Home Inspector Films Moment He Found House Floor Covered in Asbestos Tiles
A normal day at work for Michael Cholewa may involve a number of safety hazards, and asbestos is one of them.
In a viral clip shared to his TikTok account, Cholewa, 37, shared his discovery which will likely leave the buyers concerned. It turns out the floor is made from asbestos tiles and there were also four packs left over on the property.
The video has racked up over 1 million views and other users have instantly linked the finding to the sinister side effects when exposed to the fibrous minerals.
Cholewa told Newsweek that the property was built during the 1960s, so using asbestos tiles was normal and common. Back then, the material was favored because of its strength and heat resistance, but during the 1980s manufacturers found out about the health threats which include lung cancer.
Today, asbestos is regulated in the U.S., but not banned and Cholewa has come into contact with it on many occasions.
Speaking to Newsweek, he said: "Those boxes of tiles are not dangerous, and someone could just pick them up and move them. Asbestos is only a health hazard when it is in a friable state, which basically means it can be broken and made airborne.
"Floor tiles will only create that hazard if you are removing them. The insulation in the attic is the more concerning factor, but only if you're moving it around and stirring up dust.
"Typically it's only disturbed when doing renovations, and at that time it needs to be carefully mitigated by a professional—usually wearing standard PPE of a Tyvek suit and a respirator. It gets bagged in a normal trash bag, sealed, and then taken to the dump where it is disposed of as a hazardous material.
"The important thing to remember with asbestos is there is no safe exposure, but if you understand the dangers, it is relatively simple to avoid."
According to The Mesothelioma Center at Asbestos.com, approximately 90,000 people die from asbestos-related diseases globally each year. The online resource for mesothelioma—a rare type of cancer that is primarily caused by asbestos exposure—states that nearly 40,000 Americans die annually from malignant mesothelioma, lung cancer and other related diseases.
Nevertheless, Cholewa told Newsweek his most significant concern when working is falling.
He said: "Common sense is the biggest safety precaution. Falling is the biggest concern, particularly off ladders and roofs. In attics and crawlspaces, I wear a respirator with p100 cartridges so I'm not breathing in the myriad of awful things disturbed while making my way through an attic or crawling.
"Fiberglass insulation, asbestos-laden vermiculite insulation, rodent feces, etc. I also wear coveralls to keep all of that off my clothing!"
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