# I just ground carpet glue off concrete, did I mess with asbestos?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-ground-carpet-glue-off-concrete-did-i-mess-with-asbestos/750885>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [April 2, 2016, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-ground-carpet-glue-off-concrete-did-i-mess-with-asbestos/750885 "2016-04-02T03:05:41Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Isosleepy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/isosleepy/32/479_2.png) [@Isosleepy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isosleepy)\
**Post date:** [April 2, 2016, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-ground-carpet-glue-off-concrete-did-i-mess-with-asbestos/750885/1 "2016-04-02T03:05:41Z")

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I took out the carpet in a finished basement. Underneath the padding was black glue residue. Scraping and liquid removers didn’t work, so in the end I ground it all off with a grinder. Much dust ensued, some of which I definitely breathed in.  
Now I’m reading that older black glue might contain asbestos. I’ve no idea how old the carpet was. Could be 20 years, could be 40, or older - I don’t know how to tell. I have none of the glue left to send for testing, though I might find some of the dust - it’s everywhere. So now what?  
Even if it did contain asbestos, while my exposure was severe, it is ultimately one-time. Is there anywhere I can find good info on related risks?

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**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\
**Post date:** [April 2, 2016, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-ground-carpet-glue-off-concrete-did-i-mess-with-asbestos/750885/2 "2016-04-02T04:01:38Z")

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One time exposure? Not if the dust is still everywhere. And while you may not have a bulk sample for testing, air monitoring can still be performed to collect dust samples.

Not much you can do about the exposure you have already had, but properly cleaning up the dust can prevent additional exposure.

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**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\
**Post date:** [April 2, 2016, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-ground-carpet-glue-off-concrete-did-i-mess-with-asbestos/750885/3 "2016-04-02T04:06:32Z")

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As for the risks, plenty of information online.

[www.osha.gov/SLTC/asbestos/](http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/asbestos/)

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**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\
**Post date:** [April 2, 2016, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-ground-carpet-glue-off-concrete-did-i-mess-with-asbestos/750885/4 "2016-04-02T05:57:16Z")

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Pretty good user name/post combo.