Asbestos Management

Asbestos Inspections

Since asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral and is abundant in the earth’s crust it was plentiful, relatively inexpensive, and therefore used literally everywhere.

Although in use since recorded human history, beginning in the late 1860’s it was used for over 100 years in over 3,000 different building materials; it was used for its unique heat resistant qualities and also because it was exceptionally strong.

Asbestos was used as insulation on piping in buildings with steam and process heat. It was used as a binder together with Portland cement to manufacture Transite cement products. It was added to roofing felts to increase their heat resistance and to add strength to the felts. It was used in the manufacture of floor tile and mastic and also used in window glazing and caulk to add strength to these materials. It is found in the joint compound in drywall wall and ceiling systems and in hard plaster.

There are thousands of structures in the United States that still have asbestos containing building materials in them. Any building constructed prior to 1981 is presumed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to contain asbestos, however, since there was never an official ban on the importation and sale of asbestos containing materials in the United States the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) believes that any building, regardless of when it was constructed, may contain asbestos.

Occupied Building Surveys

OSHA stipulates that in any building constructed prior to 1981 certain materials must either be presumed to contain asbestos and treated as such or sampled to prove otherwise. HazCorp has performed many of these types of surveys which are typically called Operations and Maintenance Plans (O & M Plans). During this type of survey we endeavor to collect samples in a manner which is thorough but does not do significant damage to the building.

Area Specific Surveys

Many times especially in large buildings or large facilities specific damaged materials or specific areas of a building may need inspected. HazCorp can also perform a survey that is limited in scope.

Pre-Demolition Surveys

Other than single family homes and apartments with four or less units almost every building falls under the USEPA regulations commonly referred to as NESHAPs (National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants) which includes Asbestos, Beryllium, Mercury, Vinyl Chloride, Benzene, Arsenic, and Radon/radionuclide’s. Of these, the most pervasive in the built environment is asbestos. All structures which fall under the NESHAPs regulations require a pre-demolition asbestos survey; the survey identifies the type and condition of the asbestos containing material and whether the material must be removed prior to demolition of the structure or if it may remain during conventional demolition.

Pre-Fire Training/Controlled Burn Survey

Many rural fire departments will demolish a home as a fire training exercise; in this case an asbestos survey is required. In this type of survey all asbestos containing materials are required to be identified and removed prior to the start of the fire training exercise.

Pre-Renovation Surveys

Many people are not aware that an asbestos survey is required to be preformed prior to the start of any renovation project that may disturb suspect asbestos containing materials. In other words, if you are going to renovate a building and are going to tear out walls, ceilings, floors, windows, etc… the regulations require that you identify if any of these materials contain asbestos, if they do certain precautions must be undertaken during the demolition phase of a renovations project.

HazCorp inspections follow these regulations:

Occupational Safety and Health Administration Asbestos Standard for General Industry (29 CFR 1910.1001),
OSHA Construction Asbestos Standard (29 CFR 1926.1101),
United States Environmental Protection Agency National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP’s) regulations found in 40 CFR Part 61, Subpart M, and
Licensing of individuals involved in asbestos inspections, air monitoring, project design and removal of regulated asbestos containing materials in the State of Ohio is regulated by the Ohio Department of Health.

Asbestos Training

HazCorp has presented many training classes over the years, the classes range from asbestos awareness training to OSHA Class I and Class II Asbestos Abatement Worker Training, Contractor Supervisor Training and Asbestos Building Inspector/ Management Planner Training under the USEPA Model Accreditation Plan (MAP).

Additionally HazCorp holds/has held the following training and certifications:

Environmental Protection Agency-Asbestos Building Inspector
Environmental Protection Agency-Asbestos Management Planner
Environmental Protection Agency-Asbestos Project Designer
Ohio Department of Health-Certified Asbestos Hazard Evaluation Specialist
Ohio Department of Health-Certified Asbestos Hazard Abatement Specialist
Ohio Department of Health-Certified Asbestos Abatement Project Designer
Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth-Asbestos Inspector
State of New York Department of Labor-Asbestos Inspector
State of Wisconsin Department of Health & Family Services-Asbestos Inspector
State of West Virginia Asbestos Program-Asbestos Inspector