DIYbanter - View Single Post - How dangerous is 3% asbestos in vinyl flooring?

wrote:

I am replacing my old vinyl flooring and I'm getting done as a favor
from my friend who works in construction. I gave him the keys but
didnt know when he would start. Then i heard someone tell me there
could be asbestos in the vinyl so i cut a sample and took it to a lab.
Meanwhile, i tried to contact my construction friend but he was out of
town. Then I got the lab results back and found that the vinyl
flooring tested positive for asbestos, 3%. So i drive to the property
immediately and found my friend already starting to tear out chunks of
the vinyl floor! I told him what i had found (3% asbestos in the
vinyl) and he seemed to not be too concerned and said that's a small
amount. I told him to wear a respirator mask for his own safety and
gave him a water bottle to wet down the floor so it wouldnt create
asbestos dust. I'm not sure if he'll follow my direction!

Question: What if my friend doesnt take any precautions as all and not
use the water bottle to wet down the floors while chipping away at the
vinyl (he cant peel it, it is too old and brittle). Will the asbestos
dust float around my house and get stuck in the walls? Will I have to
wash/paint all the walls? Wash the floors?

Is 3% Vinyl on the lower end of asbestos poisoning?

As of now, there is not a safe exposure level to airbourne asbestos.
The material is not toxic, it just accumulates in the lungs until it
does enough physical damage to start causing real problems. If you
were born anytime before the 1980's you have no doubt been exposed to
airbourne asbestos at one time or another. It is typically not the
acute exposures that cause problems, but the day to day exposures
(brake pad manufactuer, automotive brake repair, construction
insulation manufacture/installation, etc...) If your friend is in the
construction business, he should be careful, but not paranoid. Wetting
the floor is a good idea, but unless he uses a high quality air
respirator he will breath it just the same. If the tiles come up
easily in large chunks your risk will also be minimized. Probably not
a bad idea to seal of the area he is working on, but dont get carried
away with washing every wall, floor, and ceiling in the house. Most
importantly, if you do talk to someone in the actual "safety" business
be prepared for end of the earth as we know it type arguments. No one
knows exactly how much asbestos inhalation will cause problems, so it
is assumed that any whatsoever is dangerous. Not a bad idea until
people start shutting down buildings becasue someone found a chunk of
asbestos in the wall.