You get an expert to come in an test for it.
The only way to know if a building material contains asbestos is to have it tested.
Asbestos cement siding is typically installed in structures built before the 1980s. To determine if cement siding contains asbestos, you can have it tested by a professional asbestos abatement company. They can collect samples and conduct laboratory tests to confirm the presence of asbestos fibers in the material.
There are only two ways to know if your fireproof safe contains asbestos.Look at the design specifications for the make and model you have, orHave a hole drilled in the safe so a sample of the interior material can be removed by a qualified asbestos handler and analyzed by a qualified analytical laboratory.
Asbestos testing is:the process of analyzing a product in a laboratory to see if it contains asbestos.the process of sampling and analyzing air to see what the concentration, if any, of asbestos fibers in the air might be.
The only way to tell for certain whether a corrugated paper or concrete material contains asbestos is to have a small sample analyzed by a qualified lab. However, if you know something about the history of the material (when it was manufactured, what company made it, when it was applied and for what purpose) you may be able to make some useful guesses.
Yes. Some plasters and paints that were used to give texture to ceilings and walls did contain asbestos. But the only way to know whether a specific ceiling or wall plaster contains asbestos is to have it tested by a qualified laboratory.
Asbestos products have a very wide range of appearances. It is not possible to tell by simply looking at it whether a particular item contains asbestos or is a modern, version of the same product and does not contain asbestos. The only way to tell, if you don't know the construction history details, is to have a sample tested by a qualified laboratory.
Many, but not all, gypsum products made in the 1970s and before contained asbestos. The only way to know for certain whether a specific installation contains asbestos is to know the brand name and product marketing name and ask the manufacturer, or to have a sample collected and tested by trained personnel and a qualified laboratory.
Lath and plaster construction from the 1930s might contain asbestos, or it might not. It could have animal hair mixed into the plaster, instead. The only way to know whether a particular installation contains asbestos is to have a sample collected by a qualified technician and analysed by a qualified laboratory.
Cork tiles themselves are generally not made with asbestos, but some flooring materials from the 1950s could contain asbestos, especially if they are composite tiles or have a backing material. To determine if your cork tiles contain asbestos, it's best to have them tested by a professional. If you're concerned about potential asbestos exposure, avoid disturbing the tiles until you know for sure.
I don't know what company knew about asbestos. But I now know who doesn't know how to spell "knew."
Very little drywall from any era contains asbestos it is actually much more common 75-90% depending on the region in the texture and applied joint compound which folks often confuse with the drywall. Visually it looks no different than non-asbestos containing texture or drywall. The only way to confirm asbestos content, if you don't know precisely what product was used (manufacturer and model, etc.) is to have the proper number of samples collected by a qualified asbestos inspector if required by local regulations and submitted to a lab to be analyzed by polarized light microscopy.