u/vulpeculaaa

Image 1 — Seeking advice - vermeculite insulation spilled all over my bedroom
Image 2 — Seeking advice - vermeculite insulation spilled all over my bedroom
Image 3 — Seeking advice - vermeculite insulation spilled all over my bedroom

Seeking advice - vermeculite insulation spilled all over my bedroom

I am hoping to get some advice about a very unfortunate situation going on in my apartment right now (located in western Ohio, USA). I came home from work on Friday, July 3 to my plaster ceiling collapsed directly onto my bed and my bed/room was covered with piles of what very much appears to be vermiculite insulation. I didn't think to take pictures of the insulation until it was mostly swept up, but I included one of what is left on the edge of my bed frame.

Thankfully myself nor my cats were not sleeping on the bed at the time, but I'm very concerned about our risk of asbestos exposure now. I have no idea when it fell, so there's a possibility that the dust was there for hours with my AC unit blowing directly from my bedroom window down the hallway to the rest of the house. My landlord sent maintenance to come cover the hole with plastic but because it was a holiday weekend, nothing else was done. Maintenance swept up the piles of insulation that were in my bed along with the pieces of plaster, and it's all been sitting in trash bags in my room until they come to fix the ceiling on Monday. There is still a decent amount in my rug and around my bed. I expressed concerns to my landlord about the potential for asbestos given the age of the house (built in the 1920s), but her only response was that she would mention it to maintenance.

I don't honestly know what to do from here. I started wiping things off and moving them out of my room, washing bedding, and trying to prepare the room for new drywall installation on Monday. After reading more, I am worried I could be making the issue worse by spreading it around the house. For whatever it's worth, I have a HEPA air filter in that room that has been running the whole time and I've kept the door closed other than to move things out of the room.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

u/vulpeculaaa — 10 hours ago