Hi there. I recently moved in to my boyfriend's stone home constructed in 1837. At some point vinyl tile was installed on concrete with black adhesive. Apparently when he first moved in 4 years ago he did some research and removed the tiles as most of them had come up and were just sitting on the floor. I think that some were also under the trim and many of those were broken (once or so) as there is a jagged trim of tile around the trim. The black adhesive mainly stayed on the tile..but there is black on the floor. I have recently begun cleaning this with TSP and painting the floor. My question is...how much risk was involved in the removal....could my exposure be much at this point, and would it be dangerous to wet and then pull out the remaining edges of tile from under the trim? Please advise as the whole situation makes me nervous... Thanks!

Asbestos vinyl tile is a low-risk material to remove, especially when using a wetting solution to supress any dust. The asbestos fibers are well mixed in the vinyl matrix and even when broken into fragments are relatively heavy particles that are not readily respirable. The approach you describe sounds safe and will allow you to complete the floor. It will be easier to remove the fragments if you take off the base molding. As you know, avoid sanding.

Thanks!