Bellingham WA Home Inspection (King of the House) : Vermiculite Attic Insulation and Asbestos

Asbestos in homes is found in many locations. One place that often surprises people, and one of the lesser known locations, is vermiculite attic insulation installed prior to 1991. Prior to that year, the vermiculite in the USA came from a mine near Libby, Montana. That mine, and they did not know it at the time, had a natural deposit of asbestos which tainted some of the vermiculite. While not all of this insulation had asbestos fibers, it is likely that it will. The EPA suggests that, if you have older vermiculite, leave it alone and do not disturb it. Vermiculite, installed since 1991,  comes from three other US facilities and is considered to be safer. The problem with this attic insulation comes in when you want to remodel. Moving it around stirs it up and gets it in the air. The advice: Leave it alone. Below is a photo of what it looks like, although there are some variations.

The EPA states that, since asbestos is a contaminant in the vermiculite, a homeowner might assume that all older vermiculite has at least trace elements of asbestos. It can be difficult to find small quantities of asbestos in a lab test. But, if a homeowner is really concerned about vermiculite, he or she still might find piece of mind by having the material tested at a lab. Don't do that without first getting the information or a kit from the lab, so you can learn how to safely and properly collect the material. You need, at a minimum, samples from different parts of the attic. If you do not know where to find a lab, or maybe you want a professional to do the test for you, then call a home inspector in your town. Let the home inspector climb up on the ladder and take the samples for you. The fee should be quite low for this simple service.

• EPA site
• King of the House
• Bellingham MLS

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