Mark Taylor

I write AsbestosHQ. Every guide on this site is mine, which is why my name is on each one rather than a house byline.

Why this site exists

Most people meet asbestos in the worst possible circumstances: mid- renovation, with a wall open, a quote in hand, and no way to judge whether the number in front of them is fair or whether the job needs doing at all. The federal guidance that answers those questions is public and free, but it is written for regulators and contractors, and it is spread across several agencies.

So this site does an unglamorous job. It takes what those agencies actually say about a specific material, whether that is popcorn ceiling, floor tile, siding, pipe wrap, or vermiculite, and puts it in the order a homeowner needs it. The source is linked so you can check my work rather than take my word for it.

What I am not

I am not a licensed or accredited asbestos inspector. I am not an abatement contractor. I am not a doctor or any kind of medical professional. I do not hold a credential in any of these fields, and nothing on this site should be read as though I do.

What that means in practice: I can tell you what the EPA says about vermiculite insulation. I cannot tell you whether the insulation in your attic contains asbestos. Nobody can tell you that from a description or a photograph, myself very much included.

What the guides are built from

Federal primary sources, and nothing else. Across the guides published so far, every outbound source citation points at a United States government page. Those pages come from the EPA, OSHA, the CDC, the CPSC, ATSDR, and NIST. There are no trade-association pages, no contractor blogs, no news articles, and no vendor material in that list, because on a health and safety topic the primary document is both freer and better than anything written about it.

One thing federal sources cannot settle for you: asbestos rules for your own property are frequently state or local. Notification thresholds, who is allowed to remove what, and where waste may legally go all vary. Your state asbestos or environmental program is the authority on that, and it is worth reading before you plan any work.

If this is about your own property, hire someone accredited

A guide is a way to arrive at that conversation informed. It is not a substitute for it. Asbestos is confirmed by laboratory analysis of a sample, collected by a person accredited to collect it, and the decision about what to do next should come from an accredited inspector who has actually seen the material in place.

The EPA publishes guidance for homeowners on asbestos in the home and on working with accredited professionals: Protect Your Family from Exposures to Asbestos. Start there, then check your state program.

Contact

Corrections, sources I have missed, and anything I have got wrong: Asbestos@use.startmail.com. I cannot give advice on a specific property by email. See the contact page for what email can and cannot do here, and the editorial policy for how these guides are researched, written, and corrected.