Asbestos Removal, Asbestos Surveys
Find all the information you need on asbestos removal and asbestos surveys. It's vey important that we all understand the dangers of this invisible enemy.
What is asbestos?
Asbestos is a mineral fiber. It can be identified only with a special type of microscope and there are multiple types of asbestos. In the past, asbestos has been added to a large variety of materials in order to strengthen them and to make them fire resistant and to isolate heat.
Asbestos can endanger your health
Studies of scientists and medical staff confirmed that people that have been exposed to asbestos fibers are very likely to suffer from lung cancer, mesothelioma, a cancer of the boundary between the chest and the abdominal cavity, and asbestosis, when the lungs become filled with fibrous tissue.
The risks of endangering your health increase with the number of fibers you have inhaled; therefore asbestos removal is needed as soon as possible, in order to avoid any kind of bad situations. People that suffer from asbestosis have been exposed to a significant level of asbestos for a long period of time. The symptoms if these illnesses appear 20-30 years after the exposure.
Most people exposed to small quantities of asbestos are not likely to develop these diseases. However, if asbestos is removed by individuals with no asbestos removal training, it can give off fibers that can be inhaled. Therefore professional asbestos services are required. Removing asbestos by yourself involves too many risks and is something only experts should do.
Where can you find asbestos?
Most of today's construction materials don't contain asbestos. Those few materials that still contain asbestos that can be inhaled have labels that inform you on that matter. However, until the late '70, many of the construction materials contained asbestos.
What should be done about the asbestos that's found in your house?
If you think asbestos is present in hour house, don't panic. First thing you should do is calling an authorized asbestos removal company that will provide you the best solution to your problems.
The best you can do when waiting for the arrival of your asbestos removal company is leaving the asbestos alone. In most cases, materials in good condition will not give off asbestos fibers. That may happen if the asbestos containing materials are disturbed by movement.
Do's and Don'ts
- Make sure you avoid all activity in the area where the asbestos containing materials are.
- Take all necessary measures to prevent disturbing or damaging asbestos containing materials.
- Make sure asbestos removal is taken care of by professionals. Dealing with this by yourselves involves risks that aren't worth taking.
- Do not try to cut or drill asbestos containing materials.
- Don't drag asbestos containing materials through your house.
- If you can not avoid passing through the area that contains asbestos, make sure you clean it with a wet mop. We recommend though contacting a professional company that takes care of your asbestos removal.
Asbestos removal
In most cases professional asbestos removal is the best solution to your problems. It should be taken into consideration in most cases, as it involves no risks for your health or for your loved ones' health. The removal is the most dangerous process, as in this case asbestos will release fibers.
Expert asbestos removal is 100% required when major renovation or demolition has to take place, as asbestos fibers are very likely to be released in the air.
Asbestos removal services should also be considered when asbestos containing materials are no longer in good condition and they can not be repaired. Removing asbestos is a very complex process and it should be done by a professional company. Asbestos removal done by individuals with no training will endanger your family's health.
Asbestos Removal Professionals. Who are they and what can they do?
Asbestos removal professionals are specially trained in asbestos removal. Choosing the removal company you want to work with depends on the materials that need to be removed. Asbestos experts can take samples and give you the advice on which repairs are necessary, and who's qualified to take care of them.
Make sure you check the references of the asbestos removal company you are hiring.
Asbestos Removal Principles and Objectives
Buildings that are going to be demolished absolutely need a prior removal of the asbestos containing materials. This is why most demolition companies also provide asbestos removal services.
If it is proven that your building contains such dangerous materials, you should immediately call one of the asbestos removal companies in your area. They will reduce the exposure to asbestos fibers, either by removing these dangerous materials, or by isolating them, when removal is technically impossible. In both cases, the dust level has to be reduced below 5 fibers / liter of air.
This work can not be carried by yourself, but only by asbestos removal companies, as risks for your health are way too high, not to mention you can endanger other people's health too. When waiting for the completion of the work, there are a few safety measures that have to be taken without delay, in order to keep the exposure to the lowest level possible: regular cleaning, isolation of potentially hazardous materials and limitation of access.
At this point all direct interventions on these materials are prohibited, as they can cause their degradation; therefore enhance the risk of exposure.
Asbestos Removal Stages
Asbestos removal process should comply with current regulations in order to ensure not only the safety of the workers which are supposed to do this dangerous job, but also the environment of the area. Current regulations require very important protection equipment and systems.
Before the actual asbestos removal process, the trained staff will perform a dusting of the area, and various items will be moved. All equipment that is not in direct contact with the asbestos and not contaminated by fibers will also be disassembled and removed. The area with the asbestos containing materials will then be isolated, in order to avoid any leakage of asbestos fibers from the site. This is why the walls will be protected and the asbestos area will be sealed through a static process or a dynamic process.
- Static isolation - all access to the building is sealed, the walls as well as the floor are cleaned, then all materials that can not washed and/or can not be contaminated are isolated by physical means, such as double plastic.
The efficiency of the sealing is then tested by introducing smoke, which should not escape. Permanent air ventilation is required during the asbestos removal process and air locks allow the passage of staff, equipment and contaminated wastes.
- Dynamic isolation - this type of isolations concerns the air renewal in the asbestos removal area with a vacuum from the outside, so that in case of leakage in the sealed envelope, air movement would be from the outside to inside the contaminated area, so that there are no asbestos fibers released into the exterior. There are special air extractors with high tech filters, which are called 'absolute filters'. These air extractors ensure the vacuum and their filters ensure no asbestos fiber is released.
The following steps of the asbestos removal process involve handling the asbestos containing or contaminated materials. This particular part is very dangerous as the quantity of asbestos fibers in the air increases dramatically. Each member of the personnel is equipped with protective equipment so that everything is 100% safe. The protection equipment contains:
- Respiratory mask.
- Disposable coveralls.
- Disposable overshoes and gloves.
The next step involves removing the materials that were in direct contact or contaminated with asbestos fibers, such as ceiling tiles, in order to have access to the actual materials that contain asbestos. This way the materials containing asbestos will be pulled out. The best removal techniques have in common a few characteristics:
- They limit the exposure of staff to asbestos dust.
- They cause the least amount of fibers released in the air.
- They help removing the wastes.
The so called 'wet removal' technique is the most effective in reducing the asbestos dust, as the material that contains asbestos is saturated with water before being removed. Once the asbestos is removed, everything is cleaned and vacuumed.
Once the asbestos is finally removed, the staff will perform multiple verifications before considering everything completed:
- They check the rate of residual dust in the atmosphere.
- They make sure there is no more asbestos containing material.
If the results are satisfactory, they will proceed with unsealing the site. All this is done 2 days after finishing the actual asbestos removal job, in order to allow dust to settle. If the dust level is lower 5 fibers / liter of air, the site is unsealed and a final cleaning is done.
It's just after this the owners can proceed with a final verification of the site by an independent technician. The visual inspection is completed with another dust level analysis. If that is still lower than 5 fibers / liter of air, everything can go back to normal.
Before and during the asbestos removal process, there are many pollutants that must be discharged by respecting the environmental regulations.
There are 3 main types of such wastes:
- Asbestos containing materials.
- Various items that have been in contact with asbestos and which can not be decontaminated.
- Smooth contaminated materials that can be decontaminated by washing them.
Wastes from the 1st and 2nd category are placed in sealed bags inside the site and moved to the waste chamber. The bags are cleaned first, placed in another bag that had been washed before being taken out the sealed site and both of them are placed in other bigger bags. These bigger bags are labeled 'hazardous waste' and they're sent to treatment centers where they are taken care of according to the current regulations.