Places You Wouldn’t Expect to Find Asbestos

Asbestos was also used to insulate church organ blowers and bellows. Another form of asbestos insulation found in churches includes wrap insulation around boilers and steam pipes.

The following churches have dealt with asbestos abatement issues in recent years:

Rose of Sharon Primitive Baptist Church in North Nashville, Tennessee
Barrington Congregational Church in Barrington, Rhode Island
Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Seaford, Delaware

Asbestos is so prevalent in schools that the U.S. government created a separate set of regulations in 1986 to protect children and school employees.

The Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) requires schools to inspect buildings for asbestos-containing materials, make asbestos management plans and take action to prevent and reduce asbestos exposure risks.

Any public building built before the 1980s is likely to contain asbestos-containing construction materials. Even new buildings are built with asbestos in roofing materials, vinyl tiles and cement piping.

Examples of public buildings include government buildings, police stations, movie theaters, restaurants, barbershops and hair salons, grocery stores, shopping malls and airports.

Hospitals used asbestos products to prevent fires and keep medical equipment from overheating.

Anyone who works in a hospital may come in contact with these products, but maintenance workers are most at risk of exposure.

Demolition and construction workers who work on hospitals are also at risk.

In 2011, the discovery of asbestos-contaminated flooring delayed plans to demolish Ivinson Hospital at the University of Wyoming.

There’s a good chance your home contains asbestos, even if it is a new home. People associate asbestos with older homes, but many new homes are constructed with asbestos materials.

The most common asbestos construction materials used today include cement shingles, sheets and pipes, roofing and flooring materials, pipeline wrap and millboard.