Old floor tiles likely to contain asbestos?

[robkingston]

One of the first things I did when moving into my current house 2 or 3 years ago was to remove the carpet (!) from the kitchen. Underneath were grey 9" square tiles, a bit dingy but better than a grotty carpet.

However the tiles proved to be pretty weak and after a while started to crack. The last straw was a washing machine leak which dissolved the adhesive and loosened some tiles, which then basically began to fall to pieces - the old tiles are rigid but very brittle and it got to the point where I just had to remove the loose ones, revealing the cement floor and black grout underneath.

I am planning to refit the kitchen but won't be able to afford a proper job for another year or two, so as a cheap(ish) temporary(ish) fix I spent the weekend removing all the remaining tiles and laying self-adhesive vinyl tiles. So far so good.

However, some helpful person has pointed out that the old tiles more than likely contain asbestos. Is this likely to be true? The house was built in about 1964. There was quite a lot of accumulated dust under the old tiles which I swept, vacuumed and mopped up before laying the new tiles - is this hazardous stuff?

[robkingston]

Oh and an additional question - what do I do with the pile of old tiles? If they do indeed contain asbestos then I can't see the local tip being overjoyed to take them.

[The Natural Philosopher]

I do not think that asbsetos was routinely used in floor tiles.

Just skip em.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Don't tell em then.

Asbestos in a matrix is totally inert.

Put them back in the ground where the asbestos came from in the first place.

[Andy Burns]

I thought the relatively common Marley-type did until mid 70's

Just skip em.

Probably the right answer anyway, I've taken plenty to the tip, once they decide they're not suitable for recycling as hardcore they're not interested.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Ah. The 'everything contains asbestos' files..

I used to make wall plugs out of asbestos containing 'Rawlplastic' and spit on it to moisten it..

I must be dead.

[Cicero]

================================ If they're brittle they're probably 'thermoplastic tiles' and quite harmless except for sharp edges when they break.

Cic.

[Peter Parry]

Yes, thermoplastic or vinyl floor tiles of 1960's vintage will probably contain about 25% asbestos of the Chrysotile (white) form. From the late 1960's until the mid 1980's they would contain up to 8% or so.

The dust? almost certainly not as it will be normal domestic detritus. The Chrysotile in vinyl tiles is quite difficult to separate out unless you sand the things. Even if you manage this the risk from occasional exposure to Chrysotile is infinitesimal.

If you want to dispose of the tiles "properly" your local council might have a household waste site nominated for bonded asbestos products which you can take them to (double wrapped in polythene).

However, the staff employed to answer asbestos queries usually have the brain the size of a small acorn and have only been told about asbestos cement sheet so wrongly think it's the only form of bonded asbestos they can accept. They often consider anything else automatically causes you to go green and light up in the dark.

If you encounter one of the numptys you have two options. You can stick the things in the bin which is exactly what almost everyone does as they don't realise they contain Chrysotile in the first place or you can arrange to pay a local waste disposal company a few hundred pounds to stick them in a bin for you.

For a sensible waste policy see:-

or a really stupid one see:- apart from being quite wrong about the Special Waste Regulations they might just as well say "throw over nearest convenient fence". "All assistance short of constructive help" is the phrase which comes to mind.

[robkingston]

Hmm, let me think about that one. Okay, I've thought about it :o)

Thanks for the advice. ____ Rob

[Owain]

Then wrappe them in ye Tefco carrier bagge and hyde them in ye wheeliebynne such that the bynne menne knoweft nothinge.

Owain

[Andy Burns]

Well I did paste the link to pictures of the supposed tiles rather than the standard google web search which consists of lots of asbestos scaremonger adverts

[robkingston]

Forfooth, Her Majestie'f Emptyerf of ye Binne are wilye menfolk, and if mine wheeliebynne doth tippe ye scalef too heavily, verily shalle it be left replete. :(

(Those tiles are surprisingly heavy. I've been chucking the odd two or three in for a while, but at that rate I'll be rationing them out till summer!)

[Huge]

I filled my wheelie-bin with wall tiles from the old bathroom. I could barely wheel it down the drive. It was still all gone in the morning!

[Owain]

Are they the right size to fit in the reply-paid envelopes supplied with junk mail?

Owain

[The Natural Philosopher]

Hmm. Round here, a ten quid note in an envelope pinned to the bin once a year works wonders, as does the occasional chat when they turn up.

[robgraham]

Lordy, lordy - then I'm dead too as I worked in a factory that made vinyl tiles in the 60's. There was certainly no evidence of asbestos loading of the material that I can remember - it came in as granules and there was quite a lot of hand involvement in the process.

The only consolation is that I'm still in contact with 2 others who were involved and at 40 years later none of us seem to have any problems.

I do take it that your information is correct ? I would really prefer to accept this as yet another internet scare !

Rob

[Peter Parry]

There are a number of different ways of making vinyl tiles and as you point out not all included Chrysotile. However, the great majority of floor tiles of that era did as the Chrysotile increased the wear resistance considerably and was very cheap filler. PVC tiles which contained no Chrysotile were sometimes backed with an asbestos paper to aid adhesion. A number of thermoplastic composition tiles which didn't contain PVC were also commonly known as "vinyl tiles" just to confuse matters.

Even with Chrysotile present the risk would have been small.

Indeed it is. Armstrong, the worlds biggest producer of thermoplastic tiles, was pushed into Chapter 11 bankruptcy by asbestos claims in

2000 and only emerged from it in 2006.

Legal bills alone came to over $50M - which is the primary reason lawyers simply love asbestos.