Asbestos In Attic Safe

Place the plastic sheeting over the walls by taping them down as well.

Asbestos in attic safe.

Asbestos only becomes a problem if it becomes airborne and gets into your lungs at a high enough dose. In older homes specifically asbestos may be found in many different materials from pipe insulation to flooring adhesive to roof shingles. Asbestos is dangerous because it contains what is known as fibrous crystals. Asbestos isn t like radioactivity which can be a hazard because it constantly emits radiation.

Place the plastic on the floor to cover it and make sure you tape it down. These fibers consist of millions of microscopic fibrils. These are thin visible fibers. The epa says that vermiculite insulation which is the pebbly stuff found in attics of many older homes is only risky if it contains more than one percent asbestos.

Asbestos was incorporated in the insulation of different types including attic insulation. Plastic sheeting is very inexpensive but will prevent the asbestos fibers from contaminating the air. Asbestos causes cancer and other diseases. Once vermiculite is disturbed millions of asbestos fibers become airborne.

Consider this statement from research titled zonolite attic insulation exposure studies where even the suggested method for removal by the manufacturer grace created a very unsafe condition. Asbestos is actually a natural fiber so if your attic insulation looks like wool there is a slight chance that it will contain asbestos. Asbestos fibers must be airborne to cause a health risk through inhalation so the first step is not to disturb the material which would release more fibers into the air. But just because your insulation is old doesn t mean it is dangerous.

Due to the harshness of asbestos it is very important that it does not get out of the attic to infiltrate the rest of the home. One of the most common materials containing asbestos fibers is attic and wall insulation. If you re concerned about a particular material in your home you can call an asbestos inspection company to come in and have the material tested. The best way to do this other than wetting the asbestos is covering the attic in plastic.

That s good news because most zonolite a type of vermiculite insulation falls into that category. While remodeling the attic of his 1960s home john found piles of brown pebble like insulation. Attic insulation in older homes may contain asbestos that could fall through ceiling cracks. There is no known safe level of asbestos exposure.