Risks As Well As Precautions

Vermiculite is a mineral that has been used to insulate homes for decades. However, the vast majority of vermiculite insulation inward North America came from a mine that as well contained asbestos, which tin campaign lung illness too cancer.

If your home contains vermiculite insulation, yous ask to know how to avoid disturbing it too how to protect yourself when yous enter your attic. In close to cases, removal is necessary, too y'all can fifty-fifty be reimbursed for it.

The EPA recommends treating all vermiculite equally contaminated. It is best to get out vermiculite alone, ideally sealed inside walls or contained inward an unused attic. Vermiculite should entirely be handled by professionals.

Vermiculite Insulation Risk: Asbestos Exposure

The Libby Mine in Montana, active starting inwards the 1920s, was contaminated alongside a natural deposit of asbestos.

Before the mine shut in 1990, it supplied lxxx% of the vermiculite sold inwards the United States nether the name Zonolite insulation for decades.

Not all vermiculite insulation contains asbestos, even if it was installed before 1990, because non all vermiculite was mined at Libby. When new vermiculite insulation is installed today, suppliers must provide proof of asbestos testing.

You cannot say by looking at it whether vermiculite insulation contains asbestos.

The U.south. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) advises people to assume that vermiculite is contaminated and have precautions. Most states, including New York, list vermiculite equally a suspect miscellaneous asbestos-containing cloth.

If contaminated vermiculite insulation is disturbed, asbestos fibers tin can get airborne too get inhaled.

The negative wellness effects of asbestos are caused by inhalation as well as mainly relate to lung weather. Asbestosis—scarred lung tissue that makes breathing difficult—occurs inward people who had high as well as prolonged exposure through their jobs.

Asbestos tin can as well movement lung cancer, mesothelioma, too larynx cancer. Furthermore, enquiry increasingly suggests that asbestos is linked to colorectal as well as ovarian cancers.

Apart from the potential contamination amongst asbestos, vermiculite by itself has non been plant to position whatever threats to health.

Official Recommendation: Leave It Alone

Avoid disturbing the vermiculite. Officials leading asbestos inquiry, policy on asbestos treatment, as well as the EPA all tell to get out vermiculite alone if it is not an active threat.

While it mightiness seem similar common feel to go rid of the potential threat, asbestos is virtually dangerous when fibers are disturbed too get airborne.

Interacting with the vermiculite in whatsoever way—removing it, blowing new insulation over it, or simply going into your attic—can cause asbestos fibers to live released into the air.

While we volition talk over options for professional person removal, this should only be done inwards particular circumstances, for example if a remodeling or maintenance project will disturb the insulation.

Vermiculite should non be removed for the sake of removing it.

Most importantly, never effort to take away, suit, or impact vermiculite insulation by yourself.

Precautions to Take

Get the Vermiculite Sealed In

Sealing can mean 1 of 2 things.

On the low-tech stop, vermiculite tin can live covered amongst plywood boards or Tyvek to create a barrier. This is recommended for “inactive” attics that will non normally be entered.

Additionally, seal the ceiling of rooms below the attic. Dust from vermiculite insulation can fall through cracks in the ceiling, specially around light fixtures too fans. Apply caulking about the attic hatch or make sure that the attic door seals.

For insulation contained within finished walls every bit opposed to unfinished attics, caulking is a adept showtime pace. The EPA does non recommend opening up walls to cheque for vermiculite. Caulk around window as well as door frames, baseboards, too outlets if you lot suspect that you take vermiculite.

Asbestos-contaminated vermiculite is much less unsafe when contained inside a wall cavity than when left open up to the air in an attic.

Sealing tin as well mean asbestos encapsulation—spraying an approved protective coating similar AsbestoSafe, which should be done past a professional person. A spray sealant, used in conjunction alongside some other barrier, is recommended for “active” attics where objects volition be stored or contractors volition live working.

Cover With New Insulation

Professionals have differing opinions on the inquiry of whether you lot should add together new insulation over the acme of vermiculite, or take it professionally removed before re-insulating.

Some asbestos remediation companies recommend installing sure forms of insulation like fiberglass batts (non blown-inward fiberglass), equally long as a sealant is sprayed on the vermiculite.

However, more or less insulation companies fence that but adding new insulation, regardless of the type, runs the hazard of disturbing asbestos fibers.

Another upshot to view is that in one case new insulation comes into contact alongside vermiculite, it is considered asbestos-contaminated. If you lot ever necessitate to reinsulate again, it will be more expensive to withdraw both material.

Never cover vermiculite with blown-in insulation, every bit the blowing procedure volition disturb asbestos fibers.

Stay out of the Area

Each trip to your attic increases the adventure of inhaling asbestos fibers in addition to releasing more than fibers. Limit the issue of trips you lot make to the attic in addition to bound the length of those trips.

Staying out of the area unremarkably means non using the attic any. Do non shop boxes, furniture, or any items inward the attic.

The EPA specifically mentions that children should not move into the surface area.

While no level of asbestos exposure is considered rubber, the risks of affliction depend on the degree, duration, together with frequency of exposure.

Strategies like sealing inwards the vermiculite address the degree of exposure; staying out of the surface area addresses the duration together with frequency of exposure.

Wear PPE if You Have to Enter The Area

Whenever y'all must get in your attic, clothing personal protective equipment (PPE).

Common dust masks together with surgical masks, including even N95 masks, are non enough to protect yous from asbestos fibers. Effective PPE in this situation way wearing a respirator mask, every bit required past OSHA inwards the context of workplace asbestos exposure.

Other best practices for entering an asbestos-contaminated attic include:

Stay on the floored part of the attic or walk on boards to avoid kick upwards dust.

If y'all must move or take away boxes (equally you should non shop anything inward the attic), act them very gently.

Leave the attic equally before long every bit possible.

Change apparel as well as shoes then that yous make not track dust into your master living infinite.

Monitor the State of the Vermiculite

It is important to make certain that vermiculite is not degrading or shifting. Dust together with fragments tin can fall through cracks into other areas of your dwelling house. If y'all find changes to the appearance of the vermiculite, that could live a sign that something is wrong.

However, when monitoring vermiculite, be careful to follow the procedure outlined higher up. Wear a respirator together with avoid making extra trips to the attic. Try to bank check on the insulation when yous take to move into the expanse for some other argue.

You should not open up a wall to check on vermiculite insulation. Similarly, lifting upward boards to await at the vermiculite way disturbing the potential asbestos fibers in addition to should be avoided.

If y'all cannot run into your vermiculite insulation without find or unencapsulating it, the costs of disturbing it more often than not outweigh the benefits of monitoring it.

If yous are concerned that something has changed, regard hiring a domicile inspector to test for asbestos or purchasing an asbestos testing kit. Testing the air for asbestos is more than accurate together with noninvasive than testing a physical vermiculite sample.

Ventilation

Because asbestos fibers are dangerous when inhaled, yous mightiness intend that ventilation would reduce exposure. However, increasing ventilation inward your habitation is non something that about asbestos experts recommend.

Vents or open up windows that blow air about the attic could disturb the vermiculite. If you lot or a contractor has to spend fourth dimension inwards the attic, wearing a respirator to protect against asbestos fibers is much more effective than increasing airflow.

Man in PPE removing asbestos in an old house

Increasing ventilation in areas other than the attic to trim down asbestos exposure is non an official recommendation.

If y'all are concerned that asbestos is getting into your primary living spaces, the problem cannot live addressed simply through ventilation. In that instance, contact an accredited asbestos inspector.

Remodelling Must Be Done by a Professional

You may call for to have vermiculite removed or take contractors follow special procedures if y'all design to make work on your attic or remove walls, for case:

Electrical rewiring

Installing bath vents or sure types of ceiling lights inwards rooms below the attic

Renovations due to water or burn down impairment

Planned renovations

Bat or rodent infestation

Air sealing together with re-insulating the attic for free energy efficiency

Home improvement projects that demand access to the attic or the removal or opening of walls must live done by a professional. It is vital to notify plumbers, electricians, and other contractors that you lot have, or suspect yous accept, vermiculite insulation.

Sometimes contractors volition be able to complete their function while next extra safe procedures. However, approximately projects, similar air sealing as well as deep renovations, ask the professional person removal of vermiculite.

Professionally removing vermiculite is allowed as well as necessary inwards such cases, fifty-fifty though the EPA recommends that y'all avoid removing vermiculite inwards general.

Get It Tested Before Removal

If you eventually end upwards needing or wanting to take vermiculite, it must live done by an accredited professional person trained in asbestos treatment. Be aware that common methods of removal similar vacuuming are unsafe when applied to vermiculite.

Testing vermiculite for asbestos tin can lead to fake negatives (when a physical sample of the mineral tests negative but the air tests positive). Because of dubiety around testing, the EPA recommends treating all vermiculite equally contaminated fifty-fifty if it tests negative.

Testing a vermiculite sample for asbestos tin can’t order yous whether or not yous need to take away vermiculite, or even how much you lot are existence exposed.

However, a dissimilar class of vermiculite testing tin be incredibly useful for another reason.

You tin can submit a sample (collected by yourself, past a habitation inspector, or by a Certified Asbestos Professional) to Zonolite Attic Insulation (ZAI), who will perform a factor analysis exam to make up one's mind if your vermiculite came from their Libby mine.

If the examination shows that your vermiculite is Zonolite, the ZAI Trust may take to reimburse yous for upwards to 55% of the cost of removing too replacing the insulation.