Spoiler Alert: You Can't Visually Identify Asbestos in Materials

Spoiler Alert: You Can’t Visually Identify Asbestos in Materials

Asbestos is a dangerous mineral that was commonly used in building materials for its fire-resistant and tensile strength properties. However, it was later discovered that inhaling asbestos fibers can cause serious health problems, including lung cancer, asbestosis, and mesothelioma. In this blog, we’ll explain why you cannot tell if a material contains asbestos by visual assessment.

Photo: Raw sample of Chrysotile Asbestos mined from the ground

Asbestos Fibers Are Microscopic

Asbestos fibers are microscopic and cannot be seen with the naked eye. This means that even if a material looks perfectly normal, it could still contain dangerous asbestos fibers that can be released into the air when the material is disturbed.

To give you a sense of how small asbestos fibers are, you can fit over 3,000 asbestos fibers between the millimeter markers of a tape measure. Here are a few further comparisons to common things:

Scale: 1mm = 1,000 microns

Mold Spore: Asbestos fibers are 0.3 microns wide, whereas a single mold spore averages 50 microns wide.
A human hair: Asbestos fibers are approximately 10-100 times smaller in diameter than a human hair.
Red blood cells: Asbestos fibers are half the size of a single red blood cell, which is itself only about 8 micrometers in size.
Bacteria: Asbestos fibers are smaller than most bacteria (5 microns)

Photo – Comparison of asbestos fibers to a human hair

Asbestos Fibers Are Often Mixed with Other Materials

Asbestos fibers were often mixed with other materials to create asbestos-containing products, such as insulation and flooring. These products may look like products that do not contain asbestos, making it difficult to determine if asbestos is present just by looking at the material.

Over a long career of asbestos sampling, our qualified testers can gain a general sense of the probability of a material containing asbestos,however the certainty is never 100% which is why we always have to perform sampling. Our assumptions are sometimes proven wrong by the lab result.

Asbestos Fibers Can Be Hidden under multiple layers

Asbestos fibers can be hidden within a material, making it difficult to determine if asbestos is present. For example, asbestos-containing insulation may be hidden behind walls or in attics, making it difficult to see and assess. Sometimes we see older homes with double drywall, for the sole purpose of concealing the asbestos containing materials beneath. We cannot assume all layers are clean because the outer layer is.

Sometimes asbestos is found in one location of the home but not another, even when we sample the same material. A common example is when testing drywall joint compound (mud), we may receive a clean result in one location, and an asbestos containing result in another location of the same room. Because drywallers used to manually pour a bag of asbestos fibers into their mud to add tensile strength and reduce cracking upon drying, we may have spots where they used asbestos mud, and then touched up a joint with clean mud before leaving for the day because they ran out of asbestos.

For this reason, the regulation in BC requires a minimum number of samples of the same material, before we can call it clean.

Please refer to our blog titled “how to sample for asbestos” for a table reflecting the number of samples needed:

https://winmarkootenay.com/how-to-sample-for-asbestos/

Only Laboratory Testing Can Confirm the Presence of Asbestos

The only way to confirm if a material contains asbestos is through laboratory testing. This involves taking a sample of the material and having it analyzed in a laboratory to determine if asbestos fibers are present.

Photo: Asbestos Fibers under Electron microscopy

Photo: Asbestos Fibers under Polarized Light Microscopy

The Health Risks of Asbestos Exposure

Exposure to asbestos fibers can lead to serious health issues, even decades after the initial exposure. The most common health risks associated with asbestos exposure include:

Asbestosis: A chronic lung condition caused by inhaling asbestos fibers, leading to lung tissue scarring.
Lung cancer: Prolonged exposure to asbestos increases the risk of developing lung cancer.
Mesothelioma: A rare and aggressive cancer that affects the lining of the lungs, abdomen, or heart.
Other cancers: Asbestos exposure has also been linked to cancers of the larynx, ovaries, and gastrointestinal tract.

Common Places to Find Asbestos in Homes

Asbestos was used in a wide variety of building materials, so it can be found in many places in older homes. Some common locations include:

Insulation: Used in attics, walls, and around pipes.
Flooring: Vinyl floor tiles, adhesive backing, and linoleum.
Ceiling tiles and coatings: Popcorn ceilings and acoustic tiles.
Roofing materials: Shingles and roofing felt.
Cement products: Siding, shingles, and panels.
Textiles: Fire-resistant fabrics, blankets, and gloves.

The age of the home

The number one misconception we encounter is “my home was built after 1990 so there’s no asbestos.”

This could not be more false.

In the province of BC, there is no specified cut-off date for asbestos. At one point, the regulation identified the date as 1990, but this was (quietly) walked back several years ago when asbestos was found into the 2000’s throughout many building materials. Currently, you will not find a cut-off date in the regulation.

Excerpt from the Worksafe BC website references asbestos was used until the late 1990’s
The History of Asbestos in B.C.(11 min 15 s)
Asbestos was used in construction throughout B.C. until the late 1990s and it remains a threat today. This video, produced for the B.C. Labour Heritage Centre, tells the story of asbestos use and the price workers and their families have paid in disease and death.
The City of Vancouver has revised their regulation to require asbestos testing into the 2000’s.
Manufacturers of mobile homes frequently purchase materials in bulk, and flooring has been found in various homes throughout the province that is 10 years older than the renovation date or date on the mobile home. An example would be an architecturally dated flooring that the homebuilder has in storage for 5 years, and sells at a discount to a buyer to move the inventory. As such, the renovation date or manufactured date cannot be used as sufficient data to deem the property as asbestos-free.

We know that historically asbestos was phased out in construction materials in BC around 1990 however there is no official cutoff date written in the regulation. The theory is that left over asbestos-containing building materials may have been available for use and in rare cases, various other imported asbestos-containing building materials such as electrical sealant putties, glazing sealants and acoustical sealants are known to exist within the last few years (2020).

As such, Winmar Kootenay and Winmar Nelson do not have a firm cutoff date for the sampling of asbestos either and would consider various factors on a job-by-job basis.

The Importance of Professional Assessment and Removal

If you suspect that a material in your home may contain asbestos, it’s crucial to contact a professional, such as Winmar® Kootenay or Winmar® Nelson, to assess the material and arrange for laboratory testing if necessary. Our professionals have the proper training and equipment to safely handle and remove asbestos-containing materials, reducing the risk of exposure and contamination.

What to Do If You Suspect Asbestos

If you come across a material that you suspect may contain asbestos, follow these steps:

Do not disturb the material: Avoid touching, cutting, or moving the material to prevent releasing asbestos fibers into the air.
Isolate the area: Keep people and pets away from the area until it can be assessed by a professional.
Contact a professional: Reach out to a licensed asbestos abatement company to conduct an assessment and arrange for testing.

Conclusion

In conclusion, you cannot tell if a material contains asbestos by visual assessment. Asbestos fibers are microscopic, often mixed with other materials, can be hidden, and can only be confirmed through laboratory testing.

Given the serious health risks associated with asbestos exposure, it’s essential to take precautions and seek professional help if you suspect the presence of asbestos in your home. Contact us for expert assessment and safe removal of asbestos-containing materials.