can any one tell me if I should be worried. I live in an apartment comples with asbestos in it since the building was erected in the early 70's. I went to the huge trash bin out back and some one had left a pile of trash bags outside since the trash bin was over its limit. I decided to throw the bags in the bin since the garbage had already been picked up. I noticed they had white dust on them and it completely freaked me out when the white dust blew up in the air when I moved the bag. Should I be worried about exposure to asbestos? There is also a huge tree on the other side of the wall that gives off alot of debree but the dust looked white in color. I have no idea what asbestos looks like or what color it is. I immediately came in and washed my hands and arms as well as legs since I was wearing shorts. I am seriously worried.

My thoughts on the order of attack are: 1. Use putty knife to get in behind it to the plaster in a small inconspicuous area just to get a better grip on what I'm working with. 2. Water/Fabric Softener out of a pump sprayer. If it soaks in, let it sit for a while and see if it comes off with a putty knife or scraper. 3. Try this product from Amazon (link at bottom) - EcoSolve Home Strip X-Tex Textured Coatings Remover 4. I'm going to be renting a steamer for all of the wallpaper in the home and will maybe give that a go as well. 5. If none of the above works, I will try to sand. If this works, I will likely rent a power sander/vacuum combo. 6. If all else fails, I will skim coat with joint compound. Does this sound reasonable? Here is a link that might be useful: EcoSolve Home Strip X-Tex Textured Coatings Remover

That's a very low level of asbestos...but it is asbestos. When the lab told you that results below 1% were not a problem, they're really not talking about health risk; they're talking about the fact that the Environmental Protection Agency cutoff for regulating removals is 1%. This does not mean levels below this are safe: it just means that, from a regulatory standpoint, you have to set a cutoff so you are not regulating every removal, no matter how trivial. Having said that, it's a good thing that it was so low. I can't tell you that what you did carries no risk, but most people who end up with asbestos-related diseases are those who have had regular and continuing exposure for years (miners, insulators, sheet metal workers, fire fighters, brake mechanics, etc.) And the reality is that all of us have asbestos exposures since there are trace amounts in the air due to the fact that it was used so much in the past in things like insulation and brake linings, and those materials have left quantities of fibers in the environment. There is nothing you can do now about your personal exposure, and there is no medical test that can be performed that would show anything since disease takes 20-30 years to develop. But I doubt this single exposure has caused permanent harm. And if you smoke, this would be a good reason to consider stopping as there is an interaction between smoking and asbestos-exposure that raises risk much higher than if you were only exposed to one of those hazards. It is also a good idea to have your house air-tested and have things cleaned up if you have fiber levels that are elevated above "background" measurments in your area. I know this is probably distressing for you, but you can take comfort from the fact that many people have done the same thing or worse and with even higher levels of asbestos in their ceilings, and not even realized it...and yet there is not an epidemic of sickness among home remodelers. It's an unfortunate way to learn a lesson, but I think you'll be ok. Just make sure you research what is required for a safe removal if you are ever tempted to remove more.

It's good you tested, and 2% is pretty low...but it's still asbestos. Some people will tell you anything under 1% is no problem, but that's not an answer based on health risk, it's simply the cutoff that the Environmental Protection Agency employs for purposes of regulation since you can't regulate everything. I can understand your wife's view, because it is less risky than the really bad stuff, but that doesn't mean it's safe to scrape it off. And it would be a shame to contaminate your place after all you've already done to abate asbestos. I wouldn't take the risk. If you don't want to spend the money on more abatement, I recommend you leave it. It's not dangerous if it's undisturbed. If you really hate the appearance, I don't see why you couldn't just put a new texture on top of it, as long as that doesn't involve abrading the existing material to prep it.