Scared I was exposed to Asbestos

amother

Lilac

Sun, Mar 10 2019, 9:10 am

Hi
I was sweeping all the dust and debris in my boiler room basement. Before we bought the home, the inspector found asbestos in the basement. Before we purchased the home, the owners removed it. But I don't know why I'm still worried. While sweeping up, I breathed in a lot of dust and maybe it was asbestos. The plumber changed a lot of old pipes and maybe they had asbestos in them that the inspector didn't see? I am so scared I don't want to die in 10 years :-( I have kids and am young now. How could I be so stupid? I just wanted to have a clean house. I am so upset and can't sleep thinking about this. What should I do? A doctor can't do anything??!!!

amother

Green

Sun, Mar 10 2019, 9:13 am

Obviously it's not recommended to intentionally do this, but a one time exposure to possible asbestos is highly unlikely to cause serious disease. Asbestos is more harmful when there's a cumulative effect.

amother

Emerald

Sun, Mar 10 2019, 9:46 am

amother wrote:

Was in the same position. I know there are 2 ways to remove it the cheaper way and more expensive way which is really the right way. I keep on worrying maybe mine wasn't done the right way and have sleepless nights. I'm still in middle of renovations. In order to get a co on a house it needs 3 inspections total. So my thing is that of it passes all 3 inspections it's hopefully safe. Yet I'm still terrified and causing a lot of stress.

Amarante

Sun, Mar 10 2019, 10:46 am

You can test for asbestos and that would put your fears to rest.

Did your sellers get a certificate of compliance from the company that removed the asbestos. I recently had a popcorn ceiling removed which contained asbestos. It was a very expensive process as I had to hire a certified hazardous asbestos removal company and everything was tented up to prevent contamination.

They had to remove all debris in a special way and it was taken to a registered hazmat site because you can’t dump asbestos in a regular way becaus3 it contaminates the environment.

Everything was tested again by a special company and I got a Certificate that my home was completely free of asbestos.

If the asbestos was removed improperly it could have contaminated areas in the house so you really should have it tested.

If the asbestos was removed improperly, I would seek damages against the seller who did it wrong and endangered your health.

Amarante

Sun, Mar 10 2019, 11:28 am

If there is asbestos that is in the environment, the OP would have long term exposure.

Asbestos is actually safe unless it is disturbed either through removal or because the asbestos tile/coating or whatever has been disturbed or damaged in some way. Once that has happened, the asbestos is then released into the environment and it can be unhealthy.

As I posted, if I were OP I would have the house tested for asbestos contamination for peace of mind or if it is contaminated, to have it remediated.

My ceiling was perfectly safe so long as it was undisturbed. But because I wanted it removed to have a smooth ceiling, it had to be done safely by a special company. When it is removed, the workers all wear hazmat suits and everything is handled with special materials and there is special machinery they use to make sure that it stays in the area where it is being removed. Every room that didn't have the ceiling removed was tented and sealed with plastic. And then my home was retested to make sure that there was no asbestos that had escaped their decontamination process.

amother

Emerald

Sun, Mar 10 2019, 3:24 pm

Amarante wrote:

Who can I call to test for asbestos contamination?
Supposedly it was removed but I wanna test my house for contamination?

Amarante

Sun, Mar 10 2019, 3:54 pm

You can google for asbestos testing in your area.

There are also home kits but I don't think those would work for your needs since those are intended to test tiles or ceiling before removal to see if they were made with asbestos.

In your situation, you want to find out whether asbestos was removed properly or whether there is some loose asbestos around.

Can you call your realtor and have them get the paperwork for what the sellers did for asbestos removal. I have a certificate that was submitted to the State and the company I used for the process (removing my ceiling) is specifically licensed by my state for asbestos removal and containment.