Don't touch vermiculite insulation, state says

Homeowners who have asbestos-contaminated vermiculite insulation in their houses should avoid disturbing it to minimize the chances of breathing in potentially lethal asbestos fibers, the Washington State Department of Health and the Environmental Protection Agency said yesterday.

The material, manufactured by W.R. Grace & Co. and sold as Zonolite Attic Insulation, was used from the 1950s through the late 1980s. In a letter last week, an assistant surgeon general, Dr. Hugh Sloan of the U.S. Public Health Service, warned that the insulation posed a "substantial health risk" to anyone working in attics.

In his letter to Linda Rosenstock, director of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Sloan asked NIOSH to issue a nationwide "hazard alert" cautioning workers to the dangers of asbestos-contaminated products.

"Leave it alone if you can," said Tim Hardin, manager of the indoor air quality program with the Washington State Health Department.

People who are remodeling or otherwise need to work in their attics should seek professional advice before proceeding.

"You can remove it yourself, but we discourage people from doing it," he said. Most people are not equipped to do the cleanup, which requires the use of sophisticated air filtering devices, including respirators.

Simple paper masks are not adequate to block the microscopic fibers. Workers need respirators with special filters to protect their lungs, he said. And the respirators need to be fitted to each individual to ensure protection.

In addition, the area needs to be "air-locked" so that all air is cleaned before circulating back out of the cleanup zone to avoid cross-contamination of other parts of the house.

"Basically, if you try to do it yourself without proper training you'll contaminate the daylights out of yourself, your home and the people in the home," he said.

The State Department of Labor & Industries certifies professional asbestos abatement workers who are trained to remove asbestos safely, said L&I spokeswoman Linda Merz. The agency maintains a list of certified abatement workers on its Web site at: www.lni.wa.gov/wisha/topics/asbestos.htm

In addition, consumers can contact their local air quality agency for information on handling asbestos.

The EPA's Region 10 office in Seattle recommended yesterday that all vermiculite attic insulation be treated as though it were contaminated with asbestos and that appropriate precautions be used.

"If you don't have to disturb it, leave it alone for now," an EPA spokesman said yesterday. Sophisticated microscopic testing can determine whether a particular sample of insulation contains asbestos. But because the asbestos tends to be distributed unevenly, a clean sample doesn't neccessarily mean that asbestos wouldn't be found in a sample from another portion of the attic, the EPA said.

The insulation in question comes from a now-closed mine in Libby, Mont., that was operated for decades by Grace.

Vermiculite from the mine was used for garden products, fireproofing, cement mixtures and other consumer products, but the majority was heat-treated and sold as insulation under the Zonolite brand.

At least 53,500 homes in Washington state contain Zonolite insulation, according to lawyers who have filed a class-action suit against Grace.

Nationally, an estimated 2.5 million to 16 million homes may contain the asbestos-contaminated material.

Health experts yesterday cautioned homeowners that if they decide to check to see what kind of insulation they have, they should be careful not to disturb the material or raise any dust.

Vermiculite insulation has a glittery, granular appearance. The granules range up to the size of a pencil eraser and may have a silvery, gold, translucent or pinkish-brown cast.

After years in the attic, however, the granules may darken to black or gray.

In contrast, cellulose insulation is grayish and looks like ground-up newspapers. Rockwool looks like tufts of gray steel wool. Fiberglass insulation may be pink or yellow and tends to have a paper backing.

P-I reporter Carol Smith can be reached at 206-448-8070 or carolsmith@seattle-pi.com

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