Asbestos is a group of naturally occurring silicate minerals. Mined and milled from native rock, asbestos is fibrous, thin, and strong. Chrysotile, amosite, crocidolite, tremolite, anthophyllite, and actinolite fibers are the most common types of asbestos minerals. However, only chrysotile, crocidolite, and amosite varieties are of industrial importance. Characteristics like heat resistance, chemical inertness, and insulating capacity, coupled with the flexibility to be woven, make asbestos suitable for use in many industrial applications.

Asbestos can enter the environment from weathered natural mineral deposits and fiber releases arising from manmade asbestos products. Asbestos may be found in products like floor tiles, roof shingles, cement, and automotive brakes. Electrical, plumbing, acoustical, and structural insulation applications are also very common. Asbestos fibers are released into the air when these products are disturbed.

Breathing asbestos-containing air into the lungs is the exposure route of greatest concern. Some of the asbestos fibers reaching the lungs are eliminated in exhaled air and others are coughed from the lungs with mucous. The fibers reaching the deepest air passages of the lungs can produce the greatest damage.

The digestive system can be exposed to asbestos fibers from drinking water and mucous cleared from the lungs. A small number of fibers may penetrate the cells that line the digestive system, but only a few will reach the bloodstream. These fibers will be released in the urine. Asbestos fibers contacting the skin rarely pass through the skin into the body.

Information on the human health effects of asbestos comes mostly from long-term studies of people exposed to asbestos in the workplace. Asbestos workers who breathe in asbestos may develop a slow build-up of scar-like tissue in the lungs called asbestosis. This scarred tissue state impairs the ability of the lungs and heart to adequately provide oxygen to the body. This is a serious disease and can eventually lead to disability or death in people exposed to high amounts of asbestos. Asbestos workers also have increased chances of developing two types of cancer: Lung cancer starts within the respiratory tissues, and mesothelial cancer grows from the thin membranes that surround the lung or the abdominal cavities. Both lung cancer and mesothelioma are usually fatal. These asbestos-related diseases do not appear immediately but may develop 20 to 50 years after exposure.

The health effects of oral asbestos exposure are unclear. In some areas where the residents are exposed to asbestos fibers in the drinking water, cancers of the esophagus, stomach, and intestine may be a greater concern. After reviewing the scientific evidence from human experience and animal testing; however, health authorities are still unsure of asbestos's links to cancer in the digestive system.

The most common test used to determine if you have been exposed to asbestos is a chest X-ray. The X-ray cannot detect the asbestos fibers themselves but can detect early signs of lung disease caused by asbestos exposure. Another tool used by physicians called a pulmonary function test, can also be useful in identifying lung capacity changes.

Periodic health examinations by a physician, including a chest X-ray and a review of asbestos-based risk factors, can be effective. Asbestos risk factors include levels, frequency, and length of asbestos exposures; period of time since exposures; and smoking history. The combined impact of cigarette smoking and fiber exposure can increase the chances of asbestos-related lung diseases.

Most of the time, no. The common materials used in home construction are floor tile, roofing, and siding. These materials are very strong and don't readily crumble and release asbestos fibers unless they are subjected to strong forces. Occasionally other materials such as pipe insulation and thermal insulation, such as batt or blown-in insulation, are used in home construction. If you determine that you have this type of material, through inspection and analysis by a properly qualified inspector and laboratory, you should seek the help of a consultant to aid you in determining what you need to do to remedy your situation. If you never have the need to disturb these materials, you may be able to leave them alone. But if you know that a needed repair or renovation will disturb the material, you may want to start planning with your consultant to abate the asbestos during the project.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) requires that you perform a survey to determine the presence of asbestos in your building before doing a renovation or demolition. You must also notify before you start such a project. In Texas, you must notify the Texas Department of State Health Services. Texas also has rules that pertain to public buildings that require similar notification as the NESHAP and further requirements such as licensed persons to perform the survey and to remove the asbestos.

People and companies that work with asbestos in Texas public buildings must have a license or registration from the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS). This rule also applies to labs that test asbestos, companies that move asbestos materials, and trainers who teach asbestos classes in Texas. 

To get an asbestos license or registration in Texas, you must send DSHS: 

• a completed application, 
• the required fees, and 
• all needed documents. 
   

The rules may be different based on the type of license you need. Some licenses can be completed online through the Regulatory Services Online Licensing System. Check the Online Licensing Page to see if your license or registration is available online. 

If your license or registration is not online, you can print an application from the Applications and Forms webpage and mail it to DSHS.

Yes. Regardless of the number of samples that you take during your survey, any sample for asbestos in a public building requires a license.

The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) licenses asbestos training providers that offer asbestos training courses. You can find a list of licensed training providers on our website. 

Any licensed training providers in Texas can give you the training required by the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) revised Model Accreditation Plan (MAP) or the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), such as the training required in 29 CFR 1926.1101 which covers training requirements for persons working with asbestos in public and commercial buildings.  

Most jobs that may expose workers to asbestos must follow the OSHA rules which require training that meets the same criteria as the revised MAP. https://www.dshs.texas.gov/asbestos-program/licensing-registration-requirements-asbestos-programYou can find information on the licensing requirements on our website.  

Yes. The Texas Asbestos Health Protection Rules (TAHPR) allow a person who has had the Resilient Floor Covering Institute (RFCI) guidelines training to use those guidelines for flooring removal in lieu of a license. The guidelines must be followed strictly. Also, before beginning any removal, the flooring material must be sampled by a licensed inspector to determine the presence of asbestos per TAHPR and the inspector assesses the revised Model Accreditation Plan as to whether the flooring can be removed properly by the RFCI guidelines, call the Resilient Floor Covering Institute at 301-340-8580.

An asbestos survey can be conducted by a licensed Asbestos Inspector. It can also be done by a licensed Asbestos Consultant or an Asbestos Management Planner.

• Asbestos Inspector. As per §296.53 (a) of the Texas Asbestos Health Protection Rules (TAHPR), a person must be licensed as an asbestos inspector to conduct an asbestos survey in a public building. As per §296.53(b)(2), the asbestos inspector must also be employed by a licensed asbestos consultant agency or a licensed asbestos management planner agency to perform an asbestos survey in a public building.
• Asbestos Consultant. As per §296.58(a)(b)(1)(E), an asbestos consultant may perform an asbestos survey. However, as per §296.58(b)(2)(B), an asbestos consultant must not employ an asbestos inspector, asbestos project manager, asbestos air monitoring technician, asbestos air monitoring technician/project monitors (AMT/PM), asbestos management planner, or any additional asbestos consultant to work in the capacity of that individual’s license unless the asbestos consultant is licensed as an asbestos consultant agency, as required in §296.59 of TAHPR. 
• Asbestos Management Planner. As per §296.56(b)(1), an asbestos management planner may perform the duties of a licensed asbestos inspector. However, as per §296.56(b)(1)(2), an asbestos management planner must not be employed as a management planner at a company that employs another asbestos management planner, asbestos consultant, or an asbestos inspector, unless the company is licensed as an asbestos management planner agency, as required in §296.57.
• Asbestos Consultant Agency. As per §296.59(b)(1)(A), an asbestos consultant agency may employ an asbestos consultant, asbestos inspector, asbestos project manager, asbestos air monitoring technician, AMT/PM, or asbestos management planner licensed as required in this chapter and working in the capacity of that individual’s license. Also, as per §296.59(b)(2), an asbestos consultant agency must employ a responsible person who has completed the training as referenced in §§296.46(b)(2)(G) and (c) of TAHPR to engage in asbestos abatement activities.
• Asbestos Management Planner Agency. As per §296.57(b)(1)(A), an asbestos management planner agency may employ an asbestos management planner or asbestos consultant who is licensed, as required in this chapter and working in the capacity of that individual’s license to conduct surveys. Also, as per §296.57(b)(1)(B), an asbestos management planner agency may employ a licensed asbestos inspector to conduct surveys and develop asbestos survey reports. Finally, as per §296.57(b)(2), an asbestos management planner agency must employ a responsible person who has completed the Asbestos Inspector and Asbestos Management Planner training referenced in §296.46 of TAHPR to conduct surveys, develop asbestos survey reports, and develop asbestos management plans.

Note: Pertaining to the licenses above, there are conflict-of-interest prohibitions under §296.31 that must be adhered to.

A licensed Asbestos Contractor can remove asbestos from a public building. 

Under §296.50(a) of the Texas Asbestos Health Protection Rules (TAHPR), a person must be licensed as an asbestos abatement contractor by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) to engage in asbestos abatement in a public building.

Yes. A trainee (accredited person) can enter a regulated area to gain required work experience if they are authorized by their employer and directly supervised by a licensed air monitoring technician, licensed AMT/PM, or licensed asbestos consultant working for a licensed asbestos laboratory or licensed asbestos consultant agency as required by the Texas Asbestos Health Protection Rules (TAHPR), §296.46 (relating to Initial and Renewal Licensing Requirements for an Individual).

Under TAHPR §296.212(a)(5)(E) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), 29 CFR §1926.1101(e), only authorized persons are allowed in regulated areas. OSHA defines an “authorized person” as any person authorized by the employer and required by work duties to be present in regulated areas (29 CFR §1926.1101(b)).

While in the regulated area, trainees must:

• Wear required personal protective equipment (29 CFR §1926.1101)

• Follow all safety and decontamination procedures (TAHPR §296.212(b)(8))

Yes. However, accepting the certification does not mean that all asbestos requirements have been met. TAHPR §296.191(d)(6)(B) specifically states that the certification does not meet separate federal NESHAP or OSHA asbestos survey requirements. The building owner or operator remains responsible for complying with all applicable federal requirements before renovation or demolition begins.  

Under TAHPR §296.191(q), a municipality may consider either: 

(1) Written evidence acceptable to the municipality that the required asbestos survey has been completed; or 

(2) A written certification from a Texas-registered architect or Texas-licensed professional engineer that:  

(A) identifies the name of the building, the street address, and the specific area of the building that applies to the certification; 

(B) certifies that the Texas-registered architect or Texas-licensed professional engineer has compiled and reviewed the information from: 

(i) MSDSs and SDSs of the materials used in the original construction of the building and any renovations or alterations of all parts of the building affected by the planned renovation or demolition, has matched them by manufacturer to materials on-site in the construction; and 

(ii) any previous asbestos survey report of the building that is conducted as required at the time of the survey; 

(C) certifies based upon review of the information in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph that in the architect's or engineer's professional opinion, no part of the building, including the building materials, affected by the planned renovation or demolition contain asbestos; 

(D) specifies the dates of each asbestos survey report reviewed; 

(E) specifies whether the relevant work was new construction or renovation; and 

(F) specifies the dates of completion of all original construction and renovations or alterations that apply to the certification. 

The municipality decides whether to accept the submitted documentation when considering whether to issue a permit.