Asbestos Testing Lab-Does My House Have Asbestos?

One of the questions homeowners often ask me is whether there is asbestos present in their home, mostly if it dates before 1978, and sometimes even when their home is from within the last few decades. The latter is often surprised when they hire Home Depot® to redo their vinyl flooring, and the store requests an asbestos test performed by a certified inspector before replacing the old vinyl floor. The truth is, even if your home is more recent, there is still a chance that asbestos is present in some of the building material. Vinyl sheeting and the mastic underneath it is an example.

Contrary to popular belief, there is no outright ban on asbestos in the United States. It is permitted in limited quantities in building materials because of its tensile strength, acoustic properties, fireproofing abilities, and adhesive qualities. Asbestos is eve applied to manufacture the brake pads in your automobile. However, the EPA has banned the use of asbestos in many other types of products. 

You may ask if asbestos is so dangerous, why use it, aren’t there other products that can achieve the same results without the danger? The answer is yes! But alternatives are no safer to use, which is one reason why placing an outright ban on asbestos in the US has been unsuccessful.

Do I need to be concerned that my popcorn ceiling has asbestos, and will the fibers come loose and become airborne and get into my lungs?

The answer is as long as it is not disturbed, it will not become airborne. You can paint over it with virtually no fibers becoming loose. The same applies to all asbestos-containing materials. The only time you need to be concerned with loose asbestos fibers floating in your air space is when the material is disturbed.

What should I do if I think my house has asbestos?

You don’t need to do anything unless you plan to remodel your home and disturb asbestos-containing materials as defined by the EPA. You can collect a small sample of the ACM—asbestos-containing material and send it to an asbestos testing lab for analysis under polarized light microscopy (PLM). They can determine if the building material contains asbestos and quantity. The lab can get you the results anywhere from two-weeks to as fast as the same-day from receipt.

Suppose you disturbed some asbestos-containing material (ACM), knowing that it has asbestos, and you are worried that it has become airborne; what should you do?

In that case, you can always get an asbestos air quality test by a certified AHERA consultant to make sure the fibers in your air space does not contain fibers that are above the EPA recommended limit. This air sampling usually takes an hour and forty minutes to conduct.

So no matter the age of your house, there is still the possibility of asbestos in some building material. It would be best for you to have the suspected ACM checked for asbestos by collecting a small sample and sending it to an asbestos testing lab for analysis before taking on any project. You may also hire an AHERA consultant to manage the process for you and have them submit the ACM to an asbestos testing lab to determine the presence of asbestos in the material. The benefit of hiring a consultant is that they will have the expertise and tools to safely do the job and provide a full report, including with certificate, which you can use to give contractors or when you sell your house. The consultant will also be able to interpret the results for you should you need them and also be able to recommend abatement contractors to remove the asbestos from your home.   

Where can I send a sample for asbestos testing?

Mail-in asbestos samples:

5 Microns Inc.

7100 Fort Dent Way #100

Tukwila, WA 98188

IMPORTANT-MUST READ FIRST: All mail-in samples must have a tracking number and include our asbestos chain of custody form to be processed. If the chain of custody form is missing, your sample(s) will not be accepted and processed. Drop-offs MUST have the COC form inside your package but not in the sample bag. DO NOT MAIL YOUR SAMPLES BY FIRST CLASS MAIL. Send your sample(s) via USPS Priority Mail, UPS, and FedEx. It is essential to closely follow these directions so our asbestos testing lab can promptly process your sample(s).

*PLEASE NOTE FOR ALL DROP-OFFS: All samples must be dropped off at the back of the office building located at 7100 Fort Dent Way Tukwila WA outside the Tabor 100 Office and placed inside the black drop-box pictured below. Do not take your samples to the front desk. The front desk will not accept drop-offs over the counter, NO EXCEPTIONS

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