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• Safety hazards associated with cement asbestos transite pipe heating or air conditioning ducts
• How to recognize asbestos transite pipe in buildings

This page assists in the recognition of transite pipe used for heating or air conditioning ducts and discusses potential hazards of this material when it is when it is found in buildings. Traniste pipe, an asbestos-cement product, was used for HVAC ducts and for chimney or flue material to vent gas-fired appliances. Cement-asbestos transite pipe may also have been used for water piping in some communities. 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. 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. [Page top photo of transite duct material courtesy of Thomas Hauswirth, a Connecticut home inspector.]
© Copyright 2008 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use the links at page left to navigate this document or to go to Other Website Topics. Green links at left show where you are in our document & website.

TRANSITE PIPE HVAC DUCTS - Asbestos Heating or Air Conditioning Duct Material Warnings

Transite pipe, which contains significant percentage of asbestos fibers, was often used for heating ducts and on occasion heating and cooling ducts in older buildings. The transite pipe was used in a buried-in-slab construction methods which placed the transite piping below or in a building floor slab. Asbestos-containing transite pipe HVAC ducts were also used in exposed areas such as shown in the crawl space photograph at the top of this page. Transite Duct Asbestos Warnings & Hazard Details Transite ducts used for HVAC air flow, especially when used buried in building concrete floors or slabs, may break, collapse, leak water in (forming a mold and bacterial reservoir in the HVAC system, or may release asbestos and other particles in building air when the HVAC system is operating. An up-flow or down flow furnace in a building with concrete slab and with perimeter duct work raises some important health and cost questions: The photograph above shows a transite cement asbestos heating duct in a carpeted floor slab. We recommend that in-slab heating or air conditioning ducts made of transite be sealed and abandoned, and alternate heat sources installed. This improvement removes an asbestos hazard, a flooded duct and mold hazard, and in some locales, also a radon gas entry point. The photograph shows the edges as well as surface of the transite material. Transite pipe HVAC ducts get quite dirty and are not always easy to identify. [Photo and comments on transite in-slab HVAC ducts courtesy of Roger Hankey, a Minnesota home inspector.]

• Asbestos hazards of transite ducts: Cementious duct material may contain asbestos. What is this "cement" duct work made of Cement and asbestos fibers.
  How much asbestos is in Transite pipe? While it's cementious, transite ducts or even transite pipe used for heating flue vents is a potential asbestos hazard in buildings. Transite pipe typically contains about 15% to 25% asbestos fibers, typically fibrous chrysotile asbestos. A careful asbestos testing lab may report both fibrous and fragmented asbestos which can occur in still smaller pieces (thus more easily remaining airborne and increasing human exposure to asbestos). The balance will be cement and possibly other fibers or binders. If transite pipe is damaged or is cut mechanically (such as by using power equipment), friable, airborne asbestos fibers may be generated - a health and costly cleanup concern.
• Air quality hazards of in-slab duct systems: include water leaks into the duct system which can in turn generate a mold or bacterial hazard or can cause softening, collapse, and blockage of the in-slab transite pipe duct. While there are companies offering duct cleaning and duct sealing services, we remain cautious that such a "sealing" project creates a false sense of confidence that no remaining duct issues exist, causing the occupants to miss the discovery of future leaks and in-duct problems.
• Radon entry through in-slab duct systems: can occur in areas where radon is present at problem levels in the soils. In particular, because a return air duct is often at negative pressure (when the blower is operating), the movement of radon gas from the soil into the building air through a leaky in-slab duct can be significant, certainly greater than the movement into the building from other openings such as through a basement slab crack.

Incorrect spellings of transite piping or transite duct material that we've seen include transit pipe, transit ducts, transide pipe, transide ducts, and transight pipe. "Transite" is the correct spelling.

Other uses of asbestos in heating or cooling ducts besides transite pipe are illustrated at ASBESTOS HVAC DUCTS - Asbestos Materials On or In Heating and Cooling Duct Work

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
Incomplete, Amateur Removal
Abandoned Pipe Insulation
Asbestos Foamed-Over
Asbestos in unusual places
Asbestos Paper Duct Insulation
Transite Pipe Chimneys & Flues
Transite Pipe HVAC Ducts
Asbestos Fireproofing
Other Asbestos-Containing Materials
Ceiling Tiles Containing Asbestos
Floor Tiles Containing Asbestos
Vermiculite Insulation Containing Asbestos
Asbestos Under the Microscope
Asbestos-Free Insulation Materials
  Cellulose
  Mineral Wool/"Rock Wool"
  Cotton Insulating Batts
  Balsam Wool Batts
  Fiberglass 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
• 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, courtesty 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
• 7/07: thanks to Roger Hankey & Cheryll Brown, www.hankeyandbrown.com, ASHI home inspectors in Minnesota, for the deteriorated transite pipe gas flue vent photograph and comments. Mr. Hankey is a past chairman of the ASHI Technical Committee, serves as co-chairmain of ASHI legislative committee, and has served in other ASHI professional and leadership roles.
• 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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Use this simple, economical mold test kit by following our instructions on how to collect and mail mold samples to our lab

Environmental Inspection, Testing, & Diagnosis On-Site IAQ, Gas, Air Testing, Mold Investigation, Sick Building Diagnosis, Lab Services, & Remediation Plan Preparation - indoor air quality testing, problem source determination, supporting lab work, written remediation plan addressing removal of environmental and other hazards and prevention of their recurrence.

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