| There is something to be said for asbestos | | | | small and toxic dust particles finding their way out, |
| products. They are inexpensive, very resistant to | | | | getting airborne and potentially being inhaled by |
| heat and fire, extremely durable and sturdy, yet, | | | | the homeowners. |
| flexible enough to be installed even in the toughest | | | | The certainly better, yet, more costly option is to |
| spots. Hence it is not really surprising that the | | | | remove the damaged asbestos tiles entirely. |
| asbestos floor tile was very popular up until the | | | | However, that is not an easy task. Usually, all vinyl |
| 1980s. And as a matter of fact, some recently | | | | asbestos tiles were glued to the floor and it |
| conducted studies suggests that most of the | | | | requires the adequate gear to get them removed. |
| floor tiles back then consisted of two main | | | | In this is the reason why it is highly |
| components; vinyl and asbestos. | | | | recommendable to hire a professional asbestos |
| But as we all know there is unfortunately also | | | | removal company for the job. I strongly suggest |
| another side to the story. As long as the | | | | not to add that to your 'do-it-yourself' list; the risk |
| asbestos floor tiles stay intact and remain | | | | of doing severe damage to your health is simply |
| undamaged, there is supposedly, and according to | | | | too high. |
| many experts, no need to be concerned. | | | | I have kidney cancer and it might very well be |
| However, even little scratches or ruptures create | | | | that I got it from being exposed to asbestos, |
| enough of a risk for anybody on site or in close | | | | while I helped my father cutting and preparing |
| proximity, to develop serious health issues, | | | | asbestos sheets, which we later mounted on to |
| including mesothelioma, asbestosis and certain | | | | the outside walls of our house. That was back in |
| forms of lung cancers. | | | | the mid 80s and according to my pathology |
| Primarily for financial reasons, a lot of | | | | report and the characteristics of my cancer, it is |
| homeowners who exactly face this kind of | | | | quite possible that I started to develop my |
| problem decide to put a new layer of different | | | | disease over 20 years ago. This would pretty |
| flooring on top of the asbestos floor tiling. This | | | | much fall into the time window where I got in |
| approach is questionable though, as it may not | | | | unprotected contact with the material, on a daily |
| fully resolve the issue of still having microscopically | | | | basis over the course of several months. |