Is There Asbestos in Your Floors?

By dciflooringUncategorized

What is asbestos?

A naturally occurring mineral fiber, once widely used in a variety of building construction materials for insulation and as a fire-retardant. Because of its fiber strength and heat resistant properties, asbestos has been used for a wide range of manufactured goods, mostly in building materials (roofing shingles, ceiling and floor tiles, paper products, and asbestos cement products), friction products (automobile clutch, brake, and transmission parts), heat-resistant fabrics, packaging, gaskets, and coatings. Intact, undisturbed asbestos-containing materials generally do not pose a health risk. These materials may become hazardous and pose increased risk if they are damaged, are disturbed in some manner, or deteriorate over time and release asbestos fibers into building air.
Currently, it is legal to include asbestos in almost all types of American products as long as the product does not contain more than 1 percent asbestos.
However, many old buildings and machines in the United States still contain high-percentage asbestos products that were manufactured before modern regulations came into effect. In addition, manufacturers in China and India routinely use asbestos in their factories.
Asbestos remains a threat to the health of people in the United States and all around the globe.
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Why Is Asbestos Dangerous?

Microscopic asbestos fibers cannot be seen, smelled or tasted, and asbestos exposure does not cause any immediate symptoms, so it is easy for a person to inhale or swallow asbestos dust without realizing it. Once asbestos fibers are in the body, they never dissolve, and the body has extreme difficulty expelling them. Over years of time, trapped asbestos fibers can cause inflammation, scarring and eventually genetic damage to the body’s cells.
Asbestos-related illnesses often take 20-50 years to develop, which means most cases diagnosed in the United States today were caused by asbestos exposures that occurred before modern safety regulations came into effect.
Occupational exposure is the primary cause of asbestos-related illnesses, followed by secondhand asbestos exposure. Asbestos-related illnesses can also develop in people who lived in a contaminated environment or used asbestos-containing consumer products on a regular basis.
No amount of asbestos exposure is safe, but asbestos generally has the worst effects when a person is exposed to an intense concentration of it, or they are exposed on a regular basis over a long period of time. More asbestos accumulates in the body with every exposure, and there is no known way to reverse the cellular damage it causes.

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Health Risks of Asbestos

Asbestosis – Asbestosis is a serious, progressive, long-term non-cancer disease of the lungs. It is caused by inhaling asbestos fibers that irritate lung tissues and cause the tissues to scar. The scarring makes it hard for oxygen to get into the blood. Symptoms of asbestosis include shortness of breath and a dry, crackling sound in the lungs while inhaling. There is no effective treatment for asbestosis.

Lung Cancer – Lung cancer causes the largest number of deaths related to asbestos exposure. People who work in the mining, milling, manufacturing of asbestos, and those who use asbestos and its products are more likely to develop lung cancer than the general population. The most common symptoms of lung cancer are coughing and a change in breathing. Other symptoms include shortness of breath, persistent chest pains, hoarseness, and anemia.

Mesothelioma – Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that is found in the thin lining (membrane) of the lung, chest, abdomen, and heart and almost all cases are linked to exposure to asbestos. This disease may not show up until many years after asbestos exposure. This is why great efforts are being made to prevent school children from being exposed.

 

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Asbestos Management

Asbestos management is a serious issue. Billions of dollars have been spent removing asbestos containing materials from schools, homes, and commercial buildings constructed prior to 1978. While spray compound encapsulation methods are the most common remedy for walls, ceilings, and pipes, they are unable to address one major issue… flooring. Spray compounds can not handle the degree of abuse typically seen on floors and simply installing new carpet or tile over an existing asbestos floor is not a viable solution. They do not provide an airtight containment and will degrade over time, allowing the release of asbestos fibers once again.

Asbestos abatement (removal) is probably the most common solution to managing asbestos containing materials. There are several huge draw backs to abatement that one must consider.  One being cost factor. The total cost for a completed abatement is huge. Then factor in the cost of having new floor covering installed. Then there is occupant and/or employee down time. During an abatement process, the area being abated must be contained (completely sealed off). If an apartment building is going to be abated, all residents must be relocated prior to beginning the project. If an office building is being abated, all employees must relocate or business shuts down for the duration of the project costing that particular company valuable time and revenue. Once the abatement is completed, the owner of the building is issued a lifetime landfill liability. You’re responsible for any of the asbestos containing material even after is has left your building.

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Solution 

Fortunately, there is an alternative to these methods of asbestos management. Dynamic Coatings Inc. has the ability to install The Asbestos Barrier System® (ABS®). a product from The National Asbestos Encasing Flooring Systems Inc., The ABS® is a thin three ply membrane composed of polypropylene, fiberglass scrim, and aluminum. This membrane, measuring only 0.008 inch thick, provides a permanent 100% airtight containment of asbestos containing floor material. The cost of the ABS® is typically 50% – 70% less than a complete abatement. The installation of the ABS® does not disturb any of the existing asbestos containing materials eliminating any exposure risk and therefore requires no containment or oversight meaning none of the residents or employees need to be relocated. In a single work day any area encapsulated with the ABS® is also overlaid with new floor covering keeping any disruption to a minimum. Any industry standard floor covering can be installed over the ABS®. Floor covering can also be removed and replaced at the building owner’s discretion. By utilizing the ABS®, the building owner also avoids any lifetime landfill liability, thus eliminating one more expense. Encapsulation is considered an expense item and can be deducted from taxable income in the year incurred.

 

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