Asbestos Backing Materials on Aging Floor Tiles Can Put Those Involved in Building Renovation Projects at Risk for Asbestos Disease

Over the years, countless asbestos-containing materials, including asbestos backing mastics on floor tiles, were used in the construction of thousands of homes and commercial buildings. Individuals who work on renovations and repairs to buildings where asbestos materials are present must take special precautions to prevent being exposed to the dangerous mineral.

If your family is facing a loved one’s diagnosis with a serious asbestos-related disease, you can obtain vitally important information from our asbestos lawyers about your legal rights and options by completing the form on this page.

In the United States, virtually every private home, apartment building, school, church, office building and shopping complex constructed prior to the 1970s was constructed using asbestos insulation and other asbestos-containing materials (ACM).

In order to assist both commercial maintenance and repair workers and homeowners working on renovations on their own property, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) prepared guidelines for the maintenance and removal of asbestos materials, including floor tiles.

Between the 1950s and the 1970s, the use of adhesive-backed “place and stick” vinyl and carpet floor tiles were seen as an inexpensive means to install new flooring. However, the glue mastics in these floor tiles were manufactured using asbestos in the mastic glues, causing risks for exposure to the cancer-causing material for those who wish to resurface or remove the aging flooring materials.

OSHA Guidelines for Asbestos-Containing Flooring
OSHA provides the following guidelines for the maintenance of asbestos-containing floor tiles, which includes:

A prohibition from using electic sanders on asbestos-containing flooring material;

A requirement that asbestos flooring materials can only be stripped by the wet method with low abrasion pads; and

That the flooring can only be burnished or dry buffed if the floors have sufficient finish so that the pad cannot contact the flooring material.

OSHA also requires that vacuum cleaners equipped with high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters must be used when cleaning waste, debris and accompanying dust on floors containing asbestos.

OSHA also requires that those planning to remove asbestos floor tiles hire a licensed asbestos removal contractor to ensure that the tiles are removed in accordance with federal and state laws, that the asbestos debris is properly bagged and tagged, and that asbestos waste is taken to an approved location for disposal.

Asbestos Health Risks
Tragically, health and safety data has shown that even those who have had extremely limited or even one time exposure to asbestos are at risk to develop asbestos disease many decades after they were exposed.

During this long period of time, known as asbestos latency periods, the asbestos dusts which have been trapped in the lungs cause healthy lung tissue to scar. This scarring can eventually lead to the development of a chronic breathing disease known as asbestosis, or in more serious cases, for asbestos lung cancer or mesothelioma cancer tumors to develop.

Get Help from the Asbestos Lawyers at Weitz & Weitz & Luxenberg
If you or a loved one worked has been diagnosed with asbestosis, asbestos lung cancer or mesothelioma cancer, our experienced asbestos lawyers may be able to help you to seek justice for your illness and file an asbestos lawsuit on your behalf.

Please complete the form on this page and a Weitz & Luxenberg representative will contact you as soon as possible.

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