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LOI Abatement Services is committed to creating a safe environment for the workplace and the home.
What is asbestos?
Asbestos is the name for a group of naturally occurring silicate minerals that can be separated into fibers. The fibers are strong, durable, and resistant to heat and fire. They are also long, thin and flexible, so that they can even be woven into cloth.
Because of these qualities, asbestos has been used in thousands of consumer, industrial, maritime, automotive, scientific and building products. During the twentieth century, some 30 million tons of asbestos were used in industrial sites, homes, schools, shipyards and commercial buildings in the United States.
There are several types of asbestos fibers, of which three have been used for commercial applications: (1) Chrysotile, or white asbestos, comes mainly from Canada, and has been very widely used in the US. It is white-gray in color and found in serpentine rock. (2) Amosite, or brown asbestos, comes from southern Africa. (3) Crocidolite, or blue asbestos, comes from southern Africa and Australia. Amosite and crocidolite are called amphiboles. This term refers to the nature of their geologic formation.
Other asbestos fibers that have not been used commercially are tremolite, actinolite and anthophyllite, although they are sometimes contaminants in asbestos-containing products. It should be noted that there are non-fibrous, or non-asbestiform, variants of tremolite, anthophylite and actinolite, which do not have the adverse health consequences that result from exposure to commercial forms of asbestos.
Is asbestos dangerous?
Asbestos presents environmental and personal hazards when it is disturbed and becomes airborne, so it is critical to determine whether or not asbestos is present prior to renovation or repair. Almost everyone has been exposed to some form of asbestos during their everyday lives. Asbestos has a tremendous heat retardant capacity and, accordingly, can be found in such products as automobile brake pads, roofing shingles, and floor tiles. Heating ducts and water pipes found in homes, schools, and offices were also often insulated with an asbestos wrap. While the use of asbestos products has declined rapidly in the United States in recent years, it continues to be used in full force in developing countries.
For more information, please contact the following regulatory agencies:
Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, Portland office: Kevin McCrann (503) 667-8414 x55018
Environmental Protection Agency
Oregon Occupational Safety & Health Division
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