Hazardous and Toxic Building Materials Found During Renovation
Hazardous building materials pose severe health and safety risks to your building occupants. Older buildings, especially, tend to contain a lot of regulated building materials, including asbestos, lead, and PCBs. Government agencies enforce federal regulations to prevent exposure to dangerous materials, protect the environment, and to guarantee proper risk management.
Hazardous substances aren’t just a financial liability, they pose health risks to your entire team.
But what hazardous building materials should you look out for, and where will you find them? Do those old fluorescent light ballasts have PCBs? Could that vinyl flooring cause lung cancer? Are those ceiling tiles suspicious? Let’s find out!
Top 4 Hazardous Materials in Old Buildings
1. Asbestos
Commonly found in: Adhesive flooring, floor tiles, decorative plaster, loose-fill insulation, joint sealants, popcorn ceilings, and window putty.
Everyone’s heard about the dangers of asbestos-containing materials. It represents a serious risk to human health. Asbestos exposure raises the risk of cancers, including lung cancer and mesothelioma.
2. Lead
Commonly found in: Paint and varnish, plumbing components, metal fittings and fixtures, and older joint sealants.
Even low levels of lead can cause lifelong health issues, including learning disabilities and lower IQs in children. Extreme exposure will damage the kidneys, heart, and reproductive organs, and lead to seizures, paralysis, or even death.
3. Mold
Commonly found in: Porous surfaces, drywall, wood flooring, wallpaper, damp carpeting, and in attics and crawl spaces.
Most often found in building materials with porous surfaces, mold is a risk in demolition projects, since airborne spores can cause it to spread to nearby buildings. Mold is commonly found in nature, but high indoor mold levels can cause health issues to sensitive groups. Mold requires two key things to thrive, moisture and a food source. Any environment where these conditions pair with an abundance of active spores can develop into an at-risk scenario. This can lead to allergic reactions, asthma attacks, and pneumonitis sensitivity.
4. Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)
Commonly found in: Old transformers, oil-based paints, roofing materials, rubber gaskets, and other plastic building materials.
PCBs are industrial chemicals that significantly increase the risks of liver cancer and malignant melanoma. PCBs can also inhibit the immune system, which results in a higher risk of infection, especially in individuals with compromised immune function.
Worried About Hazardous Building Materials?
If you have concerns about regulated building materials in your project, BDN Industrial Hygiene Consultants is here to help. With four decades of experience, we can walk you through complex regulations, hazardous material identification, and employee exposure monitoring. We also offer ongoing support and facility management, which doesn’t just ensure you are compliant, but that you stay compliant.