Asbestos Identification Guide | Alberta
Most of the time, you cannot see asbestos. The fibres are too small, and they are mixed into tile, ceiling texture, drywall compound and insulation. Only a lab can confirm it. Here is what to look for and what to do next.
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Most of the time, asbestos does not look like anything special. The fibres are far too small to see. They are mixed into other materials, so the tile looks like tile, the ceiling looks like a ceiling and the pipe wrap looks like wrap.
When people ask what does asbestos look like, they usually want a picture to match against. A picture cannot settle it. Two pieces of old tile can look the same, and only one has asbestos in it. A lab sample is the only way to know.
This guide shows how the common materials look, which signs to watch for, and what to do if you find something. Enviro Surface Removers does the removal. An independent consultant does the testing, and we explain that split below so you know who to call.
Asbestos is a group of fibrous minerals. They were added to building products because they resist heat, fire and wear. In a finished product the fibres are mixed in with cement, glue, plaster or vinyl. You see the product, not the fibre.
The best-known types are chrysotile, which is white, amosite, which is brown, and crocidolite, which is blue. Tremolite, actinolite and anthophyllite are less common. Those colours describe the raw fibre. Once the fibre is inside tile or texture and covered in paint, the colour tells you nothing.
Other materials also look the same. Fibreglass wrap looks like asbestos wrap. A hand-applied texture made from drywall compound can look like a sprayed ceiling. That is why guessing from a photo, or from an online chart, can go wrong in both directions.
Use this table to learn which materials to be careful with. It does not tell you which ones contain asbestos.
| Material | What it often looks like | Why a look is not enough |
|---|---|---|
| Floor tile and glue | Older vinyl or asphalt tile in small squares, with black or dark glue underneath | Plain tile and glue look the same. The tile and the glue are separate samples. |
| Sheet flooring | Old sheet vinyl, sometimes with a grey or paper-like backing | The backing can have asbestos when the top layer does not. |
| Textured ceiling | A bumpy, sprayed or troweled finish, usually painted white | A plain texture looks exactly the same. |
| Drywall joint compound | Chalky filler on seams, corners and screw heads, under paint | Ordinary filler looks the same, and so does the older kind. |
| Pipe and boiler wrap | White, grey or tan wrap or paper-like layers, sometimes under a cloth cover | Fibreglass wrap looks nearly identical. |
| Loose-fill insulation | Loose, pebble-like granules in attics and wall cavities. Treat it as suspect. | Not every kind has asbestos, and only a lab can say. |
| Cement sheet and siding | Hard, grey, flat or wavy sheets, often outside | Old and new cement sheet can look alike. |
For flooring in more detail, read our asbestos floor tiles guide. Floor tile is the material we see most.
Friable material crumbles or turns to powder in your hand. Dry, damaged pipe wrap and old sprayed insulation are examples. Fibres can float into the air with little effort, so friable material is the higher risk.
Non-friable material holds the fibres in something hard, such as floor tile, vinyl or cement sheet. It is safer while it is whole. It stops being safe when someone cuts, sands, grinds or breaks it, because that can free the fibres.
Health Canada says materials that are tightly bound and in good condition, or sealed behind walls and floors, are not a significant risk while left alone. The risk comes when they are disturbed. Read the Health Canada guidance on asbestos and your health.
Health Canada says that before 1990, asbestos was mainly used to insulate buildings against cold, noise and fire. Its use has been falling since the 1970s. Canada’s national ban on making, selling, using and importing it started on December 30, 2018. That ban does not cover asbestos that was already built into a building before then. See the federal regulations summary.
So a house or building from the 1970s or 1980s can still have it. Many older homes in neighbourhoods such as Inglewood, Kensington and Bridgeland in Calgary, or near Whyte Avenue in Edmonton, went up before 1990. Common places to find asbestos in them:
Health Canada also lists cement and plaster, house siding, and floor and ceiling tiles on its asbestos in the home page.
This is how to recognise asbestos risk without touching anything. None of these signs proves asbestos is there. Each one is a reason to call a consultant before work starts.
Some common ideas about what asbestos looks like are wrong.
If you think you have found asbestos, these are the steps to take, in order.
Stop drilling, sanding, scraping or removing right away. Leave the tools where they are.
Do not sweep it, wipe it dry or run a regular vacuum over it. That puts fibres into the air.
Close the door to the room. Turn off any fan or vent that moves air through it.
The consultant takes a small sample of each material and sends it to a lab.
Do not restart work until the written results come back.
If the report is positive and the work would disturb the material, a trained crew removes it first. If it is negative, work can go ahead with normal dust control.
If you have already broken or disturbed the material, leave the room, keep others out and call a consultant. Do not clean it up yourself.
A consultant who works for you takes small samples, seals them and sends them to a lab. The lab usually reads them under a polarized light microscope. It reports if asbestos is there and which type it is. Alberta’s Asbestos Abatement Manual has a chapter on sampling and analysis.
We do not take samples or run tests. Keeping the consultant separate from the removal crew protects you. Read how asbestos testing works for the full process.
Alberta’s OHS Code treats flooring from before the early 1990s as asbestos-containing unless testing shows it is not. The Code also says materials that could release fibres must be removed before a building is demolished.
An employer must tell Alberta OHS 72 hours before work that may release asbestos fibres. The Alberta Asbestos Abatement Manual explains the safe-work steps.
Cities ask for proof too. In Calgary, a renovation or demolition permit needs an asbestos abatement information form. In Edmonton, a renovation application needs written notice about asbestos, such as a consultant’s letter of clearance. See the City of Edmonton asbestos form. Ask your city office if you are not sure.
If the material is in good shape and nobody will disturb it, it can often stay where it is. If a renovation will cut, grind or break it, it has to come out first. That job is called abatement, or removal.
Our crew does the abatement. We work with dust shrouds connected to HEPA vacuums, and we seal the work area. Because the equipment pulls dust at the source, the work is Virtually Dust-Free. The consultant checks the area when the job is done. We remove textured ceilings only as part of an abatement job.
For the full process, see our asbestos removal and abatement page. If the asbestos is part of a bigger gut job, see interior demolition.
Health Canada says breathing asbestos fibres can cause lung cancer, asbestosis and mesothelioma. Asbestosis is scarring of the lungs. Mesothelioma is a rare cancer of the lining of the chest or belly.
People are exposed when fibres are released by drilling, sawing, sanding, scraping, breaking or removing materials. That is why the first rule is simple. Do not disturb material you are unsure about. If you are worried about past exposure, talk to your doctor.
Get a consultant’s report first. Once you have it, call us and we will read it with you and plan the removal.