Does Your Home Or Workplace Contain Asbestos?

Asbestos exposure and the illnesses associated with it – including deadly mesothelioma – are the biggest cause of workplace deaths in Canada today. But, how do you know if that danger is present in your home or place of work?

Here’s a handy checklist of some of the main issues that should prompt you to take the next step to get help with asbestos testing or asbestos removal.

• Was your home/workplace built before the mid-1980s? If so, it almost certainly contains – or contained – asbestos in one form or another. Previous renovations may have involved asbestos abatement, but you won’t necessarily know just because it looks new.

• Check the sealant around any pipes, ducts, and windows in your home. If it is crumbling or otherwise deteriorating, it may be ACM or an asbestos containing material. Even if asbestos removal procedures have been performed elsewhere in the building, sealant is one area that is often overlooked.

• Do you have a popcorn ceiling? Aside from being dated and a magnet for dust, it may just contain asbestos. That’s right – at one time, the texture was created with asbestos.

• Do you have what was once called “drop ceiling tiles”? Ceiling tiles, often called acoustic tiles, were very widely used between the 1940s and 1990s, and they often contained asbestos, as it does have noise dampening properties. Ceiling tiles containing asbestos were largely 6” x 6”, 9” x 9” or 12” x 12” in size.

• Is there loose fill insulation in the attic? There are a few different possibilities, but one of them is vermiculite insulation that comes from a mine contaminated with asbestos.

You can tell if there is asbestos in your home just by looking, especially when it has been mixed with another material. Asbestos testing is the first step, and then, while the material may be considered safe as long as it is intact, the only way to be sure is to have it removed. That’s where we come into the picture.

Safe, not sorry
If you have asbestos anywhere in your home, let us help with the next step: asbestos removal. Our experienced and certified asbestos removal and asbestos remediation technicians can help keep you and your family safe. In the Toronto area call Environmental at (416) 818-9414. Contact us for a quote today.

Featured in Mike Holmes’ magazine, HGTV’s Income Properties, W Network’s Love It Or List It and chosen by Homestars.com as “Best Toronto Asbestos Removal Company” based on customer ratings and reviews, GreenStream Environmental Services are fully-certified, trusted and insured professionals in the removal and disposal of commercial, industrial, institutional and residential asbestos, vermiculite and mould (hazardous and non-hazardous). Providing emergency service 24/7/365 for all of Toronto and the GTA (North York, Mississauga, Markham, Brampton, Scarborough, Ajax, Oshawa, and beyond) GreenStream has over 40 combined years of experience serving clients such as the City of Toronto, the Toronto District School Board and many more. For a free estimate in Toronto, the GTA and Southern Ontario, call today at 416-818-9414. You’ll be glad you did.