Posted on August 31, 2021

I am sharing my story because my sense is that most people don’t think about whether they might be living with asbestos. Knowing something about how to check for this toxic material and what to do if you find it is very useful information. It can help keep you and your family safe. 

Why does it matter if you have asbestos in your home?

According to the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO): each year, an estimated 40,000 Americans die from preventable asbestos-caused diseases, including cancer. The dangers posed by asbestos were discovered decades ago, but it was never banned. And surprisingly, there has not been a comprehensive study on where you are most likely to find it today. 

Historically, asbestos was used for many purposes, including to make building materials stronger and fire resistant. It was also used for insulation and many other purposes. It remains in many homes and schools to this day. In some cases, asbestos can be left in place, if it is contained and managed carefully. It might be in a layer of flooring tile for example, but completely covered and unexposed. But, if it is uncovered and breaking down, or if you plan to remodel your house and demolish or remove these materials, asbestos fibers can be released. When asbestos fibers are released is when the risk to your health is highest because you can inhale or ingest them. 

Most people probably don’t know they could be at risk if they remodel their home. They may not know what questions to ask to be sure they don’t have an asbestos hazard under their nose.

My family was surprised to find out we had asbestos when we were about to remodel our kitchen and laundry room. We found out we had asbestos and took important steps to protect ourselves. I am hoping this story will help others to do the same. 

When my family was planning to remodel, we looked into whether there might be asbestos in our house. It was built in the 1970’s and asbestos tiles and other materials were often used in construction. There are websites that give examples of types of tiles and flooring that contained asbestos at that time. None of our tiles looked like those photos and that was somewhat reassuring. Our contractor did not think the tiles looked like the ones he had seen that contained asbestos, and that was reassuring too. But, just to be safe, since the flooring was going to be demolished and removed, we had a licensed contractor and lab test small samples of the flooring. 

When the results came in, we were shocked to learn that in fact both floors contained asbestos. The kitchen floor was 20 percent chrysotile and the laundry room floor was 5 percent chrysotile. This type of asbestos, when released in the environment, is known to cause serious illness. The kitchen floor was several layers down. If we had not planned to demolish it, it could have been left in place. The laundry room tile was the only layer, and it was very old and at risk of breaking down. So, we suddenly had to make a plan for safely removing the asbestos from our house.

There are several key steps in this process. You cannot just rip out the tiles and throw them in the trash. It has to be removed safely. This process required research on the best contractors and calls to state regulators to check on the best approach. My family hired licensed abatement contractors and they made a plan. The areas needed to be sealed off. We stayed at a hotel while this was happening. The contractors had to wear protective suits. The materials had to be properly disposed of as well. 

In the end, we did all this and confirmed there was no asbestos contamination remaining and returned home. 

Altogether, removing the asbestos correctly cost thousands of dollars. But, we needed to do it right to protect our health. I wondered what someone would do if they could not pay what turned out to be such a large bill. Asbestos can cause cancer and many other serious illnesses. There is no safe level of asbestos fibers if you ingest them. We were able to take the right precautions. If someone can not afford it, there really should be financial support for safe asbestos removal.

As I explained, I want to share this story because lots of people live in homes that could have asbestos that could pose a risk to the health of their family. Checking on the condition of the asbestos and managing it right requires finding an expert who is licensed and can help you through the steps. And asbestos is not just in homes. The legacy of asbestos also includes many schools and other buildings, for example. Schools are supposed to maintain information on asbestos at the school on site and you can ask to see it! 

Asbestos is still not banned and much more needs to be done to educate the public and study the legacy of asbestos to help protect public health. People often do not even know they should be asking questions about these issues.

A really important step in addressing this problem would be passage of “The Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act”. This is a bill that ADAO has been advocating for some time and it would ban asbestos and it would also require a study that would inform the public and help protect people from this dangerous material. I intend to keep sharing this information, and supporting this important bill when it is reintroduced because an asbestos ban and widespread knowledge about where asbestos may be found in our communities is the best way we can save lives and protect our families’ health.

I hope you will join me in this effort!  Special thanks to Linda Reinstein for her help and support. 

A High School Senior in Virginia