Home Asbestos Removal, Grants

[llummis]

A friend of mine recently had a water leak in her home and during the repairs, she was notified that she had asbestos in her floors. The insurance company paid to have this removed. However, she was notified that asbestos, sealed, was still in her ceilings. She is now considering having that removed also, but the cost is app $8000. Are there any kind of plans, or grants that will allow her to have this removed without her incurring an $8000 bill. If grants are available, how does she go about applying for them, etc. Her location is Bakersfield, California and her home was built in the 1970's. Any info you can give me would be of great help. Thank you.

[SafetyN8]

Is there damage to the ceiling that would bring you to remove the asbestos? It sounds like the Asbestos was "contained" in the ceiling in which case the issue has already been delt with.

If you do decide to have it removed remember when you mess with Asbestos sometimes the coating crumbles. This is called ‘friable’ asbestos. The particles can become quite small, and if inhaled can cause mesothelioma. This is the disease afflicting shipyard workers and the like. Unless you have a professional crew come in with the right equipment generally a big mess can be made out of the removal. Any dust particles left behind leave traces of asbestos. You see, the particles are small and very hard to notice if you aren’t looking for them. The flip side is that it is almost impossible for a homeowner to effectively mitigate the problem. To the point that if it gets tested by a pro, they will almost certainly find asbestos particles and red flag the house, initiating a cleanup and legal dispute.

So the best answer in most cases is to leave it where it is if possible. If the material is contained, it really poses no problem. So there are paint-like products meant to seal it in place among other strategies.

SafetyN8