When you are concerned about the health and safety of your family and/or employees, you should consider having asbestos testing on the property. When you work with us, we can explain what is happening, how to protect yourself, and how to ensure that all the asbestos can be pinpointed and removed.
History of Asbestos in Chicago
Asbestos has been used around Chicago for much of the 20th century. It was a very popular building material because it is fireproof, strong, and can be used in almost any situation. You may be in a building that was constructed many years ago, or you might be in a building that has latent asbestos that might not have been removed in the past.
Asbestos can be found in the foundations of buildings, in the rock faces outside a house, around the HVAC units, near boilers, in pipes, and in basements or crawl spaces where it was used to reinforce the building. Asbestos could have been used to build the walls in the facility, or asbestos might have even been used to build an original roof that is still on a house.
Asbestos was so popular that it would make up a large part of a building. This is why it is important to have a test done before you start renovations. Many people want to start work on an old house on their own. They would like to tear down some walls, open up a few rooms, and add some carpentry work to the house. However, every nut, bolt, screw, and hammer they use could cause asbestos to float through the air. This is obviously dangerous, and it could cause a lifetime of health problems that could linger beneath the surface.
Because asbestos was so widespread when Chicago went through a major economic boom, it can be found almost anywhere. When you feel that you might have asbestos in the building or home, you should ask us to come out for testing. We will send someone right away, and we will explain how our process works when we arrive.
Common Building Types Containing Asbestos
Asbestos was popular in old schools, old churches, factories, warehouses, office buildings, lumber yards, docks, piers, railroad stations, and houses that use asbestos shingles. When you drive by a home that has a rock face or feature with texture, it may very well have asbestos in the house.
In essence, you could find asbestos in any home or building that was built up to the 1980s. Asbestos was found to be carcinogenic around that time, and the practice was essentially abolished. However, you cannot be sure when the product was no longer used and when it was simply hidden in a building in order to save money.
Modern homes will not have asbestos in them, but you may want to have the building tested if the contractor was sued or cited for any kind of malfeasance in the building process. You may not realize you have asbestos, and it should be found, isolated, or removed as quickly as possible.
This is especially important when younger owners take over old buildings. For example, a young pastor might take over an older church. If all the people who founded the church or helped build it up in the mid-20th century are not there, you may not be aware of all the asbestos that was used to improve and repair the building.
An office building that has been taken over by a new owner may have asbestos in several locations, and you should have the building tested before you start to fill it up with tenants. The same is true for anyone who wants to “flip” or develop large buildings in the area that were once used for manufacturing and storage. Removing asbestos before you begin remodeling is the only safe thing to do.
The Asbestos Testing Process
The asbestos testing process is managed by professionals who come to the site looking first for any obvious signs of asbestos. For example, when a tester arrives at a home that has the tell-tale rock faces that were so common in the 60s and 70s, they will know that there is asbestos in the building.
The testers will check every room and accessible part of the building looking for asbestos that may have been used in a variety of ways. The testers wear special protective gear so that they do not inhale the asbestos or come into physical contact with it.
The testers can take physical samples if needed, and they will create a report that explains where asbestos has been used in the building. When you receive this report, you will know where the asbestos is and how it should be removed. You can hold on to this report until the asbestos has been removed from the building, and you can share this report with anyone in the future who wishes to inspect the building.
When you have a certificate asbestos testing, you can compare that with the certificate or asbestos removal. These are important documents to use if you would like to get a new permit for the building, zone the building, or even sell the building.
We recommend asbestos testing for anyone who is considering buying a home or an old facility. We also recommend testing even if the building has encased asbestos. We should make sure that there are no lingering asbestos issues in the building. For example, asbestos treatment and removal may have been complete 10-20 years ago. Technology has improved since then, and the removal company may have missed something.
Take testing a step further. If you are managing a business that could potentially expose its employees to asbestos, you will be held liable for unknowingly exposing workers to hazardous conditions that fall outside of their job duties. You are not protected by workers’ compensation insurance because you simply did not take care of the building or provide your workers with a safe environment. Asbestos testing and removal can solve all these problems for you.
After asbestos testing is complete, a removal specialist can come into the building and help you understand how to remove or encase the asbestos that has been found.
Contact Asbestos Testers Today For Assistance
When you believe you have asbestos in your home or facility. you can contact us today for assistance with testing and removal. We will send licensed professionals to your location to check for asbestos, and we will write up a full report that explains how asbestos has been used in the building.
We can also make recommendations on how to remove the asbestos. In some cases, it should be encased instead of removed. In others, you may need to make major changes to the building to remove asbestos. In all cases, you need to test before you do anything to an old building or home because you do not want to expose yourself, your family, your employees, or your contractors to asbestos.