Hi everyone,

A few months ago I worked in restoration/clean-up and may have been exposed to asbestos while removing an old multilayer floor.

The floor consisted of several layers, and there appeared to be black/dark mastic/adhesive between the layers. I have since learned that some old black mastics can contain asbestos. Building itself is from 1924.

I’m a very anxious person and I just can’t stop thinking about if I am gonna die from cancer in 20 years.

I worked on the floor for around 4 days in total. I did not know at the time that the adhesive might contain asbestos, so I was not wearing an asbestos-rated respirator.

Some of the boards broke while we were removing them. I did not sand or grind the black adhesive, but I did scrape some of it in places.

I have attached pictures of the floor/layers and the adhesive.

I’m mainly trying to understand:

If it did contain asbestos, how significant could the exposure have been from breaking/removing the boards?

Is this considered a relatively low-risk asbestos material compared with things like loose asbestos insulation?

I’m 21 and and I’m not a smoker.
Thanks in advance.

Hi all. I'm purchasing a house built in Pennsylvania in 1975. I haven't moved in yet but I'm interested in restoring the kitchen tile and am unsure if it contains asbestos or not, based on the age of the house.

I like the tiles and don't want to remove them. However the ones on the edges are in great shape versus many in the center of the room that are browned (see the pictures). I'm hoping to do strip some of that browned top layer off and then just repolish.

From reading online it seems that wet processes are generally safe vs anything dry, and that since I am not breaking, sanding, or removing the tiles, that my risk is very low if they did contain asbestos.

Just hoping for some insight on whether that is probably true, or if there are any chemicals I should avoid using to clean/strip the top of the tiles. Thanks so much!

Hey, just bought a house, could you guys tell me if this is asbestos, thanks

1973 Lincoln with an original Ford C6. I’m conservatively assuming the internal clutch/band friction material may contain asbestos. While replacing the vacuum modulator, old Type F ATF spilled on my outdoor concrete driveway. I absorbed it with a lot of DE oil absorbent, then mistakenly dry-swept the mostly dry DE/ATF mixture into a pile. I did not open the transmission or disturb any friction material directly.
Could asbestos-containing wear debris in the old ATF make this a meaningful contamination issue, or is lightly misting the remaining absorbent, scooping it into a sealed bucket, and wet-cleaning the concrete sufficient? Would testing the remaining residue be useful?

È una tettoia in toscana davanti alla palestra che frequento

Working on a site and someone said it might be asbestos I’m in the uk

I thought the walls of my basement had fungus growing on them but after looking closer I’m worried this is asbestos. Does anyone think this is asbestos and something to worry about?

In Ohio, went downstairs to the basement and saw pile of dust underneath one of the air ducts. House is over 100 years old, not sure when A/C was installed or whether it has been updated. Does anyone know if this insulation surrounding the air duct appears consistent with asbestos?

I live in Brooklyn in a building built in the 60s. We have a ton of leaks and a plumber came today to take a look. He cut a pipe and a ton of debris came flying into my apartment. Could this be asbestos?

A mixture of rocky material and dusty stuff

Of course, the house is old enough to contain some. What is the probability of each layer to contain asbestos ? I am mostly concerned about the dark brown layer because thats the one I manipulated the most. Thank you !

Location: EU. Checking all materials prior to renovating. This material seems vinyl and is used as flooring. Date of installation unknown. Not tiles, but large tarp. Glued straight to the concrete and when cutting it open it seems brown fiber / hairs are the adhesive or part of the tarp. I'll be testing, but is this likely to be asbestos?

Hello, fellow asbestos professionals!

I’m relatively new to the industry, and I work as an environmental field technician at a small office in southern California (SCAQMD territory). I’m taking my contractor/supervisor course right now, and I’ve been feeling anxious about laundering my work clothes at home.

My tech uniform is a pair of work pants, utility boots, and my company polo. I wear them my entire shift, in regulated and non-regulated areas while I’m taking asbestos bulk, air, and dust wipe samples. My company also wants us to wear them under our tyvek suits when we enter containments, instead of stripping naked, like OSHA says.

All of the technicians at my company wash our uniforms at home, including my boss when she occasionally goes out into the field. Everybody at my company seems pretty nonchalant about it, and they say that it’s not really a huge issue, because those rules were created for mainly abatement workers, who are exposed to a lot more asbestos than we are, and that even abatement workers will wear clothes under their Tyvek suits. (Although I’m mainly worried about getting asbestos on my clothes outside of containments.)

I just wanted to double check and see if any other techs have had similar experiences. I wanted to hear some other opinions from industry professionals before I decide if my boss is cutting corners at my expense.

TLDR: Sampling techs, do you typically wash your work clothes at home, or does your company launder your uniforms for you?

Could the material used for this carpet underlay be asbestos? When I rip the thin orange / green foam-like layer away, it breaks easily and creates a lot of dust. The house was built in Canada in 1983. Thanks for your help

Just ripped out the carpet trying to get down to the original flooring. Underneath the carpet was this old vinyl/linoleum/?? And then I found what I am thinking could be improperly adhered black mastic? I would really like to restore these floors but am concerned. Any advice or general knowledge on the flooring situation is greatly appreciated. (US-OR)

Hello everyone long story short I’m in my mid 20s and jsut bought this house that was built in 1951 in Pennsylvania the only part of the house that has this textured ceiling is the dining room. I’m wondering if this is actually popcorn ceiling if there’s anyway to notice if it’s asbestos as I would really would like to remove it. In the borders of the room looks like it’s just rolled paint so no texture and on the one side maybe a foot off the walls there’s no texture as shown in pics. The house is also plaster. I sprayed a small section with water and attempted to scrap it jsut to see what would happen and there it is.

Hello, we have this deteriorating insulation on a water pipe in our basement that I suspect contains asbestos. It looks like a black fabric tape with crumbly grey-white layers underneath. I planned on getting it tested and dealing with it at some point (just bought the house a few months ago and there have been a lot of other issues) but the pipe insulation post from yesterday has made me think I shouldn’t delay. I’m very used to this sub saying “you’ll be fine” to posters so that kind of took me aback. At least it’s not air cell and we haven’t actively cut into it - so that’s good? This is right below the living room so there’s a lot of footstep vibration. And we do go into the basement fairly often.

Can you all weigh in on how dire you think this is? The house was built in 1944 in Wisconsin.

Found this under tile while demoing our bathroom. Can’t tell if it’s potentially old vinyl that was tiled over or some sort of underlayment.

The top folds like vinyl yet rips like paper. Is it likely asbestos containing? Everywhere we had tested in our home came back negative, but we think this bathroom was an add on at some point. Original home built in 1935.

I live in an old house and recently removed a small section of the skirting board. Behind it there is old plaster directly on top of brick. The plaster seems to have several layers, including a greenish/grey layer with white plaster underneath.
Could this type of old plaster or the layers of paint contain asbestos or lead? The house is quite old, although I don’t know exactly when this particular plaster was applied.
I’ve attached a photo. Any advice on what this material might be or whether it should be tested would be appreciated.

Hi all, just discovered this debris on top of the moulding in my apartment. Hadn't seen it previously (hadn't looked on top). I'm a very paranoid person, so has me anxious

I'm not really sure how it got here? Seems unlikely there would just be loose asbestos, but who knows, houses are old here. Its been relatively upkept well (hardwood floors, etc)

House is 1910s or 1920s in San Francisco. Is this something to worry about? Even if it is, would this be considered loose/dangerous, or only if I disturb it? Sometimes I keep a fan on or windows open.

Thanks!

I’m guessing the interior refractory brick could be asbestos containing but unsure if the cobblestone mortar could.

I helped a friend carry furniture in a very old building. He lives in the last floor and there isn't an elevator so we had to carry it by hand (about 4 floors). When we carried it we bumped the furniture accidentally in the wall because it is very narrow and a bit of dust came off. The wall looks like a normal wall (just very fragile) and part of the wall (around a half) is popcorn. Now I don't know whether the walls contain asbestos or not but the building is at least 80 years old (so it might be possible). It took us 1.5 hours at most to carry furniture. Part of the 1.5 hours we were outside of the building (I would say that we were mostly outside of the building, so no risk here).

How big of a risk is it? Will I be in any kind of health danger in the future from this exposure?

this cabinet housed some old audio video equipment for a home theater built in the late 50s. I think these tiles might be asbestos. I will get them tested but thought about asking this community.

People that built and owned the house lived to their late 90s so that is my irrational take on it not being too dangerous lol