Asbestos question

Here's an off-topic question. I just found out that my house has asbestos in it (I rent, don't own). I realize a lot of houses have asbestos, but this freaks me out a bit. The asbestos is in the adhesive under the linoleum in the bathroom (and probably the kitchen, too), and in the tape on the heating ducts in our garage. The linoleum is in good shape except for a few spots where it's peeling slightly.

The duct tape is fairly intact, although it's coming unstuck from the ducts in places. There is no construction going on here, no cutting, no drilling, or anything of that sort.
How dangerous is this situation? I've heard from quite a few people that asbestos really isn't a huge deal unless it's being moved or tampered with.

I'd love to have my mind at ease, assuming there's nothing to be concerned about. I've attached pictures of the peeling linoleum and the tape.
Input much appreciated!
Thanks,
Andrew

Andrew:  My company does abatement, and I do testing of materials such as you've shown.  You're correct that they shouldn't be hazardous unless you disturb them.  That said, there is always some movement going on with heating ducts, so residual fibers could exist around those areas.  I'd look up local abaters and get competing bids to get rid of it.  As for the adhesive under your vinyl flooring, you should be fine if it's not exposed and you don't tear it out without engineering controls such as containment, negative airflow with HEPA filtration, and use of water while disturbing the materials that contain it.

Disposal is another consideration if you do tear it out.  Homeowners can tear it out with no restrictions other than the disposal I believe.

Best of luck~

Eric

crazy.  This exact topic, more or less, was discussed today on the Len Tillum show (you know, the lawyer on newstalk 910am).  There is a podcast online of it I'm sure and in it he mentions several statutes and laws pertaining to asbestos in rental situations.  You may have recourse with your landlord to have it addressed. 
   Legal BS aside asbestos is serious business.  In general it is true that left alone and intact it probably is fairly harmless.  Once the particles are airborn though it is deadly.   I don't say this to scare you but I've seen a professional crew come in and remove it from one pipe on a jobsite.  It was like a scene from ET! 

Andrew, the other issue with the ducting is the loss of conditioned air thru those unsealed joints. If you use the furnace or a/c, if you have a/c, a lot you could save some money on your utility bill if that old tape was removed and those joints sealed with an elastic joint compound, duct seal comes in caulking tubes & 1 gal pails, and then wrap the exposed metal duct work with insulation. jim

Thanks for the replies guys. I feel better just knowing exactly where it is, and I don't feel that this particular material is in such a condition that it's releasing fibers into the air. It's not cracking or disintegrating. I should contact my POS landlord I suppose.

Jim, thanks for the tip. If and when we remove this, I'll look into that.
Andrew

The Utility Company I work for has several buildings with Asbestos in them. Floor tiles, roofing materials and such.
I'm told, as long as the asbestos affected areas are not disturbed or falling apart it should be fine. It is the air
born asbestos fibers that are said to be dangerous. I would suspect that the tape on the A/C ducting is not a problem,
because of the positive pressure inside the ducting should keep any fibers on the outside of the duct.

Double check you lease agrement if mentions nothing about that you can get homeowner/landord to pay for all repairs.