Asbestos

[rknight111]

Did you know that most houses older than 1986 may contain asbestos. Asbestos is found in drywall joint compound, not in the drywall itself. That can be 1 to 5%. Asbestos is found in Stippled finishes, plaster, VAT(vinyl asbestos tiles), Sheet Vinyl flooring, Floor leveling compound, T-bar ceiling tiles, stucco, brick or block mortar, loose fill insulation in exterior block walls (vermiculite), asbestos cement siding and roofing products, Insulation on duct pipes. I can keep going on and on, but just wanted to inform you before you thought of ripping apart some walls and doing some renovations. Be smart and have them tested before you do. When testing you don't cut a chunk of the wall out, you take some drywall joint compound from a corner bead at about 4', not at the floor. If your testing floor tiles in a room take 3 samples rather than one. Tiles are non-homogeneous and Ive tested 3 tiles in a row, 2 tile samples came up with 1-5% asbestos and one came up ND none-detected. If you have any questions please ask.

 

[mxz sledhead]

had the same problem doing reno in our home 71 bungalow

 

[Stillrockingabanshee]

they tought me at school, that its bad to demolish old houses, because the insulation contains asbestos, which is really bad for your breathing apparantly. So its better to let it be

 

[crushd]

I imagine it is quite pricey to have asbestos removed, which companies are equiped to remove it and what are the costs to have it removed and disposed of?

 

[Caper11]

I imagine it is quite pricey to have asbestos removed, which companies are equiped to remove it and what are the costs to have it removed and disposed of?

Most industrial insulation companies have a few guys trained on absestos abatement. I'm not sure of the costs, I suppose it would depend on the asbestos type and the size of the job.

 

[rknight111]

I imagine it is quite pricey to have asbestos removed, which companies are equiped to remove it and what are the costs to have it removed and disposed of?

Yes it is quite pricey to have it removed, if its floor tiles, its mostly low risk, the company doing the work if in Alberta must still let Alberta workplace know by filing a NOP, Notice of Project. We don't involved in to much of those but companies should consult a third party for testing with even low risk. When its Moderate risk companies must have a consultant that is a third party do all the testing for them. That is an occupational on the employee doing the work, a background outside the containment, and daily running clean room and perimeter air sampling, that must be done every day untill the job is completed. Once completed we go in and inspect, when it looks clean and ready we authorize the contractor to glue out. They spray the area completely with a encapsulant, usually fibrelock using an airless sprayer. Then we go in with a leaf blower and blow everything and disturb the area, then we run a clearance test. The area must be asbestos free or it fails. There is quite a bit more involved if its high risk. Drywall joint compound is considered moderate risk. And there are several companies that specialize in this, one of the big ones is Quantum Murry, there in several large areas throughout Canada, or Donalco. I work for an environmental consulting company, we do everything from Mould, Asbestos, Lead, Hygene, Building sciences, and several other fields, DF Technical & Consulting Services Ltd. - Home Asbestos removal in Alberta is Government Regulated. As well as Grow-Op remediation.

 

[Mike270412]

I chewed all the lead paint off the high-chair when I was 2 so I'm fawked.
Is asbestos worse than that?

 

[Sledderglen]

Glad with me being a auto tech that I never come in contact with ANY of this stuff. Our industry is pure as fresh snow. Right Rick

 

[Work2Ride]

There is an old hotel in Grande Prairie called the York Hotel where all the homeless and drug addicts would hang outside. The city has recently taken action to have it tore down but they had to have companies come in and remove the asbestos dangers.

 

[Haggis]

Ron - I spoke to you last year about attic insulation that I though contained asbestos, in a house we had purchased to flip - thought it was Zonolite. You let me know that 'paper masks' are pretty much useless and a full respiartor should have been warn - in you opinion what brand is the respiator of choice for dealing with suspect asbestos when taking samples, where do you buy them and roughly how much for the cost.

Once you take the sample - where do you sent it for testing?

 

[takethebounce]

they tought me at school, that its bad to demolish old houses, because the insulation contains asbestos, which is really bad for your breathing apparantly. So its better to let it be

Not all insulation contains asbestos.

The largest concern is with Vermiculite that was already mentioned. It is a natural mined product that was used quite a bit throughout Western Canada up until the late 80's for attic and wall insulation. The mines in question were in Montana and such but less than %10 of the homes using Vermiculite actually have asbestos content from that area.

Vermiculite is still found in many products today, but it is tested when it is mined to make sure there is no asbestos content.

For anyone renovating an older home and find small granular like rock in their walls or attic, leave it be before you proceed any further. Have a small sample tested then deal with it however the outcome may be.

 

[Bogger]

Glad with me being a auto tech that I never come in contact with ANY of this stuff. Our industry is pure as fresh snow. Right Rick

Brake dust contains asbestos....

 

[OnlyPolaris]

ya that is bad stuff. it can cause asbestosis and a bunch of lunch deseases. It is very expensive to remove. You have to contact a company and tell them what your doing. You have to create containments and have negative air in them. Your have to have coverals and expensive respirators. Plus you have to have a secure way of hauling it away and you have to find a dump that will except asbestose. If they do they have to dig a special hole just for it. When its all done you have to have the air tested to make sure there are no particles in the air. I am certified to do asbestose abaitments but have not had the privalege of doing one yet.

 

[badss]

I imagine it is quite pricey to have asbestos removed, which companies are equiped to remove it and what are the costs to have it removed and disposed of?

Hazco also does this sort of work....Edmonton, Calgary, BC ...pretty much all over.

 

[plio7]

you can contact any removal company for testing, i believe service master does removal and testing, but not positive, for the type of masks the 3M masks with a particulate filters work but make sure you have a proper fit and are clean shaven or its a waste of your time, to do a quick fit test yourself put your palm over the vent valve and breathe out and check for leaks around the out side and to see if air escapes.....after that put your palms over the filter disks and breathe in to see if it vacuums.......or you can get a a proper fit test done at some of the safety equipment suppliers

Ron - I spoke to you last year about attic insulation that I though contained asbestos, in a house we had purchased to flip - thought it was Zonolite. You let me know that 'paper masks' are pretty much useless and a full respiartor should have been warn - in you opinion what brand is the respiator of choice for dealing with suspect asbestos when taking samples, where do you buy them and roughly how much for the cost.

Once you take the sample - where do you sent it for testing?

 

[ol man winter]

talk to powder bunny she spent two years in school for it and she over sees its removal at work.