I am helping my son remodel a small bathroom. It is on a concrete slab. I removed the floor tiles and am now working on the bathtub and wall. The ceramic tiles on the wall in the tub area are attached to a mortar bed over wire lath. I think I have to just pound out the mortar and pry off the lath and then install backerboard for the new tile job after replacing the tub. I am afraid that mortar used in the 70s and 80s may have contained asbestos. Do you have any thoughts or suggestions on how to go about the job? Thanks Frank

Asbestos has a nasty habit of showing up in materials installed in residential construction where you'd least expect it. Even materials installed after 1982 (when most of it was pulled out of products) can have it, if the supplier had the materials in stock. The only way to be certain is to have a testing company take what is known as a "bulk" sample and have it analyzed. This MUST be done using the PLM (Polarized Light Microscopy) method to determine the presence, type and percentage quantity of asbestos. Anything over 1% is considered an asbestos containing material (ACM) and should be handled appropriately. It's not entirely common for wall plaster to contain asbestos, but then it's not rare either. The tile grout should be tested as well. The Big "A" can even show up in drywall board and compound in some areas.

Franco,
Your shower mortar consists of sand, Portland cement and lime. The thinset mortar won't be much different except that the aggregate (sand) is much more fine and it's got some hydration aids to improve "pot life". Wear a dust mask but you don't have to worry about asbestos from the mortar. Insulation in the wall cavity is an entirely different matter, though!
I use a mini-Wonderbar to pop the tile off of the mortar in a few straight lines, breaking the wall up into a grid. Then, using your hammer, smash the mortar along those lines to expose the wire lath and use a pair of diagonal cutters (dikes) to cut the lath. This allows the mortar to be removed in panels. Start at the top and work down to avoid falling panels.
Best of luck,
Shaugnnn

Odds are against your walls containing asbestos, but I can tell you that our company just abated 200 rental units worth of asbestos containing grout in 1960's era tiled bathrooms, so don't get too complacent. It can and does show up in the strangest places. By the way, the same units tested positive for asbestos in the drywall compound used throughout. Go figure.

Shaugnnn,
a retroactive thanks for the info... I'm working on what sounds like the same type of material behind my tile wall - but nothing so pleasant as just remodeling... behind the wall (exterior bathroom wall with window) there's rotten wood that I'll have to replace... sort of a mandatory remodel, you might say. Pray for me!!!