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Asbestos pipe insulation in buildings How to spot abandoned or incompletely removed asbestos pipe insulation

This page illustrates abandoned and partly-covered-up asbestos pipe insulation in buildings. Materials like this should have been removed during asbestos abatement, and so form an indication of amateur workmanship, raising the question of asbestos particle contamination in other building areas.

This document assists building buyers, owners or inspectors who need to identify asbestos materials (or probable-asbestos) in buildings by simple visual inspection. We provide photographs and descriptive text of asbestos insulation and other asbestos-containing products to permit identification of definite, probable, or possible asbestos materials in buildings. Also see Asbestos HVAC Ducts a field identification guide to visual detection of asbestos in and on heating and cooling system ducts and flue vents.

© Copyright 2008 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

Asbestos pipe insulation, still in use or abandoned on building pipes, compared with fiberglass pipe insulation

The pair of photographs shown here assist in distinguishing between corrugated asbestos paper pipe wrap (photo on the left) and fiberglass insulation pipe warp (photo at right). Look carefully at the end of these wrapped insulation sections to see the difference. In the photo of fiberglass pipe insulation, I peeled back a little of the white-painted outer fabric to show the yellow fiberglass interior.

The photograph shown at the page top is some "new old stock" corrugated asbestos pipe insulation that was never used - just left in a basement ceiling. Look closely at the photo as it is a clear example of the visual characteristics of the corrugated-paper-like asbestos wrap which was used along the lengths of heating and other plumbing pipes in buildings.

While an expert lab test using polarized light microscopy may be needed to identify the specific type of asbestos fiber, or to identify the presence of asbestos in air or dust samples, many asbestos-containing building products not only are obvious and easy to recognize, but since there were not other look-alike products that were not asbestos, a visual identification of this material can be virtually a certainty in many cases.

A professional asbestos removal company would not have left these un-used asbestos pipe insulation sections "stored" here.

More photographs of asbestos heating pipe insulation can be seen at Asbestos in Good Condition and at
Asbestos in Poor Condition

ASBESTOS FOAMED-OVER - Asbestos pipe insulation, insulated over with spray foam

Here's an example of an insulation retro-fit using spray foam insulation. A professional would not have left this asbestos pipe insulation in place. Perhaps more of this material will be found elsewhere in the building. If a section of asbestos insulation were found to have been totally encapsulated by the new spray foam insulation, such as in a wall cavity, most experts would be expected to recommend that it be simply left alone.

Continue reading in this article using direct links to the sections listed below, or

Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

IDENTIFICATION of ASBESTOS in BUILDINGS
Asbestos Risk Assessment
Asbestos in Good Condition
Asbestos in Poor Condition
Asbestos Removal, Amateur, Incomplete
Asbestos Foamed-Over
Asbestos Air Ducts
Asbestos Air Duct Vibration Dampers
Asbestos Pipe Insulation
Asbestos in unusual places
Carbon Nanotube Materials
Ceiling Tiles Containing Asbestos
Fireproofing containing Asbestos
Floor Tiles Containing Asbestos
Paper Duct Insulation Containing Asbestos
Transite Pipe Chimneys & Flues
Transite Pipe Air Ducts
Vermiculite Insulation Containing Asbestos
Other Asbestos-Containing Materials
Asbestos Under the Microscope
How to Identify Building Insulation Materials
Asbestos-Free Insulation Materials
Insulation Materials
  Asbestos Pipe Insulation
  Balsam Wool Batt Insulation
  Cotton Insulating Batts
  Cellulose loose fill insulation
  Fiberglass Insulation
  Foam Board Insulation
  Foam Spray Insulation
  Mineral Wool/Rock Wool Insulation
  Paper Duct Insulation
  Perlite Insulation
  Vermiculite Insulation

Technical Reviewers

Particular thanks are due to experts and also consumers who read these articles and suggest corrections, changes, and additions to the material. Content suggestions, technical corrections and content critique are invited for any of the content at our website.

• Daniel Friedman - principal author/editor of the InspectAPedia ^TM Website
• 3/07: thanks to Gary Randolph, Ounce of Prevention Home Inspection, LLC Buffalo, NY, for attentive reading and editing suggestions. Mr. Randolph can be reached in Buffalo, NY, at (716) 636-3865 or email: gary@ouncehome.com
• 06/07: thanks for photographs of transite asbestos heating ducts, courtesy of Thomas Hauswirth, Managing Member of Beacon Fine Home Inspections, LLC and (in 2007) Vice President, Connecticut Association of Home Inspectors Ph. 860-526-3355 Fax 860-526-2942 beaconinspections@sbcglobal.net
• Technical reviewers are invited to comment or ask questions - contact us

More expert information on Asbestos Identification, Recognition, & Testing

More Information on Asbestos Contamination, Other Airborne Fiber Hazards, & Building Diagnostic Inspections and Repairs

• Asbestos: How to find and recognize asbestos in Buildings - visual inspection methods, list of common asbestos-containing materials
• Asbestos HVAC Ducts and Flues field identification photos and guide
• Fiberglass: Indoor Air Quality Investigations: Health Concerns About Airborne Fiberglass: Fiberglass in Indoor Air from HVAC ducts, and Building Insulation
• Enviro-Scare: Electric Power Lines, Electromagnetic Fields, Cancer Risk, & "Enviro-Scare" - The Normal Curve Cycle of Public Fear of Environmental Issues
• Dust from the World Trade Center collapse following the 9/11/01 attack: the lower floors of this building contained spray-on fire-proofing asbestos materials.
• Asbestos Information Links: Asbestos Detection, Testing, Recognition, Hazards, Field Photos, and Information Sources, including health-related links such as legal services and information about mesothelioma and other cancers.
• Asbestos Identification and Testing References
• Asbestos Identification, Walter C.McCrone, McCrone Research Institute, Chicago, IL.1987 ISBN 0-904962-11-3. Dr. McCrone literally "wrote the book" on asbestos identification procedures which formed the basis for current work by asbestos identification laboratories.
• Stanton, .F., et al., National Bureau of Standards Special Publication 506: 143-151
• Pott, F., Staub-Reinhalf Luft 38, 486-490 (1978) cited by McCrone

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