Test Vinyl Adhesive Asbestos

When you remove that floor covering to make way for new flooring you may encounter the mastic and wonder whether it is safe to remove the main concern surrounding this question is that black mastic often contains asbestos.

Test vinyl adhesive asbestos.

Possible signs of asbestos mastic include discoloration and an oily texture. Mastic is a type of glue used to adhere tiles and vinyl flooring to the subfloor. Asbestos mastic will also always be black in color. Cork pattern vinyl asbestos floor tiles were produced in at least three hues by armstrong as well as montgomery ward and sears and possibly kentile and other companies.

Thousands of workers harmed by asbestos exposure have filed lawsuits against asbestos adhesive manufacturers to seek compensation for their medical costs and suffering. Common in homes built in the 20th century black mastic was used as an adhesive for ceramic tile linoleum and other flooring materials. You can assume this floor tile contains asbestos. The area to be tested will be sprayed with water to keep loose fibers from getting in the air.

For 100 protection you need to use n100 or p100 dust masks. When you take a sample presume the worst and protect yourself from asbestos. In the 1990s for example two engineers filed lawsuits against north american refractory company narco. You can visually identify vinyl flooring materials that contain asbestos by reviewing the vinyl asbestos floor tiles and sheet flooring identification photo guide see resources.

Above we show a 9 x 9 cork patterned vinyl asbestos floor tile found in a 1960 s ranch style home in new york. How to recognize roof or floor adhesive mastic or sealant that may contain asbestos. Multiple layers of tiles. Pre paid postage envelope was included in the kit.

This method is easy and is not time consuming. Testing of vinyl flooring for asbestos. While an expert test by a certified asbestos testing lab is required for sure identification of the asbestos content of most materials. A small sample of the material which might be or contain asbestos is placed in a sealable container to be sent to a lab for testing.

A tool is used to cut into the substance to be tested to get a sample of fibers. If your building was built before 1980 mastic mixed with asbestos may have been used to seal your tiles to the floor.