My neighbor is having work done and she was concerned about mold, i went and had a look and she said this fell out of the wall. Thoughts? I am not currently asbestos certified. 120 year old home.
It looks like vermiculite.
Assume it contains asbestos.
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Thank you. My instinct was the same. I appreciate a second opinion. My Asbestos testing colleague agreed it looks like vermiculite and I am allowing them to make their own decisions moving forward.
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Kevin, Hi!
I will suggest you go to the Home Depot and get a Mold Test Kit from Alpha Energy Laboratories. .
Is a simple instructions do it yourself test. You capture as many samples as possible and send it out (USPS) to the Laboratory in Texas. They will return a credible mold analysis report that will detail what type of Mold Spores are present in the samples.
This people are recognized nationwide and EPA Certified. You will get the results via email in a PDf file.
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I did an inspection recent where I saw vermiculite insulation in a furnace. I was told by an asbestos abatement contractor that they don’t test vermiculite insulation because it is known to have asbestos in it.
Concerns about Asbestos-contaminated Vermiculite Insulation
A mine near Libby, Montana, was the source of over 70 percent of all vermiculite sold in the United States from 1919 to 1990. There was also a deposit of asbestos at that mine, so the vermiculite from Libby was contaminated with asbestos. Vermiculite from Libby was used in the majority of vermiculite insulation in the United States and was often sold under the brand name Zonolite. If you have vermiculite insulation in your home, you should assume this material may be contaminated with asbestos and be aware of steps you can take to protect yourself and your family from exposure to asbestos.
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Im actually iac² mold certified. I went to look for any signs of mold for her and based on the decision sheet I felt like it would be a waste to test. (I found no visible signs of apparent microbial growth and didnt detect the odor for it either)
That was when I saw what I believed to be vermiculite. The landlord came and removed it.
Over the years, I’ve had clients want the vermiculite tested three times. Twice it came back with low asbestos content and once high.
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I grew up not far from Libby, Mt. they used to give grade school kids tours through the mine.
We used a lot of “Zonolite” for block fill insulation. We’d go home at night and blow “gold” snot out our noses.
I used to unload box car loads of the stuff by hand.
All the while it appears that W. R. Grace knew that it was heavily contaminated.
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