Ladera, meanwhile, has contacted the EPA's regional office for information on how to protect himself, his workers and homeowners. The EPA and the Washington state Department of Health advise that vermiculite in attics be left alone. If it must be disturbed, the work should be done by a professional asbestos-abatement contractor, said EPA Region 10 spokesman Bill Dunbar. Experts can be located by consulting the yellow pages under Asbestos Consulting and Testing. However, the EPA cautions consumers that testing their attic may not yield conclusive results because asbestos may be present in one part, but not another.
Asbestos is dangerous only if the microscopic fibers are inhaled.
Undisturbed insulation does not release airborne fibers, so the health risk is minimal. Vermiculite, the only type of insulation containing asbestos, has a distinctive look. Unlike rock wool, or fiberglass, which have a fibrous appearance, vermiculite looks like small, shiny accordian-shaped pellets. Cellulose, another common form of insulation, tends to be gray and looks like ground up newspaper. Zonolite attic insulation was used from the 1950s through the mid-1980s.