Had a flood in basement. Insurance found asbestos in drywall mudding in 1975 home. Tested by professional. Insurance charged me horrendous amount to abate a walk in closet. They would not answer me if in other rooms. Abatement done by insurance guys NOT a certified person. No air test done after. They did use some strong smelling cleaner that gave me a headache. Is insurance scamming me? I had a flood the previous year and no asbestos testing done.
Unless the drywall had to be removed for flood damage no harm in having it in place.
There is some hysteria when found, but unless you breath it in, the material is harmeless and is easily protected with just a coat of paint.
As a chemist I oppose chemophobia. Asbestos is not going to jump out and poison you. You have to breath in the fibers to cause harm and sealed in a solid cannot do this.
The bigger problem is that - now that you know that there is asbestos in your house - you need to declare that fact whenever work is done and when you list it for sale .. .. better to not know. John T.
You explain that to home-buyers and renovation companies. Asbestos removal can cost a small fortune. John T.
The cost of removing asbestos can have pretty serious impact on the re-sale value and any renovations performed.
A 12 minute video about asbestos removal :
There is no US federal law but region may have one. Looks a little sticky in Delaware as they mention insulation and if you do not know apparently you have to tell them you do not know.
My house was built in 1911. Still has a good amount of knob-and-tube wiring (and 60 amp fuse system), and the pipes from the hot water furnace are ALL wrapped in asbestos. Probably runs up into the walls and second story as well.
Guess the only way I'm going to sell it (or my estate will sell it) is to the "we buy houses" guys for whatever they'll pay.
So it goes.
Asbestos was used in drywall mud from the 1930s to about 1980 [it was banned in 1977]. Your neigbors all have the same "issue" [or, really, non-issue] so I don't see how that much effects local property values. Why and how did your insurer "charge" you for a covered loss?
I had some asbestos on heating pipes. I removed it, always keeping it wet with a spray bottle. As others have said it is dangerous if you breath fibers. If you keep it wet there won't be floating fibers. Rags/paper towels for cleanup were bagged with the asbestos. It may be legal to landfill if double bagged and labeled. I took the bagged stuff to an abatement contractor and paid something.
When the hot water boiler was replaced the heating contractor hired a subcontractor that didn't take any precautions with the asbestos on the boiler. They may not have known better. The heating contractor plumber should have known better, but he was there with a bandana as a mask.
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