[VAC] Re: Asbestos floor tile - I think the hazzard is overblown

["Carol and Oliver Filippi" <ofilippi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Asbestos was a very popular construction material or ingredient in building
products in the late forties thru the 60's, as it has some very useful
properties (one of which can make it hazardous to humans).

Asbestos has relatively long thin fibers which are inert and quite strong.
When this material is incorporated into vinyl (to make floor tile) or the
felt in tar impregnated roofing shingles, etc. the resultant product has
excellent tensile strength and is less likely to break or crack.  One
popular use was using asbestos to make reinforced concrete pipe - which was
used for municipal sewer drains etc. (and is probably still in wide use).  I
haven't heard of any big government projects to replace this asbestos pipe
application.

The danger with asbestos comes from inhaling these fibers.  They can get
trapped in the lungs and cause all sorts of breathing problems and lung
related diseses.  Asbestos is relatively inert, and does not break down.
Thus, the body cannot rid itself of (or eliminate)  these fibers and thus
they can build up, and eventually cause serious health problems.

However, note that the real danger is in inhaling the loose airborn fibers.

If the fibers are encased in plastic (as in vinyl asbestos tile) the
likelyhood of loose asbestos fibers is very low.  Even if you cut the tile
with a saw, the "sawdust" containg the asbestos is very coarse and not
likely to be inhaled as fine asbestos fibers.

Nevertheless, the government reaction to the asbestos fibers has made any
product which contains it to be classified as a hazardous material and
require special removal and disposal techniques.

In most cases, you can probably create a greater hazzard by trying to remove
it, rather than leaving it where it is.  (Insulation on steam pipes for
example.)  One approved technique (which thankfully recognizes this) is to
encapsulate the asbestos containing material so it cant get loose.

Unfortunately, vinyl asbestos tile is not considered encapsulated, though in
reality it really is.

On should still be careful handling this material, but I think some common
sense would indicate that the material is nowhere near as dangerous as the
publicity would lead one to believe, once you understand what the hazzard
really is.

Oliver Filippi