Taiwanese trawler engine room tiles

I have been working in my engine room and was wondering if the tile that are throughout the engine room are made from asbestos. Is there a way to check to see if it is?
thanks

Probably taking a tile to a heat/AC company could get an answer. They have to take special asbestos precautions when remodeling old systems. Or an old shipyard or locomotive worker could tell.
I doubt the tiles are asbestos unless your boat is steam. I worked in yards and owned a yard and never saw asbestos in yachts. Heavily used in steamships, locomotive boiler jackets and sometimes on exhaust piping on large, older commercial boats. Asbestos was going out of favor even before the law suits.

Lepke said:

Probably taking a tile to a heat/AC company could get an answer. They have to take special asbestos precautions when remodeling old systems. Or an old shipyard or locomotive worker could tell.
I doubt the tiles are asbestos unless your boat is steam. I worked in yards and owned a yard and never saw asbestos in yachts. Heavily used in steamships, locomotive boiler jackets and sometimes on exhaust piping on large, older commercial boats. Asbestos was going out of favor even before the law suits.

Click to expand...

Good to know as i was removing some and it was dusty.

I had my ER hatch covers, opening into the salon, cut in half to allow at least part of the larger ones to be raised without moving the galley bench. But the hatches were lined with white sound/heat absorbing tiles. The guy doing the work was not fazed, but someone else claimed it looked like asbestos.

So, work was suspended and a sample sent off for analysis. It contained NO asbestos. Work resumed, the delay was just for that particular job so was not material. Cost was minor, and I do have the Lab certificate (somewhere!) should I ever need it in future.

But of course your tiles may be different!

If you are concerned then have them tested. It does not cost much for the test. It is the remediation that is costly.

I had my 1978 Taiwan tiles tested last year before buying my boat. Test kits available on Amazon, about $20.

As a side thought I sent a chip of my house popcorn ceiling and oops... small extra cost for a second sample...

No (zero) asbestos in the boat tiles, lots in my house.

[emoji37] Yeech

senangsekali said:

I have been working in my engine room and was wondering if the tile that are throughout the engine room are made from asbestos. Is there a way to check to see if it is?
thanks

Click to expand...

How old is your boat?
I really doubt it is a problem. Even if they are, so long as you do not disturb them, you will be fine.

As big of an issue as asbestos had been since the 80s, one would think that the issue would be as much discussed as anchors or god forbid singles vs twins?

Gmarr said:

As big of an issue as asbestos had been since the 80s, one would think that the issue would be as much discussed as anchors or god forbid singles vs twins?

Click to expand...

I suspect my 1989 N46 had some asbestos blankets and asbestos mud on the dry exhaust system. My policy was, dont disturb it. The blankets and mud were still there when the yard dropped the boat and opened up the hull. Constructive loss. It was repaired and sold... I am guessing the blankets and mud were still there. NOT my problem anymore.

The new owner steamed the boat for another 3 years before putting it up for sale.
So long as it appears sound and not disturbed during repairs, IMO leave it.

I’m a retired architect and a life-long do-it-yourself-er. Architects have long avoided liability for environmental hazards contractually and in every other way we can. I’ve worked projects where asbestos was a surprise finding and others where it was known. I’ve even specified using cement-asbestos shingles (Eternit shingles contained asbestos into the ‘80s, now advertised as ‘mineral fiber’. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternit ).

Ceiling tiles and other surfacing board products have been around for 150 years. Most were cellulose fibers, some inevitably were asbestos; cellulose (wood) will burn, asbestos won’t. When the ubiquitous 2’ x 4’ lay-in ceiling tiles came in, cellulose tiles weren’t strong enough to not sag so all sorts of light weight, cheap fiber-cements were sold.

The ceiling tiles in our TTs were the old, smaller stapled-on type. While they could indeed contain asbestos, they more likely are good old cheap cellulose. https://inspectapedia.com/hazmat/Asbestos_Free_Ceiling_Tiles.php

Our ‘84 TT has the tiles. They appeared to me to be cellulose as I removed them from the tank coverings.

Thanks everyone for the replies. I will buy a testing kit but from what i gather i should be safe.

For 25 to 30 dollars it would be cheap peace of mind.

Is it hijacking this thread to ask what people replace these tiles with? My KK has them. Ugly particle board/peg board looking stuff, I'd prefer something like thin fake PVC wood or rubber backed sound proofing or... well what do you all use?

bridaus said:

Is it hijacking this thread to ask what people replace these tiles with? My KK has them. Ugly particle board/peg board looking stuff, I'd prefer something like thin fake PVC wood or rubber backed sound proofing or... well what do you all use?

Click to expand...

Use something like this:
https://www.fisheriessupply.com/soundtec-sound-insulation-vinyl-foam-barrier-composite

Get a roll of mylar tape to cover the joins and edges as well.

Now, back to asbestos (or not).

I've been involved with asbestos evaluation since the 80s. There is a definite probability that your tiles (or the adhesive) contain asbestos. Take a through and through sample , including adhesive, the size of a quarter. Give it (you can mail it) to an analysis lab for PLM analysis. The lab will have a form for basic info . Look for a lab with US NVLAP or state accreditation - quite common in Canada - no real Canadian equivelant (CALA is trying but I don't think they're there yet). On a walk in basis, I'd expect to pay US $15. Normal turnaround for results typically 2-3 working days - they'll usually be able to do it same day for 2X fee.

Lab report will individually indicate % asbestos for both the tile and adhesive.The accepted industry and requlatory threshold is >1%. If it's me, any reported trace and I'm using real (not a dust mask) respiratory protecton. P-95 minimum.

When I said probability, not meant to imply "likely". But the chances are sufficient to warrant checking it out. And I would go to a working lab rather than chancing whoever is doing the analytics on the box store "kits". I neglected to say put the sample in a zip lock when you collect it.

"hijacking this thread to ask what people replace these tiles with? My KK has them. well what do you all use?"


Marine - Soundown Products - Soundown Products


https://soundown.com/marine/
Dec 2, 2015 - There is no one-size-fits-all solution. There is also always more you can do, so consider how much noise reduction you want to invest in – we ...

Our 76 trawler ted were pressed board cellulose of some kind ....replaced all with soundown insulation sysyem product. Old stuff disintegrates has seen its day time to renew.

The old insulation from the early 80s isn’t effective anyway. Compared to waht is available now it might as well not even be there anyway. Pull the old stuff out and put in something that actually works. Soundown is good stuff.

I had those old garbage tiles also. Worthless. However if they do contain asbestos then it is best to just leave them in place and put real sound absorption material on top of it (assuming they are well fixed in place).

It may be some comfort that the lead time from exposure to mesothelioma is thought to be 35 years.
Against that, it has been as short as 10 years. There is a view "one fiber" lodged in the lung is enough to cause it. Even family members washing clothes of exposed workers have developed the illness.

As a certified contractor I can tell you about the hell that the federal and State governments put us through when the word "asbestos" is whispered. Even on government projects, we do not disturb the stuff. Leave it alone. This is an old thread, so I'm curious if the OP tested his tiles or just covered them up.

makobuilders said:

This is an old thread, so I'm curious if the OP tested his tiles or just covered them up.

Click to expand...

I am curious as well. However the thread is only about 30 hours old. The testing may take a little longer.

Action said:

I am curious as well. However the thread is only about 30 hours old. The testing may take a little longer.

Click to expand...

Haha you're right! I was thinking about another thread, identical, but was a long time ago. Either here or on the CF.

Sometimes it is hard to keep take of everything.


It's all good!

As an aside, any time you're working with material that's kicking up dust (of any sort) it's good to wear at least basic dust masks. You don't have to go 'whole hog' and suit up with a respirator.

There are also such things as portable air filtration systems. I've got one of these from Rigid.

RIDGID® Portable Dust Filter System - Lee Valley Tools

Works pretty well to pull in ambient air and filter it. It's certainly not as effective as HEPA-grade filtration, but it's a whole lot better than nothing.

wkearney99 said:

As an aside, any time you're working with material that's kicking up dust (of any sort) it's good to wear at least basic dust masks. You don't have to go 'whole hog' and suit up with a respirator.

There are also such things as portable air filtration systems. I've got one of these from Rigid.

Click to expand...

Good. However if there is possibility of asbestos, then a suit would be a good idea. Even just basic overalls from Home Depot is better than wearing street clothes.

When we burnt out tar from the bilge of my steel boat, we ran a carpet dryer with 12" hose down to the burn zone (the suction end), and blew everything into the atmosphere. There were no residual smells inside the boat after that at all

I am investing a lab here in Victoria BC. So hopefully i get them a sample soon.

Found a lab close to me. $40 per sample. I am going drop one off to them next week. Worth the peace of mind if nothing else.

Here are two pictures of the type of tile I have.