Asbestos worries (I moved this post from the Strictly Steam board, posted it there by mistake)

bipbap

I've known for a while that we have some undisturbed asbestos insulation (maybe 2' long) on a steam main in the basement, as well as some in the boiler room. Due to an upcoming renovation, I decided to have a company in to assess it and possibly remove it. He pointed out many more spots where there was small fuzz patches of friable asbestos residue just hanging off the pipes and around the fittings and I could see how a little bump would knock it off. He said there was probably originally asbestos on all the pipes and the company who removed it just did a hall-a**ed job of removing it.

We don't know when the removal was done, but we've been there 10 years, so now I'm worried that for the past 10 years I've spent a lot of hours at my tool bench in an area that might have asbestos dust all over from a poorly done remediation.

So I'll likely have this company (who is licensed/insured/many good recommendatons) remove what's left of it off the pipes, but he can't really tell me what is already escaped into the space and how risky it is. He said of course I could throw out everything down there and HEPA the space, but our entire family stuff is down there (tools, photos, collections, etc). Of course, losing stuff is not worth anyone's health, but I'm unsure how necessary that is and how badly contaminated the space could be. The current company is not trying to sell me on a full remediation of the space and while he can't say definitely how bad it is, he seems to think I'm worrying and ovethinking it, maybe based on all the stuff you hear about asbestos.

One more piece of info is that when we were filing for renovation plans 6 months ago, we actually had an asbestos air test done down there and it came back negative, which seems hard to believe now considering there are so many small bits of it hanging off the pipes and a sloppy remediation had been done previously.

Thanks for reading all this- any advice is appreciated!

rwilson2526

Well I am new here and may get my head handed to me but I have been in the industrial /corporate construction business for some time. It amazes me the breadth and scope of the asbestos abatement industry that has grown out of what I believe to be founded upon fear and misunderstanding.

As someone had said on another thread that I read here recently DO NOT PANIC. Sadly the people that have been stricken with asbestosis and other ailments are those that have handled it everyday for an entire career. The money that is spent on asbestos abatement in this country (albeit great if that is your business) is insane... schools having all floor tile removed, concrete recyclers testing for "hot" concrete before disposal, companies being called in because of an odd pipe elbow has suspect asbestos..........if all you are worried about is some insulation residue, put on a dust mask, spray it with a water bottle and scrub it down with a red pad or the like.

If you want to have it professionally done because you are not as cheap as I am, then have it, but I wouldn't even consider worrying about the contents of the room being contaminated. The test came back negative for a reason

Jamie Hall

If your air quality tests OK, as you said in the other thread, not to worry. It's one of those highly profitable risks which is wildly overblown.

unclejohn

Have the company you trust do a air sample and go from there

Mad Dog_2

Every basement we enter, we don't know what went on before we were there. Don't get crazy. I've been in your position. Moving forward, get a good abatement company to set up the negative air chamber and the HEPA exhaust and have them hygenically clean everything. Get your air test results and move on. Last, yes there has been some hype & alarmism, slip & fall.lawyers raking it in, but people with minimal exposure have become sick. My two "rabbis" who broke me on to the business both died of asbestosis. One saw a lot in the Navy Yard and the other less so, both died too young. Dont be cheap on this. Pay up now. Move on. Mad Dog

bipbap

Mad Dog, you know anyone reliable who does this kind of abatement in the NYC area?