We just purchased an old heritage house in uphill, Nelson. When we were moving furniture into the storage room in the basement some of the insulation on the heat pipes from the hot water boiler got damaged by the larger pieces of furniture. When I looked at the rest of the boiler piping I noticed quite a bit of loose asbestos insulation throughout the basement. Should I be concerned?

First you should determine if this pipe insulation contains asbestos. Some older pipe insulation is a fiberglass material with a cloth cover. The two types are readily distinguished because the asbestos pipe insulation is white and crumbly when broken. If you have asbestos insulation in poor and damaged condition there is opportunity for the asbestos to become airborne, which can present a health hazard to you and your family.

However, there are things you can do to eliminate or control this risk. The most expensive and time consuming remedy is to hire a professional asbestos abatement company to remove all the pipe insulation and replace it with a modern pipe insulation. Consider this approach if the insulation is badly damaged or you are particularly concerned about exposure to asbestos products. Because this process requires sophisticated equipment, specialized knowledge and skills I would not recommend that you attempt removal yourself.

A second, less expensive alternative, if the insulation is not too badly damaged, is to encapsulate all the insulation. First seal and repair all the broken, loose and damaged insulation with a good quality duct tape. There are different grades and qualities of duct tape, so select the best. Then apply an asbestos encapsulant resin emulsion over all the pipe insulation. These products are washable, fire resistant, hard-surfaced and easily repaired if damaged. One product I am familiar with is “Bakor” 120-18 and “Bakor” 120-19. If you visit the Hazmasters website you can review these products and select the one that best suits your application.