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<br /> <br /> <br />Citizens far Sa{=e Water Around l)adger <br /> <br />%");~~>'~~"'~'\ t~).r:<>:;~<~;~, "t '~u{m ~:~7:'.:~ ~ 'x "/~ $ : ' > ~ ';:<< ~*:",cjf. ~,,,33: ~~,xi' > ?~~t/~,'::'::w, jf'f'~~. ~ <br /> <br />June 6, 2005 <br /> <br />Asbestos in Concrete at U.S. Military Bases <br /> <br />Sinte the mbeJto.r tontent of wmnte is rarely kIlOIPII, mechallical abra.rion (JIIth as Ji)wiJlg, glindillg, or J{l1Idillg) and IIJe <br />ofcomnte-ollJhiJlg /IJachine,r is a !!latter of great cOllcern. Ullder no tirmm,rtallces JhOJlld aJbestos-wlltailling comnte, or <br />WIUTete to 1l,hidJ aJbestos-wntaining resilient j700ling iJ attadled, be JIIbjeeted to JlIlh tnat/lJent. <br /> <br />AsbeJtoJjilJel:r pose a health lisk 'PIJe1I rdemed to the air alld inbaled. State,federal, and international healtb agelUieJ <br />!I{/J/f dmJijied aJbeJtos aJ a knoJlJJl tWiceI' caJlJing mbJtance. AsbestoJ iJ knOlIJn to caJlse IJlng canm; mesotbelio/I/a (a <br />rare cancer oftbe IIlllg linillgJ), alld aJbeJto.ris (a 1I01l-mllter resPimtolJ1 di,rease). <br /> <br />Test Methods and Precautions <br /> <br />Asbestos was added to a variety of building materials and is found in concrete and concrete-like <br />products. In addition to as bes tos in the concrete itself, as bes tos can be present in materials used to <br />coat the asbestos such as paints and asphalt type coatings. Some caulks, used to seal seams or joints, <br />contain asbestos. There can also be asbestos concrete pipes or transite siding (a fireproof composite <br />material made of asbestos and cement), and cement ducts embedded in the concrete. Cement-like <br />products used to patch or fill concrete and brick may contain asbestos. Literally hundreds of <br />cement-based products used for insulation, masonry, stucco, finishing, roads, and other applications <br />contain asbestos. In other words, even if the concrete does not contain asbestos that does not mean <br />that there are not other asbestos containing products that may need to be addressed. <br /> <br />An important fact to keep in mind is that the procedures used to take samples of concrete and the <br />method used to analyze those samples for asbestos can vary. Taking samples properly is not as simple <br />as just obtaining a piece of the concrete and sending it to a lab with instructions to test it for asbestos. <br /> <br />For exanlple, in some floors, there are different layers of concrete which contain different materials. <br />There may be asbestos in one layer of the floor but no asbestos in other layers. If samples are taken <br />for analysis, it is important that when the samples are taken that all of the different layers or types of <br />concrete are analyzed individually. <br /> <br />The test methods most commonly used wilinot detect all asbestos. Although the U.S.EPA has started <br />the process of approving better test methods, that process is not complete. \V'hat that means is that a <br />test using polarized light microscopy may not detect all of the asbestos that is present. The fact that a <br />sample is tested using a method approved by EPA does not mean that you can be certain that the test <br />found all the as bes tos in the sample. <br /> <br />Asbestos in Applied Flooring Materials <br /> <br />r Hubbellite is the brand name for a poured seamless floor that entered the market in the 1940s and is <br />1 an example of applied flooring rnay contain asbestos. Hubbellite applied to concrete floors at <br />\Visconsin's Badger Arnty Ammunition Plant contains approximately 10 percent chrysotile or "white <br /> <br />