Type and amount of asbestos in floor tile and mastic

Our plain-English summary of Type and amount of asbestos in floor tile and mastic, by J.H. Lange (Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 2006).

The study

• Author: J.H. Lange
• Journal: Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology
• Published: 2006;77(6):807-9
• Cited by: 2 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

In plain English

This short report by a single author drew on existing asbestos survey reports for ten buildings or structures, one report per building, and took out the results for floor tile and the mastic found with it. All of the floor tile was the 9-inch by 9-inch size. Part of the article is missing from this copy, so where and when the buildings were surveyed is not known. Across the reports, the number of samples that tested positive for asbestos ranged from 1 to 21. Asbestos content was 2 to 17% in floor tile and 2 to 15% in mastic. The only type of asbestos reported was chrysotile. The author noted that the percentages varied, even within the same building. The author wrote that the results suggest floor tile contains a much lower percentage of asbestos than others had reported. Relying on earlier studies rather than on new measurements, the author concluded that the likelihood of disease from disturbing these materials is extremely low. The author called for future studies to confirm the findings.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Review of data taken from existing asbestos survey reports (one report per building)
• Who was studied: Floor tile and mastic samples from ten buildings or structures; location and dates not available in this copy of the text
• Exposure: Asbestos content of 9-inch by 9-inch floor tile and of mastic; chrysotile was the only asbestos type reported
• Main results:
  • Across the ten reports, the number of samples positive for asbestos ranged from 1 to 21
  • Asbestos content was 2 to 17% in floor tile and 2 to 15% in mastic
  • Chrysotile was the only asbestos mineral reported in the samples
  • Generally, more samples were collected where the area evaluated was larger
  • The author wrote that the results suggest floor tile contains a much lower percentage of asbestos than reported by others (Health Effects Institute - Asbestos Research, 1991)
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded that, because chrysotile appears to be the asbestos type in floor tile and mastic and because low exposure levels have been reported during abatement in earlier work, the likelihood of disease from disturbing these materials is extremely low. This conclusion rests on cited studies, not on health or air measurements made in this study.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The percentage of asbestos varied, including within the same building, which the author attributed to different types of materials being present in one building
  • The author stated that future studies are needed to confirm the findings

Related studies

• Asbestos abatement of pipe and floor tile/mastic and comparison of critical plastic barrier controls — J.H. Lange (2004)
• Airborne exposure during asbestos abatement of floor tile, wall plaster, and pipe insulation — J.H. Lange (2005)
• A meta-analysis of airborne asbestos fiber concentrations from work with or around asbestos-containing floor tile — A.L. Perez, M.L. Nelson, et al. (2018)
• Air sampling during asbestos abatement of floor tile and mastic — J.H. Lange, K.W. Thomulka (2000)
• Emissions concerns during renovation in the healthcare setting: asbestos abatement of floor tile and mastic in medical facilities — W.P. Racine (2010)
• Exposure to airborne asbestos during abatement of ceiling material, window caulking, floor tile and roofing material — J.H. Lange, S.L. Sites, et al. (2008)

Browse more research in Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, or return to medical research.