Does Sheet Vinyl Flooring Have Asbestos

Adding to modern confusion about which vinyl floor tiles from the 1950 s to 1980 s do or do not contain asbestos some lines such as the excelon supreme ca 1977 did not contain asbestos.

Does sheet vinyl flooring have asbestos. As with any asbestos containing material acm the first step to finding asbestos in linoleum sheet flooring and vinyl tiles is. The vinyl acts as a binder that holds the asbestos fibres within a solid matrix. Intact un disturbed by sanding grinding sawing chopping etc asbestos containing asphalt or vinyl tile or sheet flooring is not friable it does not readily release detectable levels of harmful asbestos into the air of the building where it is installed. One armstrong world industries vinyl resilient sheet flooring product thought to have been installed in 1967 was tested in a lab and found to contain 70 percent asbestos.

Asphalt core vinyl sheet flooring with a red coating on the floor underside provided by reader w t. Below red backed asphalt core vinyl sheet flooring. Vinyl sheet flooring known to contain asbestos known asbestos containing vinyl based sheet flooring. At asphalt based sheet flooring we report that some tests of red backed asphalt core vinyl sheet flooring found that the floor did not contain asbestos.

Vinyl is a synthetic plastic and manufacturers often included hefty amounts of asbestos for stability and fire resistance. If the material is in good condition it normally does not pose a threat because the asbestos is enclosed in vinyl preventing the fibres from escaping. Vinyl sheet flooring comes in large pieces and is usually cut to the size of the room and laid down in one piece. Product photos both branded and un known sheet flooring brands.

Unfortunately vinyl tiles and sheet flooring that contain asbestos pose a potential exposure risk.