Is this asbestos..?

[Mel A. Abdo]

we're going to be renovating our basement, and I'm afraid i've run into disturbed asbestos. the house is about 100 years old. the basement looks to have been partly finished by the previous owner (we've lived here for 14 years now), but all he/she did was put up framing, walls and some ceiling tiles. my dad recently broke into the drywall, and I found this material on top of the concrete foundation. it sounds like i'm tapping a plastic container, but there is this one area where it is ripped open; it looks like a stuffed blanket of cotton on the inside..

my dad wants to take down these existing walls, but i'm afraid that he will rupture the (possibly) asbestos behind the framing, releasing fibers into the air. should we just get some asbestos hepa respirators, or is that useless as once we take them off we will be exposed. we do have a kirby vacuum with a built in hepa filter, but i'm not sure that will suffice for the filters that people who do this as a job have


please help me with this

[Mark Nahrgang]

Mel,

A picture would go a long way towards one of us identifying what it is you are looking at. If we could see it, we could probably tell you if there is a likelyhood that it contains asbestos or not. By your description alone, I know that I can't identify it myself. (Perhaps others may.)

That being said, just looking at an object, won't tell you that it contains asbestos. You might be able to tell if it might contain some, but the only way to know for sure is to have a sample taken and evaluated at a lab.

If you are concerned about this (and it appears that you are), please call a local company to come out and take a sample. They can send it to a lab, and they can tell you if it is asbestos or not.

IF YOU DON'T KNOW, DON'T DISTURB IT. IF IT IS ASBESTOS, AND YOU WISH TO REMOVE IT, IT MUST BE DONE PROFESSIONALLY.

Please don't try removing it yourself. There is more to it than a simple hepa filter/respirator. You could be putting your entire family at risk by messing with it.

[Jeffrey S. Campbell]

definately a photo would help...may not confirm asbestos but may reveal something else... IF asbestos, the fibers will attach to every thing and be carried into other parts of the home via clothing etc... the fibers float in air and stay there until something attracts them... breathing, clothing etc... not something to mess with... WHERE are you perhaps someone could recommend a professional to view the problem.

[Mel A. Abdo]

Originally Posted by jcampbell

definately a photo would help...may not confirm asbestos but may reveal something else... IF asbestos, the fibers will attach to every thing and be carried into other parts of the home via clothing etc... the fibers float in air and stay there until something attracts them... breathing, clothing etc... not something to mess with... WHERE are you perhaps someone could recommend a professional to view the problem.

If I could find my camera, I would.. I am around Albany, NY.

[David P. Valley]

Mel,

Please get us a digital photo and you'll get your answer. We won't be able to tell you if it is definitelty Asbestos, but we can tell you if it appears to be an ACM.

It sounds like you have rock wool.

Does it look like this...
"click to Enlarge"

[Ian A. Niquette]

IF YOU DO NOT KNOW IF IT IS ASBESTOS DO NOT USE YOUR VACUUM CLEANER TO PICK IT UP. YOU COULD END UP WITH A BIGGER PROBLEM. OTHER WISE ABOVE POSTS ARE CORRECT, CALL A LOCAL ABATEMENT COMPANY TO DO A TEST.

[Mario A. Kyriacou, CHI]

Excellent advice gentlemen!!!

[Rick Maday]

Originally Posted by mnahrgang

Mel,

A picture would go a long way towards one of us identifying what it is you are looking at. If we could see it, we could probably tell you if there is a likelyhood that it contains asbestos or not. By your description alone, I know that I can't identify it myself. (Perhaps others may.)

That being said, just looking at an object, won't tell you that it contains asbestos. You might be able to tell if it might contain some, but the only way to know for sure is to have a sample taken and evaluated at a lab.

If you are concerned about this (and it appears that you are), please call a local company to come out and take a sample. They can send it to a lab, and they can tell you if it is asbestos or not.

IF YOU DON'T KNOW, DON'T DISTURB IT. IF IT IS ASBESTOS, AND YOU WISH TO REMOVE IT, IT MUST BE DONE PROFESSIONALLY.

Please don't try removing it yourself. There is more to it than a simple hepa filter/respirator. You could be putting your entire family at risk by messing with it.

Worth repeating.

[Mel A. Abdo]

I now have a picture of it; I'm not sure if it really is fibrous, but the "wall" whatever it is enclosed in is almost like drywall. I haven't touched THIS specific tear, but there is another one across the room; it is not fibrous.

[Vince Santos]

Was talking to someone yesterday who said they payed $100.00 per square foot to have asbestos removed. But IMO spending the money is the better option than removing it yourself.

[Marcel R. Cyr]

Related to the Post;

http://www.betterinsulation.com/Timeline.htm

http://www2.umt.edu/Libbyhealth/intr...s_timeline.htm

Testing removes all doubt.

Marcel