Asbestos Vinyl Sheet Flooring

Dry asbestos particles are lighter than air wet ones are less prone to become air borne.

Asbestos vinyl sheet flooring.

Manufacturers often made this type of flooring with a friable asbestos backing which means asbestos fibres are easily released into the air if the sheet flooring is disturbed or damaged. However you re not completely in the clear because asbestos was a common ingredient in the mastic used to hold these flooring materials to the subfloor. Even some of the early peel and stick tiles used asbestos as the main ingredient. It also was installed over tongue and groove wood floors particleboard and plywood.

Asbestos backed sheet vinyl flooring was commonly installed in many ways including over hardwood softwood and concrete floors. We are told that the paper layer can contain from 40 to 70 percent asbestos. It is possible to make a tentative identification of floor tiles based on the individual tile pattern color and thickness. This fact sheet provides information regarding asbestos backed vinyl sheet flooring and vinyl tiles containing asbestos.

We include research citations on asbestos use in sheet flooring backer materials. Click here to read more. Asbestos vinyl sheet flooring has two layers a top layer of vinyl and a bottom layer made from paper that contains asbestos. While asbestos is useful as a binding agent in the manufacture of vinyl and rubber floor coverings it isn t needed to make linoleum tiles or 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. Vinyl asbestos floor tiles were produced by a number of manufacturers and the decorative tile patterns were varied often annually as styles and tastes changed. Asbestos backed vinyl sheet flooring is where the backing the side attached to the floor see figure 1 contains friable easily broken asbestos material. Unfortunately vinyl sheet flooring manufactured with an asbestos backing poses a serious exposure risk when it is disturbed.

Asbestos vinyl sheet flooring poses a significantly greater asbestos exposure risk than floor tiles or wallpaper. Asbestos vinyl sheet flooring can be more dangerous to remove than tiles if proper precautions are not practiced. The removal procedures described in this publication address the removal of asbestos backed sheet vinyl only if. As with any asbestos containing material acm the first step to finding asbestos in linoleum sheet flooring and vinyl tiles is.

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.