There’s More to Asbestos Than Most People Are Aware Of

 

Asbestos has an unusual position within our culture. On one hand, the term will usually summon up a look of recognition on most people's faces. People know that it was a common form of insulation in the past. They're also usually aware of the fact that it poses some extreme dangers to people's health. And there's something to be said for the fact that our culture understands those basic facts about asbestos. Even that cursory level of knowledge can be enough to save lives. But taking asbestos education just a little further might well help prevent even more illness and injury.

 

The first thing to keep in mind is that asbestos isn't always easy to identify by sight alone. People often assume it has a uniform shape and color. But in reality there's a large amount of variation in asbestos coloring. It's often associated with intended use. But even that assumes a little too much to be fully reliable. Furthermore there's even a huge amount of variation in the form asbestos takes. It's usually a fairly fluffy solid. But there's another form of asbestos called loose fill which is significantly more difficult to identify. 

 

Loose fill asbestos insulation consists of something closer to fine powder than the fluffy cotton candy form we're usually more familiar with. The material is prepared by essentially crushing asbestos into a fine state. This process was often used to make the asbestos a better fit for difficult spaces. In theory it can be found anywhere in a building. But it's most commonly used as ceiling or roof insulation.

 

The fact that loose fill asbestos is harder to identify on sight makes proper asbestos testing even more important. This is also why one should take samples from multiple locations within a home when doing asbestos testing. As well as the main reason why roof insulation should always be one of the points tested when looking for asbestos.  If you want to know about loose-fill asbestos testing come check our site.