Before renovating or demolishing your commercial structure, you must inspect it for asbestos-containing materials to meet federal laws. These rules apply to any building structure. While ACM is not all dangerous, it can be. Hence, it is crucial to know if your building has asbestos and what to do.
A Plan of Action
So, what do you do to know if the material in the building is asbestos? In most parts of the world, asbestos use is banned. Hence, before you start with any remodeling or demolishing, it helps to have an asbestos abatement done by a professional commercial contracting firm.
The reason is that asbestos contains need-like fibers with a fibrous nature with colors ranging from white to gray. Asbestos, you cannot see it with your naked eyes. A certified asbestos abatement company will do an inspection to have the materials tested to provide you with the best way forward.
Will You Need to Remove the Asbestos?
After the asbestos abatement inspector tests the mineral and finds it present, they will provide you with a detailed plan of action to have it removed. If you do not plan on doing any remodeling work on a building, you can leave it undisturbed.
But if you plan to demolish or remodel the building section with it present, asbestos abatement is done to remove the mineral. So, for example, if you plan to renovate a roof with asbestos, it is best to remove it.
It is a health risk when exposed to weather conditions resulting from hail or wind. In addition, the material deteriorates with time becoming airborne, resulting in people inhaling it. So, the best is to replace an asbestos roof; the same applies to walls.
Another example is with window sills or pipes. If the mineral is still intact without damage, there is no concern. But once you do remodeling, the asbestos becomes disturbed, leading to problems. So, depending on the certified asbestos abatement inspectors’ findings, they will provide you with a plan detailing safety measures for removing it.
Who Must Remove The Asbestos?
Now that you know the mineral needs removing, who should provide you with an asbestos removal? Well, you need a certified asbestos abatement firm to perform this action. If the asbestos abatement inspector you used is not part of an asbestos removal firm, you need to find a contractor near you to help.
The certified asbestos removal contractors will then perform the removal as stated in the survey by the inspector. If the report shows high risks of asbestos, the safety measures needed are more strict.
While you can do a DIY asbestos removal of material, it is best left to the professionals. The reason is that an asbestos removal contractor has all the safety equipment and safety regulations to handle mineral removal.
The firm will submit a demolition notification to the local authorities on your behalf and handle all the required paperwork.
The Asbestos Abatement Process
Great, you now know you have asbestos-containing material that needs removing. You had your inspection done and received a safety plan handed over to a certified asbestos abatement company. What happens now?
Asbestos Abatement Process
Well, the next step is for the asbestos removal plan to be set in motion:
Knowing Your Plan
The certified asbestos abatement company will follow the industrial hygienist plan. The plan details how they need to treat the area, from the preparation to the cleanup. In addition, you receive a detailed plan with the local, state, and federal laws and regulations related to asbestos removal.
The Correct Demarcation Plans
Once your plan for commercial asbestos removal is in place, the contractors mark the hazardous zones for all to see. Then, the contractors will inform any building occupants to leave that area until the clearance tests are performed.
A Regulated Work Area is Set Up
The contractors will seal vents and disable HVAC systems, and other areas not treated will be securely sealed off using thick plastic sheets with air pressure and filtration systems. Before asbestos removal starts, the site will be inspected by the industrial hygienist used for the inspection.
ACM Removal
Once safety measures are set up, contractors use hand tools with wet techniques to remove the mineral. During the entire removal process, the contractors wear protective clothing with respirators. The contractors then place the asbestos-containing material in waste disposal bags and seal them to move to the decontamination area with protective lining. A decontamination chamber with showers will be used before contractors leave the site.
HEPA Used
The contractors use special high-efficiency particulate air vacuums and filtration to help prevent the spread of the mineral fibers during and after the clearing process. Once all the hazardous material is removed, a final cleaning takes place of all the work surfaces. Then, the industrial hygienist inspector will do another inspection to provide a clearance air sampling to test. All air filtration with work barriers remains until the clearance test comes back.
The Post-Cleanup Starts
After all criteria for clearance are met, the commercial contractors remove the containment barriers and will reclean all work areas using the HEPA vacuum system. Upon completion, you will receive a report from the industrial hygienist and the asbestos abatement contractor with all the needed documents. These include permits, waste shipment records, copies of licenses, and site logs. In addition, you will receive a complete report from the industrial hygienist with copies of all the inspection results with laboratory tests you need to keep on record for further use.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, having an asbestos abatement inspection is essential with a commercial renovation or demolition. With the assessment done by an industrial hygienist to removal by a certified asbestos abatement firm, you can feel assured that everything is done according to the state and federal health and safety regulations. Contact our team to learn more.
Originally posted 2022-10-25 13:12:00.
