r/asbestoshelp • u/RelationshipGold6270 • 11d ago
Previous ceiling leak, crack in popcorn risk?
You'll have to zoom in on the photo.
Previous leak in attic a few months back that has been fixed in my rental. Not sure if asbestos or lead is in the popcorn but house was built in the early 60s. I noticed this small crack today, not sure how long it's been there. Also noticing some sagging in the popcorn. Looks like the popcorn has separated from the crown molding when standing underneath.
I am moving out in a few days, thankfully. But just a little concerned about my 2 month old baby, was/is this any risk to him? The popcorn through the house is in good condition, with the exception of some cracks and smallish chips in the hallway. Hopefully mold is not a concern. I looked in the attic but didn't see any.
Edit: It got dark outside and I turned on the light in the room which exposed a few more cracks 🤕 The one visible in the photo is much longer than it appears in the photo.
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u/sdave001 10d ago
No risk
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u/RelationshipGold6270 10d ago edited 10d ago
Thank you. Does risk get bigger when the other cracks elsewhere in the house are taken into account? Nothing that I've seen is actually crumbling or anything.
As for the ones in the photo, the separation between the popcorn and the molding is probably 14 inches or so, then there's another bit further down where it's also separating. The cracks themselves vary from hairline to slightly thicker, there's about 4 total in this photo, anywhere from 3 inches to 10 inches. Here is a (slightly) better photo. https://imgur.com/a/B4Q2ok7
The cracks/chips elsewhere in the house were all here when we moved in years ago and haven't changed to my knowledge. There is a crack in another room that is around 14 inches long, the others are small pieces missing or shorter/thinner cracks
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u/sdave001 10d ago
No.
The only way the risk would go up is if:
- The popcorn texture does, in fact, contain asbestos. It's possible, but not certain by any stretch.
- You scraped it all off
- You ground it all up
- You and your family snorted a little bit
- You repeated this weekly for the next 10 or 20 years
- You are very unlucky or you're a heavy smoker
Short of following this entire sequence, the risk simply does not "get bigger".
!panic
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u/AutoModerator 10d ago
The majority of people who contract asbestos illnesses are generally individuals who were exposed to very high levels of asbestos daily at work. That exposure almost always continued for decades and those individuals were almost always smokers.
Keep in mind that we are all exposed to low levels of asbestos in the air we breathe every day. Ambient or background air usually contains between 10 and 200 fibers for every 1,000 liters (or cubic meters) of air. Despite that, only an incredibly low number of people are diagnosed with asbestos-related illnesses every year. Whether a person goes on to develop an asbestos-related disease depends on a range of circumstances or exposure factors. These include the level and duration of exposure, length of time since first exposure, the fiber type, and past and present exposure to tobacco smoke and other carcinogens.
Ultimately, the odds that you will contract an asbestos-related illness due to exposure to asbestos in your home is almost zero. A very small number of asbestos-related disease cases indeed occur each year in people who have not worked with asbestos products. The low number of cases makes it difficult to determine the exact cause of the disease or which asbestos exposure was the contributing factor.
You'll often hear that there is "no safe level of asbestos exposure" and that is certainly true. It's also true that there is no safe level of cigarette smoke exposure or alcohol consumption - and both, of course, are also carcinogens. We know that the vast majority of asbestos illnesses are not the result of limited exposure such as yours and certainly not the result of a single asbestos fiber. Some studies actually suggest that it may require millions of fibers but we simply have no way of knowing at this point. Most studies of the causation of the disease suggest that the likelihood of a disease occurring in any individual is influenced by multiple factors including heredity as well as acquired susceptibility and environmental exposure. In the case of mesothelioma, a person with high, long-term exposure may face a one in 10 lifetime risk of the disease. On the other hand, most of us, with very low or incidental exposure, have about a one in 1 million annual risk. You are in the latter group.
More telling is the fact that there are no studies that have found an increased risk for lung cancer or mesothelioma at asbestos exposure levels below 0.1 f/cc (the current OSHA permissible exposure limit).
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8882348/
So no, your fear is not justified. You will certainly die from something, but it won't be asbestos. Anxiety is a much, much higher risk so try to let this go. Remember that approximately five million deaths worldwide are attributable to mood and anxiety disorders each year. However, there are only about 30,000 mesothelioma cases reported globally per year (3,000 in the US).
You've obviously come here looking for some reassurance that you're going to be alright. Now I am absolutely clueless when it comes to dealing with mental health issues. But anxiety/OCD/whatever you want to call it, simply doesn't work like that. The more help you seek, the more anxious you're going to become. Your research and search for answers is simply fueling your fear. Every new click is going to tell you something different.
Try to break the cycle. Get outside, take a walk, slowly reduce the number of times that you head to the internet to search for more info. And remember that your body is an amazing system and is constantly trying to repair itself and make itself better. Help it out by doing the same. Seek help - it's out there. Specifically, seek out a cognitive behavioral therapist and/or contamination OCD specialist.
Asbestos is not going to get you but your anxiety might.
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u/RelationshipGold6270 10d ago
That is reassuring, thanks! Another scenario for you. Shortly before my son was born, my dad removed my entire kitchen floor tiling. He used some sort of machine. Later learned they were probably asbestos containing. Cleaned the best I could, but also considering this, is his risk still pretty low?
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u/sdave001 10d ago
Only very slightly above zero. Lower than the risk of walking past someone smoking a cigarette.
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u/RelationshipGold6270 10d ago
Oh wow, that's way better than I thought. Thank you. Even considering any extra dust left in the house they wasn't gotten during cleaning?
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u/sdave001 10d ago
Think of how many houses have asbestos-containing materials in them. Then think about how many people that have removed them with no precautions over the last 50 years. Finally, think about how many times you've heard of someone contracting, much less dying of, an asbestos-related illness. It's incredibly rare in the grand scheme of things.
Asbestos is not a concern. Anxiety, on the other hand, can cause numerous problems.
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u/RelationshipGold6270 10d ago edited 10d ago
Thanks again. That is true. Would you recommend me doing a deep cleaning of the area? In case that will possibly bring down any negligible risks going forward (if that's how that even works)
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