ATSDR - Questions and Answers - Exposure to Asbestos in Sources Other than Insulation

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Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Questions and Answers
Exposure to Asbestos in Sources Other than Insulation

Am I at risk for exposure to asbestos if I cut or drive nails through asbestos shingles or cut asbestos tiles?

Some shingles and tiles-but not all of them-contain asbestos. It is important to verify whether the materials you are concerned with contain asbestos.

Driving nails into shingles and tiles or cutting them could be a problem if airborne dust is released. To result in harmful health effects, asbestos must be in the form of free fibers and usually must be inhaled over a period of time.

Sanding or sawing tiles or shingles that contain asbestos would create dust that could be hazardous if inhaled.

Asbestos tiles and shingles, through weathering, can release asbestos fibers. However, assuming that the shingles and tiles are outside the home, it is unlikely that asbestos exposure will present a problem. The manufacturing process that is used to make the shingles-or, for that matter, some tiles used in home siding in the 1940s and 1950s--keeps asbestos fibers from being released.

What are the harmful health effects from exposure to asbestos?

It usually takes exposure to high concentrations, such as you might find in an asbestos mining or processing facility, to cause harmful health effects. Asbestos levels detected in homes are less likely to cause health effects.

These effects include

asbestosis, which is a build-up of scar-like tissue in the lungs (asbestosis) and in the membrane that surrounds the lungs, and

two types of cancer-lung cancer and a mesothelioma, a cancer of the membrane that surrounds the lungs.

People who are exposed to lower levels of asbestos may also have an increased risk of developing cancer, but the risk is usually small.

For more information about Asbestos, go to ATSDR ToxFAQs^TM.

Members of the news media can request an interview by calling the NCEH/ATSDR Office of Communication at 770-488-0700.

This page last updated on July 26, 2001

Contact Name: Joanne Cox/ vzc6@cdc.gov