What should I know about asbestos in homes?

Fire has been a major problem for homeowners, and governments alike in our brief history as a country. Unlike our current system of fire departments, broad network of fire hydrants, and advanced techniques for fighting urban fires, the old volunteer bucket brigade was rarely able to save a home or even an entire neighborhood once a fire began.

Imagine a nearly inflammable mineral that could be mined in abundance and would be versatile enough to be used in all kinds of applications! Enter asbestos, the miracle mineral that promised exactly that. Let’s look at this “miracle mineral” and see how we came to a full ban of its use in Canada.

History

Discovered around 2400 BC, asbestos was hailed as a miracle material for fire resistance and strength. It was used in everything from ancient cooking pots, to sails on warships to prevent them from being burned by the enemy. Although the health issues associated with mining asbestos have been known since the first century AD, its use in application didn’t seem to concern most people outside of the mines.

In the 1920s with the increasing popularity of electricity in the home, and the associated fear of fire, asbestos entered housing construction in a big way. From insulation to flooring, to siding, and plaster, all using asbestos believed it would prevent widespread fire, and it was effective in most applications. The use of asbestos in building materials continued into the 1980s although its status as a known airborne carcinogen began its decline in use starting in the 1970s culminating in a series of restrictions on the use of asbestos in building products between 1979 and 1990. It wasn’t until 2018 that asbestos was finally banned from all use in Canada.

The Problem 

Asbestos has so many wonderful properties that it is no wonder it was used in almost everything for so many years. Almost every home built in Canada between the 1920s and the 1990s is sure to have some asbestos somewhere in the construction or systems of the home. According to Health Canada asbestos is only a problem when airborne and inhaled, leading to asbestosis which is scarring in the lower part of the lungs. With long-term or extensive exposure to airborne asbestos fiber, a rare form of lung cancer known as mesothelioma can develop.

The Solution

Left alone and undisturbed, Health Canada indicates there is no significant risk to human health if materials containing asbestos are in your home, so there is no reason to run for the exit covering your face, but in Canada, we like home improvement.

The single best thing you can do to avoid any health risks if you plan on doing any renovations is to take small samples of materials you plan on disturbing, such as drywall, insulation, plaster, linoleum, or duct work, and send the samples for testing. A lab will be able to determine if asbestos is present and in what quantity. If asbestos does exist, asbestos abatement professionals can be brought in to remediate the materials containing the asbestos, and then renovation work can continue.

Common Examples of Asbestos Use 

The most common places in a home a REALTOR^® could inform their client may contain asbestos would be in cement, drywall, plaster, fiber-cement sidings, non-ceramic floor tiles, and ceiling tiles. These are all traditionally stable uses of asbestos blended into materials that keep fibers from becoming airborne. Drilling, sanding, demolition, or moving these materials around can free the fibers into the air.

Vermiculite

An additional mineral mined out of the earth that should have honorable mention for its bad press is vermiculite. Once heated to 1000 degrees Celsius, vermiculite “pops” creating a light airy material that is fire resistant, chemical resistant, and a nearly self-leveling insulator which makes it great for attic and wall insulation.

Although used since the 1940s, its use exploded when the government of Canada approved vermiculite insulation in 1976 for the Canadian Home Insulation Program (CHIP) in an effort to ease pain during the energy crisis that lasted until the mid-1980s.

Vermiculite continued to be used into the 1990s but blown cellulose and fiberglass insulation alternatives started taking preference. Unfortunately, a single mine in Montana provided almost 70% of vermiculite production under the brand Zonolite^® until its closing in 1990. Zonolite^® was mined in close proximity to an asbestos seam in the same mine and was found to contain asbestos in its final distributed product. Because of this and coupled with the adverse health effects of airborne asbestos in general, all vermiculite was assumed to contain asbestos, and fears remain today.

A quick laboratory test can confirm the presence of asbestos in vermiculite; however, Health Canada indicates that left undisturbed vermiculite insulation is not a significant health risk. If work is to be done in the attic, or the owner wants to upgrade the insulation, it should be tested, and if necessary, removed by professionals.

Asbestos is no joke. To say it is dangerous in airborne form is accurate and contact with airborne forms should not be risked under any circumstances. Fortunately, the multiplicity of uses of asbestos in home construction do not typically lend themselves to easy release into the air and can be safe until the homeowner is ready to invest in a renovation.

Knowing enough about asbestos to respect it, and test for it when necessary is one more area that REALTORS^® can make clients aware and direct them to expert advice.