I am a Real Estate agent and I was on a home inspection with a client today that revealed that there was Vermiculite insulation in the attic.I‘m wondering if anybody on here has any informed information regarding the topic and if they are familiar with the processes and costs of abatement.Also, does anybody know what the testing procedure is and how accurate it is???
Vermiculite insulation is a mined product that often has asbestos contamination. The levels, however, are typically well below the EPA guidance of 1%. Although some products in the past were found to contain slightly more than 1% (notably in the Libby. MT mine), this is still not in a friable form. That is, it doesn't get into the air easily because the insulation can not be easily crumbled. As far as accuracy of the testing method, it is easily more accurate than the sampling method. Testing uses direct microscopic fiber counts, and relies on representativeness of the sample sent to the lab, and of the portion counted at the lab.
