Indoor Environmental Concepts, LLC., provides asbestos inspections, air monitoring and testing of potential asbestos containing materials in homes, commercial buildings, schools and government offices.  During the asbestos inspection of a property, we determine and collect a small sample of a building material that may potentially contain asbestos.  The sample is then sent to a third-party independent testing laboratory for testing.  A detailed report of the findings is then provided to our client.  We are capable of sampling not only building materials but also can provide sampling of water, soil, dust and air samples for asbestos contamination.

 

Asbestos Frequently Asked Questions

 

What Is Asbestos?

 

Asbestos is a mineral fiber. It can be positively identified only with a special type of microscope. There are several types of asbestos fibers. In the past, asbestos was added to a variety of products to strengthen them and to provide heat insulation and fire resistance.

 

How Can Asbestos Affect My Health?

 

From studies of people who were exposed to asbestos in factories and shipyards, we know that breathing high levels of asbestos fibers can lead to an increased risk of:

 

• lung cancer;

• mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the chest and the abdominal cavity; and

• asbestosis, in which the lungs become scarred with fibrous tissue

 

The risk of lung cancer and mesothelioma increases with the number of fibers inhaled. The risk of lung cancer from inhaling asbestos fibers is also greater if you smoke. People who get asbestosis have usually been exposed to high levels of asbestos for a long time. The symptoms of these diseases do not usually appear until about 20 to 30 years after the first exposure to asbestos.

 

Most people exposed to small amounts of asbestos, as we all are in our daily lives, do not develop these health problems. However, if disturbed, asbestos material may release asbestos fibers, which can be inhaled into the lungs. The fibers can remain there for a long time, increasing the risk of disease. Asbestos material that would crumble easily if handled, or that has been sawed, scraped, or sanded into a powder, is more likely to create a health hazard.

 

Where Asbestos Hazards May Be Found In The Home
 

• Some roofing and siding shingles are made of asbestos cement.

• Houses built between 1930 and 1950 may have asbestos as insulation.

• Asbestos may be present in textured paint and in patching compounds used on wall and ceiling joints. Their use was banned in 1977.

• Artificial ashes and embers sold for use in gas-fired fireplaces may contain asbestos.

• Older products such as stove-top pads may have some asbestos compounds.

• Walls and floors around woodburning stoves may be protected with asbestos paper, millboard, or cement sheets.

• Asbestos is found in some vinyl floor tiles and the backing on vinyl sheet flooring and adhesives.

• Hot water and steam pipes in older houses may be coated with an asbestos material or covered with an asbestos blanket or tape.

• Oil and coal furnaces and door gaskets may have asbestos insulation.

 

Where Can I Find Asbestos And When Can It Be A Problem?

 

Most products made today do not contain asbestos. Those few products made which still contain asbestos that could be inhaled are required to be labeled as such. However, until the 1970s, many types of building products and insulation materials used in homes contained asbestos. Common products that might have contained asbestos in the past, and conditions which may release fibers, include:

 

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