Tested positive for asbestos - AFTER demolition

9 years ago

My uncle, who has already remodeled my grandmother's house, is refinishing my basement already-finished 1970s basement. He's been demolishing things, and only this week did I notice the dust coming into the kitchen from under the basement door. I dropped some wet paper towels down and got everything out of the carpeting, but it made me wonder: asbestos?

Uncle said it's not asbestos bc the tile didn't crumble. But I got a piece tested and it's 3% crysotile. I asked him to stop working and i called an abatement group. There is dust over everything in the basement - including my new boiler. I have a toddler at home.

Uncle opens the basement door twice daily to walk in and out the basement. I've been mopping the kitchen floor, but still. dust.

now.. should I move us out the house until post-hepa filters and whatnot? He thinks I'm being silly. He says that the asbestos tiles did not crumble so they're ok. But why is there DUST everywhere in teh basement? Is that dust just from taking down the old wood panels?

I'm trying not to freak out here. Baby boy has been in the basement once - i told his father not to bring him down there during construction but. Men. now what? any thoughts or ideas?

If all that tile collectively broke into four pieces as it was scraped up, did it became Friable? or is friable when it tumbles into sandlike dust? the basement had like 900 square feet of that tile. There's a large art of me that feels some type of stupid for not considering this earlier - especially bc my baby boy is there.
To make things worse, i don't have a key for the exterior basement door, so I do have to enter the basement from my kitchen in order to let the abatement people in. I guess i need to call a locksmith now.

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Comments (4)

glennsfc
9 years ago
Any kind of dust is not good. Any kind of construction in an older house disturbs lots of not nice substances to breathe or ingest.That said...unless you set up monitoring equipment, you'll never know what might be suspended in the air. If you want to spend $$ engaging an asbestos abatement company at this point, that's your call. However, simply wiping up any construction dust periodically and cleaning furnace filters and other common sense cleanup measures is all you need do...in my opinion. It is doubtful that a significant number of fibers were released by the demolition to remove the tiles.

In some jurisdictions, removing asbestos containing floor tile is not considered asbestos abatement, and the tiles can simply be considered ordinary trash. However, it is best to check local law regarding disposal.
User
9 years ago
I wouldn't be living in the home until the dust was tested, and it was all cleaned out of the home.
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User
9 years ago
If all that tile collectively broke into four pieces as it was scraped up, did it became Friable? or is friable when it tumbles into sandlike dust?

Brittle is when it breaks into large chunks. "Friable" is when it crumbles into small particles like garden dirt.
Vertise
9 years ago
All construction dust is harmful. Asbestos is part of the natural environment, we are exposed to it daily.
There is a focus on asbestos but others are just as bad or worse or unknown. This info is from the geologist I spoke with when having my own place tested pre-construction. He thought there were worse things to worry about, that people don't.

Have the dust tested. Sample from various areas. If you haven't already, sample the various materials, including all layers, and have them tested so you know what you are working with.

It is repeated, prolonged exposure that is hazardous. As in factory or construction workers. The construction workers I have known don't seem to worry or care about their exposure. They brush it off.

Bottom line is it's all unhealthy so be cautious, contain and clean with all of it.