Asbestos Suspended Ceiling Tiles

For this reason it was used literally in everything.

Asbestos suspended ceiling tiles.

Some clues to if your ceiling tiles contain asbestos is the age of the tiles. A suspended ceiling is more likely than other types of ceilings to contain asbestos tiles. In ceiling tiles asbestos is most commonly used for reducing the amount of noise that spreads from one room to another. Asbestos was a great building material and used in all kinds of products before we knew of its hazards.

These types of ceilings are also referred to as dropped ceilings or acoustic ceilings they are created by suspending a framework from the roof or upper floor and inserting ceiling tiles into the open spaces thereby creating a space between the ceiling and upper floor or roof. Asbestos was also a common ingredient in some mastic adhesives used for glue up application of ceiling tiles. These sound dampening tiles typically use asbestos with amphibole fibres occurring as columnar crystals which includes crocodilite and amosite. How to recognize ceiling tiles by visual inspection to note clear evidence of non asbestos materials such as fiberglass and how to confirm that othe ceiling tiles or suspended ceiling panels are asbestos free by a simple lab test.

These cases should be investigated with extreme caution as the area above some suspended ceilings is used for ventilation and could possibly be blowing the asbestos. Most tiles that are older such as the 30s 50s most likely had it in it. Remove any suspended ceiling tiles with caution and inspect the upper ceiling tiles. Asbestos may have been used in the ceiling tile tiles and in lay in ceiling tiles in suspended ceilings in the tile body or in paper facing or backing on the ceiling tiles.

Our page top photo shows an old acoustic ceiling tile that tests showed did not contain asbestos. Asbestos in ceiling tiles.