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• How to recognize floor tiles or other flooring that may contain asbestos fibers
• Photographs of asbestos in building products

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.

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.

© 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.

FLOOR TILES - Asbestos suspect floor tiles

Asphalt asbestos floor tiles as an asbestos fiber source in buildings

Asphalt asbestos floor tiles were popular in the U.S. from 1920 into the 1960's. Asphalt-asbestos floor tiles were produced at first in dark colors using a heavy asphalt binder combined with a very high percentage of asbestos filler fibers. It would be uncommon to find these floors still in use today, but if you encounter black or very dark asphalt floor tiles they are probably very high in asbestos fibers.

(The black tiles shown at left were not dated and may be a newer product, but in general, if you find very old black floor tiles they are probably an asphalt-asbestos product. )

Source of High Levels of Asbestos in Asphalt Floor Tiles:

Asphalt-asbestos floor tiles were produced at first in dark colors using a heavy asphalt binder combined with a very high percentage of asbestos filler fibers. It would be uncommon to find these floors still in use today, but if you encounter black or very dark asphalt floor tiles they are probably very high in asbestos fibers.

Depending on the particular mixture of asphalt, gilsonite, asbestos, limestone, and pigment used, these floor tiles could contain as much as 70% asbestos by weight. One reason that so much asbestos was used in flooring tiles was simply the wish to find an application for asbestos waste product from asbestos mining operations.

Asphalt -asbestos tiles that were manufactured early in the product life (1920's) were either black, near black, brown, or a gray-brown tone. Dark vinyl-asbestos tiles used, for example, a mixture of 40 parts asphalt or gilsonite, 60 parts asbestos floats, 30 parts powdered limestone, and pigments (parts by weight). Another typical mixture cited by Rosato contained 70% asbestos fiber

Rosato cites another flooring material from the 1950's called asbetic flooring which was a mixture of ground mother rock and the shortest, otherwise unusable asbestos fibers.

Short asbestos fibers may also be among the more hazardous if airborne. Asbestos was also used in a mixture with waterglass (a clear binder used in many chemical applications and even for cementing stove gaskets) as a hard binding compound.

The black and white floor tiles at left also may be vinyl not asphalt based since white tiles appear to have been laid at the same time as the black units. This home was constructed in the 1950's.

While the asbestos fibers are mixed with a hard binder and the floor tiles are certainly not friable, we have read accounts of airborne levels of asbestos fibers being traced to the presence asphalt-asbestos floor tiles in areas either subjected to high volume foot traffic or to abrasive floor cleaning or maintenance procedures (like using steel wool pad floor buffing machines in a school corridor), or during demolition of this material.

We discuss the history and manufacture of asphalt-asbestos floor tiles in our Age of House articles at Flooring Materials. We discuss the inspection, diagnosis, and repair of various flooring products at FLOORING TYPES & DEFECTS.

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. Also see Micro-Photographs of Dust from the World Trade Center collapse following the 9/11/01 attack. Links to U.S. government and other authoritative research and advice are included.

Vinyl asbestos floor tiles as an asbestos fiber source in buildings

Vinyl asbestos floor tiles were popular in the U.S. in the 1940's - 1970's and were manufactured (we estimate) as early as the late 1920's. If the flooring is being demolished, sanded, buffed with steel-wool floor polishers, or subject to heavy traffic, it might be a source of unacceptable asbestos particle release, as we discussed above at asphalt asbestos floor tiles as an asbestos source.

At left is our photo of an asbestos-containing floor tile sold by Montgomery Wards.

In additional photographs below we show the examination of this "asbestos floor tile in the lab" as well as photos of the original labeling on the package in which these tiles were distributed.

We discuss the history of vinyl-asbestos floor tiles in our Age of House articles at Flooring Materials. We discuss the inspection and diagnosis of various flooring defects, including vinyl asbestos tiles, at  FLOORING TYPES & DEFECTS.

According to Rosato, even when vinyl or other synthetic organic resins were used as the binder to produce light colored floor tiles, asbestos fibers continued to be the main ingredient in these floor tile products, and may be present at levels as much as 70% by weight.

In the lab, following Walter McCrone's procedure for teasing out asbestos particles from solid materials such as this floor tile, we broke a small corner off for further examination by microscope.

This stereo-microscopic view of the edge of this asbestos-floor tile shows the combination of binder and other silicate materials.

Here is a microphotograph of materials scraped from the broken edge of the floor tile we are examining.

And here is the information from the original package in which this Montgomery Wards asbestos-containing floor tile was sold. At the time of its popularity, the addition of asbestos fibers to the binder making up these floor tiles was considered a benefit in fire resistance and durability. Click on any of these images to enlarge them to read the packaging text.

Advice on Removing Asbestos-containing Asphalt or Vinyl Floor Tiles

Readers should see the detailed homeowner advice offered by the US EPA for removing asbestos-containing flooring.

• In general, avoid violent demolition, such as using floor sanders, grinders, or floor stripping machines to remove these materials.
  
  
• During demolition or removal, this material should be disturbed as little as possible.
  
  
• Consider simply installing a new material atop the old asbestos-containing flooring. Remember that asbestos is not "radioactive" - it does not cause injury or illness simply by being present, encapsulated in a substance or covered-over by a new material.

Older sheet flooring products in buildings

This sheet flooring covering backed with burlap fabric is probably more than a century old. We examined it in an non-public area of the Justin Morrill Homestead, a historic building in Vermont. The material has not been tested for asbestos fibers.

Asbestos-containing vinyl sheet flooring

The resilient sheet flooring shown at left is a modern product (we are using this photo as a placeholder) and does not contain asbestos.

But before about 1978, in products that looked like this same material, asbestos fibers were used as a strengthen material on vinyl sheet flooring backing.

If the vinyl resilient sheet flooring backing material were dry-sanded or scraped during building demolition, for example, or if the sheet flooring is worn through so that foot traffic continues to damage the backing material, it is possible for unsafe levels of asbestos fibers to be released in a building. --EPA Guidance

During demolition or removal, this material should be disturbed as little as possible. Additional demolition, renovation, and installation advice for dealing with resilient sheet flooring materials can be obtained from the Resilient Floor Covering Institute, by obtaining their publication on the topic.

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
• Asbestos products and their history and use in various building materials such as asphalt and vinyl flooring includes discussion which draws on Asbestos, Its Industrial Applications, D.V. Rosato, engineering consultant, Newton, MA, Reinhold Publishing, 1959 Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 59-12535 (out of print).
• EPA Guidance for Controlling Asbestos-Containing Materials in Buildings, NIAST, National Institute on Abatement Sciences & Technology, [republishing EPA public documents] 1985 ed., Exposure Evaluation Division, Office of Toxic Substances, Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington,D.C. 20460
• "Asbestos in the Home," U.S. EPA, Exposure Evaluation Division, Office of Toxic Substances, Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington,D.C. 20460
• Resilient Floor Covering Institute, 1030 15th St. NW, suite 350, Washington D.C.
• 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

Use links just below or 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 Roofing Materials
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
List of Asbestos Containing Products
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

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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