Asbestos in New York

November 6, 2017 Guest User

Where is Asbestos Most Common?

Back in the day, Asbestos was commonplace. It was used as everything from a building material to insulation. It was used in a variety of different places as well as used in hundreds of different ways. It was seen as the perfect solution that many could use for construction. However, what specifically was it used as, and where was this material most used?

What types of buildings used Asbestos?

Asbestos was used by almost every single building constructed before the 1980's, when it was finally banned by the government. Since then, it is believed that over 30 million homes, as well as 733,000 commercial buildings and 107,000 schools still contain asbestos in their construction. That is approximately 25% of all homes.

Asbestos was used in many homes and businesses due to many traits that the material has. When used as a cement, for example, it can be used to provide strength without adding too much weight. It is also insulating, which was ideal to use to keep houses warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Additionally, it is used as a flame retardant, meaning it is resistant to catching on fire. These traits made it great to use as building materials, which was also cheaper than the alternatives.

While efforts have come about to try and remove this material from buildings, it is hard to do due to the dangers involved. Asbestos does not pose much of a risk until it is disturbed. Once the powder and filaments get into the air, then they are at risk of being inhaled, and create disease risk.

What materials have been known to contain Asbestos?

This is where the hard part comes in, as asbestos seems to be used in pretty much every single aspect of a building's construction. In industrial buildings, they can be found on spray coatings on walls, ceiling, and beams. They can also be found on floor tiles, and loose fill insulation, and that is just the inside of the building. Outside, Asbestos cement can be used for gutters, roofs, flue, and panels.

When it comes to residential housing, it can be found surrounding water tanks, window panels, behind fuse boxes and in roofing tiles. This can even be found in some older car models, as well as compressed in the form of tiles and fiberglass. Due to it being widespread and found in so many places, such as surrounding piping, and even connected to drywall, it makes removal difficult. There are hundreds of ways in which asbestos has been utilized to help construct houses and buildings. The main issue with removing it is that doing so makes it a hazard.

This is why inspections are vital to the well being of many institutions, as well as schools and homes. The only people with the know-how and expertise to work to remove the asbestos from your home or area of work would be a trained professional.

WHY HIRE AN ASBESTOS INSPECTOR?

To make sure that there is no Asbestos in the house prior to demolition or renovation.

HOW DO I KNOW IF AN INSPECTOR IS QUALIFIED?

Qualified Asbestos inspectors will have supporting documentation from the State of New York and will be happy to show it to you.