IDENTIFYING ASBESTOS
IN THE HOME

Identifying Asbestos

Descriptions given in this booklet may help in identifying asbestos-containing materials. People who frequently work with this material, such as plumbers, contractors, and heating specialists, can often correctly guess whether a material contains asbestos. However, the only way to be sure is to have a sample of the suspect material analyzed by a laboratory.

Do not rely on visual determinations. It is prudent to treat material which could contain asbestos as if it does, until and unless reliable analysis proves otherwise. Laboratories that do this work are usually listed in the telephone yellow pages as “LABORATORIES-ANALYTICAL.”

Remember, the asbestos fibers that would cause health problems are much too small to be seen without a powerful microscope. In fact, an average human hair is approximately 1,200 times thicker than an asbestos fiber.

It is important that you not release asbestos fibers into the air or onto yourself when taking samples. Only you should be in the room when sampling is accomplished.

To take a sample of the friable material:

A light wetting of the material using a fine water mist prior to taking the sample will reduce the release of asbestos fibers.

Do not disturb the material any more than is required to take a small sample. Penetrate the depth of the dampened material with a clean sample container (35mm film canister or small glass or plastic vial).

After the sample is in the container - tightly seal it.

Use a damp paper towel to clean up any material on the outside of the container or spilled onto the floor.

Label the container - the label should contain an identification number and clearly indicate when and where the sample was taken.

Send the sample to a laboratory for analysis. Laboratory analysis can be expensive, ranging from $20 to $40 per sample.

A sample should be taken for each different appearing suspect material. For a ceiling surface in a large room, two samples may be required to give an accurate determination of asbestos content.