Asbestos is a toxic fibrous mineral that s heat and fire resistant and absorbs sound making it a popular building material.
Abestos fibers backing to floor.
If the material is in good condition it normally does not pose a threat because the asbestos is enclosed in vinyl preventing the fibers from escaping.
Asbestos in vinyl products becomes dangerous when microscopic fibers of the mineral are released and become airborne.
These products keep asbestos fibers safely contained as long as the materials are not damaged.
The asbestos floor tile identification articles in this series illustrate that with the combination of design appearance and an idea of floor tile age many asbestos containing floor tiles or sheet flooring products can be reliably identified even before confirmation by a test by a certified asbestos testing laboratory.
When vinyl asbestos flooring is crumbling or damaged it is considered friable.
However it was discovered that inhaling asbestos fibers could cause serious illness and the use of asbestos was drastically curtailed in homes and.
Asbestos a heat resistant fibrous silicate mineral was a common element in construction materials due to its resilient durable nature until the 1980s anyway when it was banned due to the.
From the 1950s to the 1980s almost every vinyl floor tile sold contained between 2 percent and 10 percent asbestos.
An example would be a floor slab made from asbestos cement.