So, I've started to do the demo in the basement for my system. Removing the drop ceiling tiles, I found some mold and took care of it. Used silicone to seal where there may have been moisture getting. Took out a few more ceiling tiles and saw some odd looking tape around a water line for an outside spigot. I was like a deer in headlights. I knew it was asbestos and I would drop dead of mesothelioma within the next hour or so.
Ran upstairs grabbed the phone called the EPA for my region and they gave me the number for a ;lab in my area. I moistened the tape, cut a sample and took it to the lab last night. They said they would have the results by 9am today.
It's 10:15 and at this point, I would rather smell Alex's fart than wait any longer for the diagnosis...
I know some of you are electricians and carpenters, Huh, Tangled Up in Blue lyrics? I don't how you guys do it. You must come in contact with this stuff and worse everyday.
Good Luck!
Unfortunately, some of the scare tactics the EPA uses is to guarantee them a steady stream of income, and to appear useful and helpful.
An example of that is what they did to the automotive repair shops and the brake industry.
After forcing repair shops to buy thousands of dollars worth of asbestos removal and storage devices, and forcing the brake industry to reformulate their friction material.
Which subsequently raised the price of brake pads and the price of the hourly repair rates for consumers. Only to find out it wasn't harmful when used as brake pad friction material.
It was discovered that asbestos becomes harmless dust during the braking process.
Link to an interesting read:
The Asbestos Story The EPA, the US Government and the Media Doesn't Want Told
A personal experience:
My parents have a house that was built in1901. Many years ago my dad and I removed the asbestos insulation from the steam pipes, during a new furnace install.
We simply wore dust masks and are all healthy and living to talk about it.
The trick is to leave it undisturbed and seal it. Or, If you remove it yourself wet it down with water and a pump sprayer (to prohibit dust) and dumped directly into sealed garbage bags.
I understand you want to do what's safest for your family. The bureaucratic wheels are now in motion, and you may wish you could un-ring that bell.
If buy chance it is asbestos, the remediation expense may force you to choose between a basement HT or a clean basement.