There are strict laws and procedures to follow when removing asbestos containing materials from any building. Despite many countries banning the use of asbestos because of the widely known health hazards of inhaling the fibers, it is still used in building materials in the United States today. Asbestos Pro Co specializes in asbestos abatement and removal.
There are many laws, rules and regulations that must be followed with regards to asbestos removal or abatement in Denver, Colorado. It is essential that you obtain the proper inspections, permits, and adhere strictly to safety guidelines before any kind of renovation or demolition is started on a building or home.
What Is Asbestos?
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate materials that have been used in many different ways for centuries. It is used in the construction of building materials because it is highly resistant to fire.
Exposure to asbestos fibers is very dangerous and known to cause cancer. That is the reason there are so many steps that must be taken before it is handled in any way to protect the public from toxic exposure.
Where Asbestos Is Usually Found
You will find asbestos fibers in building materials such as:
- Roofing tiles, tar and associated materials
- Wallboard and the associate joint compound
- Plaster and stucco
- Vinyl floor tiles and floor sheeting
- Insulation
- Piping
Asbestos that is not disturbed or damaged does not pose a health risk. However, if it becomes damaged and friable, it can release toxic fibers into the air and be easily inhaled into the lungs where it lodges in the tissues there.
Terminology
Whenever it become necessary to renovate a building, home or other structure asbestos safety concerns must be addressed before ANY construction or deconstruction can begin. It is wise to know and understand what some of the terminology associated with asbestos means.
- Friable Asbestos – this term describes the condition of the asbestos materials. It means the asbestos is easily crushed and can crumble with only the pressure of a hand squeezing it. This makes it extremely hazardous because the toxic fibers can be easily released into the air.
- Non-friable Asbestos – this describes asbestos that can not be easily pulverized or reduced to powder and is not in danger of releasing hazardous fibers into the atmosphere.
- Abatement – this is the procedure to control the fiber release into the environment from asbestos containing building materials. There are strict safety guidelines involved in the abatement of asbestos in Denver and the state of Colorado.
- Encapsulation (or encasement) – is the process of completely enclosing asbestos materials that are non-friable to prevent them from becoming so
Legal Abatement And Removal Of Asbestos in Denver Colorado
The federal government, via the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), sets rules on asbestos safety in the workplace and the environment.
However, each state is responsible for creating its own laws, procedures and guidelines to deal with the inspection, abatement and disposal of asbestos containing materials.
In Denver and the state of Colorado no renovation, demolition or reconstruction can begin on a commercial or public building without the owner of the structure first filing notice at least 10 days prior to when the work is slated to begin.
The Air Pollution Control Division of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CPHPE) is the agency that receives the notifications, issues asbestos permits and oversees licensed asbestos contractor’s certifications.
For the sake of protecting the public, especially those who will be working on the renovation or demolition, there are several steps that must be followed for asbestos removal.
- Inspection – this must be done by a licensed General Abatement Contractor or Certified Building Inspector of the area where the renovations or demolition are to be done. If the certified asbestos inspector/contractor believes there is asbestos in the building materials the next step is testing.
- Testing – samples must be collected and sent to a lab to determine if asbestos is present. Air quality testing will also be required at some point during the renovation or demolition process to ensure employees, contractors and construction workers are not being exposed to dangerous levels asbestos fibers in the air around the work site.
- Disposal – if it is detected then there are many regulations and guidelines that must be followed for proper and legal asbestos removal, such as keeping all materials wet to prevent fibers from being released into the environment. Only five landfills in the entire state of Colorado will accept asbestos contaminated waste and they each have their own rules and guidelines on what they will and will not dispose of.
Penalties, Fines and Litigation Involving Asbestos
Because there are so many potential health hazards related to friable asbestos exposure there is a need for strict laws, permits and use of licensed asbestos professionals before any property owner of a commercial building or a private residence should consider remodeling or demolition.
The proper permits must be in place, the inspections carried out and the disposal of the asbestos needs to be undertaken by professionals that have undergone extensive training to safely handle it.
Employees, construction workers and contractors must be protected from asbestos fibers in the air around a work site. The long-term effects of asbestos exposure are just now being fully understood since tight regulations were beginning to be put in place back in the 1970s and 80s. It often can take a decade or more before the really bad health problems begin to manifest themselves from asbestos exposure.
Failing to do so can be costly to companies who do not abide by asbestos safety laws. A Denver area roofing company is facing fines as high as $81,000 for failing to protect workers from asbestos exposure at a work site.
A private homeowner is not required to obtain a permit to remove asbestos containing materials from his or her primary residence (meaning they live there), but it is strongly recommended that they do not remove it themselves. Handling asbestos is extremely dangerous to one’s health and the risk of developing lung cancer and other health problems is very high, even with very little exposure over a short period of time.
Once a homeowner removes asbestos containing building materials from their private residence they must have a certified Abatement Contractor inspect the disposal of the materials. There are few landfills in Colorado that will dispose of the materials containing asbestos. A permit is needed to transport it, which has to go through the CDHPE and the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), too.
Since a homeowner who removed asbestos from their property cannot transport it without an inspection and permit they would need to obtain the services of a professional asbestos removal team. It is safer and less complicated to let a certified asbestos contractor do the removal from the home because the risk of toxic exposure leading to lung diseases is too high to risk exposing your family or neighbors to it.
The fines and penalties alone are not worth the risk of ignoring proper asbestos removal laws and procedures. There are so many types of workers and technicians that can potentially disturb asbestos causing it to become friable and escape into the work or home environment.
In a renovation project consider that all of these technicians and professionals could potentially disturb asbestos:
- Roofers
- Electricians
- Plumbers
- HVAC technicians
- Gas fitters
- Alarm installers
- Painters
- Window installers
In a demolition project, even in dwellings built after strict asbestos limitations were put into place there is potential for demolition crews to damage materials with friable asbestos in it causing toxic exposure. If that happens, the building owner is legally responsible and liable for any health problems faced by workers. They could be subjected to steep fines, other penalties, have the project halted and face litigation from the exposed individuals.
Don’t take that risk. Hire a licensed asbestos contractor who can assist you in:
- filing the required notifications
- obtaining the permits to proceed with your project
- scheduling and overseeing the inspections
- interpreting the lab test results
- safely and thoroughly removing any friable asbestos
- encasing or encapsulating any non-friable asbestos
- finding a place to dispose of the asbestos materials
- safely transporting it to the disposal site
Never leave anything to chance when it comes to the safe removal and disposal of asbestos materials. There is too much risk of health related problems if one is exposed to asbestos fibers.
Hiring a certified asbestos contractor is the safest way to go.
Having experts on hand to guide you through the permitting process, abatement, and disposal is crucial if you are a property owner planning any kind of renovations, reconstruction, or demolition on a dwelling in Denver, Colorado.