Homes, Buildings and Schools
Asbestos may be one of the most widely used building materials in
history. The fibrous mineral is one of the best known insulators and fire
resistant materials known. In addition, it resists rot and mold, and is
nearly indestructible.
While it has been used for centuries to fireproof and insulate, it didn’t really come into widespread use until after the Industrial Revolution, and even more so after World War II. Between World War II and 1980, asbestos was so widely used in construction that it’s been estimated that there are over 700,000 public and commercial buildings, and over 250,000 schools throughout the United States that were made with asbestos containing materials.
By 1980, Congress had started to enact legislation restricting the use of asbestos in the United States because of its toxicity. Asbestos is a known carcinogen and air pollutant. When materials containing asbestos are damaged or destroyed, they may release asbestos fibers into the air. The tiny fibers can remain airborne for days, and become a health hazard when they are inhaled or ingested. Because of their shape and their chemical composition, asbestos fibers become lodged in the tissues of the lungs, and sometimes work their way through the lung tissues to invade the pleura, a thin layer of membrane that lies between the chest wall and the lungs.
Once in the body, the asbestos fibers become a ticking time bomb, resulting in conditions that may not be diagnosed for up to four decades, though two decades is more common. Those conditions include lung cancer, asbestosis and mesothelioma, a rare cancer that is invariably connected to asbestos exposure. Please see our resources at asbestos.com on mesothelioma and mesothelioma treatment for more information about asbestos-related diseases.
While most of those who are diagnosed with asbestos-related disabilities and illnesses like mesothelioma suffered occupational exposure over many years, there are also many cases where mesothelioma and other conditions resulted from a single intense exposure, or a short term exposure to asbestos in the air. At this point, most medical experts maintain that there is no safe level of exposure to asbestos. With the amount and variety of asbestos containing materials that were used in building during the forty years between the last World War and the early 1980s, everyone has some risk of exposure to airborne asbestos fibers.
In addition, while the U.S. outlawed many asbestos uses in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, many are still allowed, so even newer homes and buildings are not completely asbestos-free. Because the end results of exposure to airborne asbestos can be disastrous, it’s important to understand the risks and likelihood of being exposed to asbestos in our daily lives, and the ways that it can be avoided to cut those risks.
Asbestos in Older Homes
Houses and apartment buildings that were built pre-1980 are very likely
to have been built with asbestos containing materials. Likewise, older homes
that were renovated during those years were likely to have been renovated
using materials that contained asbestos. The Environmental Protection
Agency, charged with protecting us from dangers in the environment, insist
that asbestos is not a danger as long as it is contained. It’s only when
materials that contain asbestos are disturbed, that airborne fibers become a
health hazard.
In older homes, asbestos may be found in pipe insulation, around boilers and furnaces, insulation in the walls and in the rafters in the attic, and in the plasterboard and wallboard that frame the walls of the house. Some of the most common uses of asbestos in older homes, especially during the Fifties and Sixties, were textured paint for faux-plastered ceilings and walls, popcorn wall coatings and ceiling treatments, decorative plaster for cornices and moldings and acoustic ceiling tiles. Asbestos may be found in sheet vinyl flooring and 9”x9” asbestos floor tiles as well as in the adhesives that were used to cement the tiles to the floors. Joint compound (used to smooth seams and fill holes) and plaster also often contained asbestos.
Avoid the risk of asbestos exposure by knowing how to recognize asbestos that may be deteriorating in your home. Before you start any renovations that involve demolition – including tearing up old floor tiles or linoleum or punching holes in walls – bring in a licensed and trained asbestos inspector to identify any asbestos in your home. If your renovations will disturb any asbestos containing materials, consider having them done by a professional with experience and training in asbestos management.
Read more about asbestos in older homes click here
Asbestos in Public and Commercial
Buildings
Most buildings that were built before 1980 were also built with
asbestos-containing materials. In fact, the perceived safety of asbestos
fireproofing made it far more likely that public buildings were built with
materials treated with asbestos. In addition to insulation, you might find
asbestos in floor tiles, ceiling tiles, wall coatings and paint, decorative
plaster, pipe sleeves, boiler insulation and coatings on steel beams that
were used for the infrastructure.
The asbestos in those materials can be released to become a health hazard through normal deterioration and wear and tear, or through renovations. Asbestos can also become a hazard when the buildings are demolished. There’s a great deal of concern among public officials and firefighters about the possibility of asbestos exposure to firefighters and to bystanders when fire destroys a building, but renovation and repairs are among the most likely times that asbestos may be released into the air.
Any renovations to be done on public or commercial buildings should only be done after an asbestos survey. If there is asbestos indicated, then the renovations and repairs should only be carried out after the asbestos has been either removed or encapsulated so that it can’t escape into the atmosphere.
Asbestos in Schools
With over 250,000 U.S. schools containing asbestos, exposure to asbestos
in educational settings is a very real concern. Schools that were built or
renovated before 1980 are very likely to contain asbestos in various
materials, including floor tiles, acoustic wall and ceiling tiles,
fireproofing insulation, pipe and boiler insulation, wallboard, plaster and
plumbing insulation.
As the buildings age, it is becoming more and more common for building failures to create asbestos releases. Furnace replacements and repairs, floods and plumbing breaks may damage or destroy asbestos containing materials and release deadly fibers into the air.
Schools are required by the EPA to maintain an inventory of all materials on site that contain asbestos. The purpose of the inventory is to inform maintenance and other workers where the danger of asbestos release exists so that they can take appropriate steps to contain the danger when working in areas that contain asbestos.
Asbestos in the schools is a serious concern for many reasons. Perhaps the most compelling reason for advocating asbestos removal in all schools is that children seem to be more affected by asbestos and than adults. Their undeveloped lungs may have more trouble dealing with the invasion of asbestos fibers. Asbestos-related conditions seem to develop more quickly and become more serious than when adults are exposed to asbestos.
For more information on asbestos exposure and abatement please visit the Asbestos and Mesothelioma Center.
