Vinyl Tiles are classified as non-friable asbestos, and are found within buildings whether industrial, commercial or residential.
Photographs 1 & 2 are within a NSW regional hospital and in this instance laid on a concrete substrate, the tile adhesive can also contain asbestos and is commonly known as ‘Black Jack’ this can be removed successfully using organic based solvents, however it is not unusual for the client to request the adhesives be removed by ‘grinding’ this then becomes a friable asbestos removal project and should be conducted under totally controlled conditions. Photo 4 Is located within a University Building and was for the tiles only, adhesives were tested and found to not contain asbestos.
Photograph 3. Shows an example of sheet vinyl flooring, the sheet itself did not contain asbestos but the backing paper did and was removed under friable asbestos conditions.
Vinyl sheet flooring can contain asbestos, but it is not common, however what is common is that quite often the paper backing does contain asbestos and this is almost always classified as friable asbestos.
Photos 5, 6 Show the removal of the vinyl tiles and the exposed ‘Black Jack’ adhesives, Photo 7 shows that the area is to be free of visible dusts, this is carried out using Class H HEPA vacuum cleaners. This will allow the solvents to be at their maximum efficiencies.