I am renovating a home built in 1979 which had ~100sqft of vinyl tiles from the ~90s in the kitchen. I didnt realize there was vinyl sheeting under the tiles and decided to cut the vinyl tile into ~2×2 squares with a circular saw for easier removal of the underlayment. After pulling up the entire floor I realized there was some vinyl sheeting underneath, so I decided to have it tested for asbestos to be safe. Testing revealed the sheeting did have (20%) Org.Bound/Fibrous Chrysotile. While I was wearing a KN95 mask, I see now that it doesnt provide much protection against fibrous asbestos. I thought asbestos flooring products were phased out in the early 70s. Should I be concerned for my health or am I over reacting. I was in the house for ~5hrs. If I should be a concerned, Id really like to know so I can share with my primary care physician.
Asbestos Exposure, need help!
asbestos
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No. That looks like polyisocyanurate:
Asbestos looks like any of these, depending on which form was used in what kind of location:
Your initial response was pure alarmism
Note that there is just one person that won a lawsuit for mesothelioma based on a 67 day exposure on board a ship. That is considered a short exposure to cause a problem. That's sixty seven days of intensive exposure on a ship.
This is like freaking out because someone snuck into your room and smoked cigarettes all night, exposing you to second hand smoke.
Yes, second hand smoke is dangerous. To a degree. But not like that.
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TL;DR Don't worry, be happy.
In my non-professional, non-government opinion, you are overreacting. The risk with asbestos (as with smoking, radon and many similar things) is repeated exposure. That doesn't mean a single exposure has no effect, but the big problem is with repeated exposure. Something like, tearing up a floor each day, 200 x a year for 20 years. Not "once". Plus, even though a KN95 mask may not be certified for asbestos, it will certainly help block the fibers. Certification is a tricky, and expensive, business. Especially in the past year, there are a lot of masks out there, of varying quality, that are not being certified for medical use or for asbestos or other specific things simply because any manufacturer right now, worldwide, can sell all the masks they can make as long as they meet some extremely basic design standards.
In general with asbestos, if you can cover it up, there is no danger. If there are other areas of the house (e.g., flooring in other rooms) that may have asbestos, you should probably get it tested first before working on it, or just cover it all up instead of rip & replace.