If you own or manage a building constructed before the mid-1980s, there's a real possibility that asbestos-containing materials are somewhere in it (pipe insulation, floor tile, ceiling texture, roofing, siding, joint compound). For most of the twentieth century, asbestos was in nearly everything. Even though new uses of asbestos have been almost entirely phased out, the materials installed decades ago are still in place in hospitals, schools, government buildings, commercial properties, and historic structures across the country.
This guide walks through what suspected asbestos looks like, how a qualified inspection works, what testing involves, and what happens if a sample comes back positive. It's written for property owners, facility managers, and project teams who want to understand the process before they call a contractor.
Why Asbestos Is Still a Concern in Older Buildings
Asbestos was used heavily in U.S. construction from the 1930s through the late 1970s, with some applications continuing into the 1990s. When asbestos-containing materials (often called ACM) are intact and undisturbed, they usually don't pose an immediate health risk. The danger comes when those materials are damaged, deteriorating, or disturbed during renovation, demolition, or even routine maintenance. That's when microscopic fibers become airborne — and once airborne, they can be inhaled and cause mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis, and other serious diseases decades after exposure.
The federal government has tightened restrictions on new asbestos uses, most recently with the EPA's 2024 chrysotile asbestos rule. But none of those rules require building owners to remove existing asbestos that's already in place. Your obligations kick in when you plan to disturb it; for a renovation, a demolition, a repair, or even a tenant build-out.
Common Building Materials That May Contain Asbestos
If your building was constructed or renovated before 1990, any of the following materials should be considered "presumed asbestos-containing" until tested:
- Pipe and boiler insulation: wrapped white or gray material on heating system piping, often crumbling at fittings and elbows
- Spray-applied fireproofing: fibrous coating on structural steel in older commercial buildings
- Acoustic ceiling tiles and popcorn ceiling texture: especially common in schools, offices, and homes built between 1950 and 1980
- Vinyl floor tiles and the black mastic adhesive underneath them are particularly suspect
- Transite siding, roofing, and pipes: cement-asbestos products used widely on commercial and agricultural buildings
- Joint compound and plaster: used on drywall seams in construction from roughly 1945 to 1980
- Roofing felts, mastics, and built-up roofing systems
- Window glazing and caulk on older windows, including historic bronze and steel sash windows
This list isn't exhaustive. A qualified asbestos inspector can identify dozens of additional materials that may need testing depending on the building's age, construction type, and renovation history.
The Inspection Process: What a Qualified Asbestos Inspector Does
An asbestos inspection is not the same as a general property inspection. It's a regulated activity that must be performed by a state-licensed or certified asbestos inspector, sometimes called an asbestos hazard emergency response act (AHERA) inspector, which is the standard required for schools and adopted in most states for commercial work.
A typical inspection involves three stages:
Walkthrough and material identification. The inspector visually surveys the building and identifies every suspect material; every type of insulation, flooring, ceiling treatment, wall finish, and exterior material that could contain asbestos. Each suspect material is mapped and photographed.
Bulk sampling. The inspector collects small physical samples of each suspect material. Sampling protocols are strict: a homogeneous area of material typically requires three to seven samples depending on type and size, and samples must be taken in a way that doesn't create exposure. This is why DIY sampling is a bad idea; improper collection can release fibers and contaminate the area worse than leaving the material alone.
Documentation. The inspector produces a written report mapping every suspect material, sample location, and material category. This report becomes your official inspection record and is required for most renovation and demolition permits.
Testing and Lab Analysis: How Samples Are Confirmed
Samples are sent to an accredited laboratory, typically one accredited under the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP). Most asbestos analysis is done using one of two methods:
- Polarized Light Microscopy (PLM): the standard method for bulk samples. It identifies asbestos fiber types and estimates percentages.
- Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM): used when PLM is inconclusive, or when material contains very small fibers that PLM can't reliably detect (such as some floor tiles and joint compounds).
Results come back as a percentage of asbestos content. Federal regulations define asbestos-containing material as anything greater than 1% asbestos by weight. Anything below that threshold is technically not regulated as ACM, but many building owners and contractors treat anything that contains detectable asbestos with caution regardless.
If Asbestos Is Found: Your Options and Obligations
A positive test result doesn't automatically mean you have to remove anything. Building owners typically have three options:
Manage in place. If the material is intact, undamaged, and unlikely to be disturbed, the safest and cheapest option is often to leave it alone and develop an asbestos management plan that tracks its condition over time. This is the default approach for in-use buildings with no immediate renovation plans.
Encapsulate. Some materials can be coated or sealed with specialized products that prevent fiber release. This is common for pipe insulation and certain ceiling treatments.
Remove (abate). Required when the material is damaged, deteriorating, or in the way of planned renovation or demolition. Removal is also the right choice in some occupied buildings where management-in-place has become impractical.
The moment you decide to renovate or demolish, regulatory obligations kick in. The EPA's National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) requires written notification to the appropriate regulatory agency before any renovation or demolition that involves regulated quantities of asbestos. State and local rules often add additional notification, licensing, and waste-handling requirements on top of the federal baseline.
The Abatement Process: What Professional Removal Looks Like
Asbestos abatement is a highly regulated activity that involves:
- Containment: sealing off the work area with plastic sheeting and establishing negative air pressure so that fibers can't escape into occupied parts of the building
- Wet methods: keeping materials saturated during removal to prevent fibers from becoming airborne
- Personal protective equipment: including supplied-air or HEPA-filtered respirators, disposable suits, and decontamination procedures for every worker entering containment
- Air monitoring: sampling air inside and outside the containment to verify fiber levels remain controlled
- Licensed disposal: packaging removed materials as regulated asbestos-containing waste and disposing of them at a permitted facility
- Final clearance testing: air sampling after removal to confirm the area is safe for re-occupancy
A poorly executed abatement project can be worse than no abatement at all. Improper containment, inadequate wetting, or unlicensed disposal can spread contamination through a building and expose occupants and workers to far higher fiber levels than the original undisturbed material.
When to Call a Licensed Asbestos Abatement Contractor
You should engage a licensed asbestos professional before:
- Starting any renovation in a building constructed before 1990
- Demolishing any structure of any age (NESHAP applies to all demolitions, not just old buildings)
- Repairing or replacing roofing, siding, or insulation on older buildings
- Responding to water damage, fire damage, or storm damage in older structures
- Purchasing or selling a commercial property where asbestos materials may be present
Bockmann provides licensed asbestos abatement, inspection coordination, and project management across Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota. We work with hospitals, schools, government facilities, historic buildings, and commercial properties. We handle everything from single-room remediation to multi-building campus projects.
If you suspect your building contains asbestos, or you have a renovation or demolition coming up, contact us for a consultation. We'll help you understand what testing is needed, what the regulatory obligations look like for your project, and what a compliant abatement plan would cost.
Bockmann is a licensed asbestos abatement and environmental remediation contractor headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska, serving facility owners and managers across the Great Plains, Midwest, and Mountain West.