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Old floor tile and black mastic: assume asbestos

Old floor tile and black mastic: assume asbestos

Hazard communication 5 min 29 CFR 1926.1101

Carpentry, Masonry

Why it matters

Older vinyl and asphalt floor tile, sheet flooring, and the black glue under them often contain asbestos. Sanding, grinding, or ripping them up puts fibers in the air that can cause lung disease and cancer years later. You can't tell by looking.

The talk

A flooring crew shows up to put new plank down in an older house. Under the carpet there are 9-inch square tiles and black glue. The fast way is to pop the tiles with a scraper, then run a grinder over the glue so the new floor sits flat. That is exactly how people get exposed. The tile itself is fairly safe when it sits there whole. Breaking it, sanding it, or grinding the mastic is what sets the fibers loose. Those fibers stay in the air, ride home on your clothes, and show up as disease 20 or 30 years later.

Here is what the asbestos rule says about floors. In a building built in 1980 or earlier, vinyl and asphalt flooring, and the mastic and backing under it, are treated as asbestos unless an industrial hygienist tests it and says it is not. Removing it is Class II asbestos work, and the people doing it need training for that work. The rules for removal are specific. No sanding. Clean with a HEPA vacuum that has a metal floor tool, no brush. Cut sheet flooring with water at the cut, no ripping it up. Scrape glue wet. No dry sweeping. No mechanical chipping unless inside a negative pressure enclosure. Take tiles up whole when you can.

So what do you do when you find it? Stop before you break anything. Tell the foreman what you found and when the building was built. Don't sand, grind, or scrape it to see what it is. The company decides whether to test it, have a trained crew remove it, or cover it if the job allows. If you have not been trained for asbestos flooring work, you don't do it. Keep the room closed off until there is a plan. And never take dust from old flooring home on your clothes or in your truck.

Key points

  1. Old vinyl and asphalt flooring and black mastic often contain asbestos.
  2. In buildings from 1980 or earlier, assume it does unless a hygienist tests it.
  3. Removing it is Class II asbestos work and needs trained workers.
  4. No sanding, no dry sweeping, no ripping up sheet flooring.
  5. Scrape glue wet and clean with a HEPA vacuum.
  6. No mechanical chipping outside a negative pressure enclosure.
  7. Take tiles up whole when you can.

Do this

  • Ask when the building was built before you tear out flooring.
  • Stop and tell the foreman when you find old tile or black glue.
  • Keep the area closed until there is a plan.
  • Use wet methods and a HEPA vacuum if you are trained and assigned to the work.
  • Change out of dusty clothes before you go home.

Do not do this

  • Do not sand or grind old floor tile or mastic.
  • Do not break tiles to see what is under them.
  • Do not dry sweep old flooring debris.
  • Do not rip up old sheet flooring.
  • Do not do asbestos removal if you haven't been trained for it.

Talk about it

  1. How old is the building we are in, and what flooring is under what we see?
  2. Who do we call if we find tile or mastic that might be asbestos?

This is a short crew briefing. It does not replace a competent person, training, or the law.

Training aid only. This talk is not legal advice. It does not replace your company's safety program, a competent person, the equipment maker's instructions, or the OSHA standard itself.

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