Asbestos
Asbestos is a commercial name for several naturally occurring, fibrous, inorganic minerals. Asbestos has been commonly used in building materials since the early 1900’s, due to its characteristics of high tensile strength, heat and chemical resistance and excellent frictional properties. Asbestos consumption in the United States peaked in 1972 at about 800,000 tons per year.
Among the most common uses remaining in buildings today are vinyl asbestos floor tiles, vinyl asbestos sheet flooring, patching compounds, textured paints, ceilings, Sheet rock, stove and furnace insulation, pipe insulation, wall and ceiling insulation, roofing, shingles and siding. For ease in cataloging, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has apportioned the aforementioned categories into three forms:
1. Surfacing materials sprayed or troweled on ceilings and walls.
2. Insulation around hot or cold pipes, ducts, boilers and tanks.
3. A variety of other products, such as ceiling and floor tiles, and wallboards.
In general, asbestos containing materials in categories (1) and (2) provides the greatest concern, especially if it is friable.
Friable asbestos material is defined to mean any asbestos or asbestos containing material that can be crumbled, pulverized or reduced to powder when dry, by hand pressure. When asbestos-containing material is friable, it slowly releases microscopic particles into the air.