Asbestos Containing Vinyl Sheet Flooring

A vinyl sheet flooring that looks like the above has a high chance of asbestos.

Asbestos containing vinyl sheet flooring.

Like floor tiles vinyl sheet flooring is a long lasting and economical material and it also offers more aesthetic options to suit a homeowner s taste. Sheet vinyl flooring should be removed to avoid or minimize disturbance of the asbestos containing backing. Unfortunately vinyl tiles and sheet flooring that contain asbestos pose a potential exposure risk. For more information.

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. We describe sources of asbestos in older forms of sheet flooring including felt backed flooring rubber backed flooring and vinyl cushion backed resilient flooring products. Unfortunately vinyl sheet flooring manufactured with an asbestos backing poses a serious exposure risk when it is disturbed. The vinyl acts as a binder that holds the asbestos fibres within a solid matrix.

One armstrong world industries vinyl resilient sheet flooring product thought to have been installed in 1967 was tested in a lab and found to contain 70 percent asbestos. This will entail peeling the sheet vinyl from the flooring beneath if the backing does not separate in the process or removing the sheet vinyl in sections with the underlayment attached. This article describes sheet flooring products known to contain significant levels of asbestos. We are told that the paper layer can contain from 40 to 70 percent asbestos.

Always test for asbestos fibers before removing any older vinyl sheeting. Asbestos backed vinyl sheet flooring and asbestos containing vinyl tiles or any vinyl sheet flooring or tiles which are presumed to contain asbestos must be entered into the asbestos register for the workplace. If the material is in good condition it normally does not pose a threat because the asbestos is enclosed in vinyl preventing the fibres from escaping. If black tar is adhering to the vinyl it is almost a 100 asbestos containing fiber product.

Such products some sold under the brand name solarian were installed as recently as 1980 long after governmental restrictions on asbestos were initiated. Asbestos containing sheet flooring or resilient flooring product identification. Asbestos vinyl sheet flooring has two layers a top layer of vinyl and a bottom layer made from paper that contains asbestos.