially designed and labeled bags.
It is
illegal to dispose of asbestos material with ordinary waste.
Quality
emission reduction professionals know how to properly remove asbestos. If you
have to dispose of asbestos yourself, you should find a garbage or garbage
storage service that can accept asbestos. You might have to call to make an appointment
first.
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