Page 10
— Property Management Quarterly — January 2017
A
sbestos is a naturally occur-
ring mineral that once was
praised for its versatility,
renowned for its heat resis-
tance, flexible strength and
insulating properties, and used for
virtually everything in the home
and in commercial construction.
Basically, it added strength without
adding much weight. There are six
types of asbestos minerals, accord-
ing to the Environmental Protection
Agency.
All commercial forms of asbestos
are carcinogenic. When materials
that contain asbestos are disturbed
or damaged, fibers are released
into the air and can be inhaled.
When these fibers are inhaled they
can stay in the lungs for years and
cause serious diseases. It often
takes a progression of time for the
exposed people to begin to exhibit
signs of illness, which is why it is
important that people are proactive
and not reactive when dealing with
asbestos.
Structures built before 1980 often
are filled with asbestos, needing
only normal usage and age (wear
and tear) to disturb the fibers and
send them airborne. Friable ACM
is any material that contains more
than 1 percent asbestos by weight
or area, depending on whether it is
a bulk or sheet material and can be
reduced to powder by the squeezing
or crushing of an ordinary human
hand, also called pulverizing. Asbes-
tos can be found in almost all con-
struction materials, floor tiles, roof-
ing materials, furnaces, plumbing
materials, appli-
ances, fireplaces
and window caulk-
ing, leaving most
everyone vulnera-
ble if the materials
are disturbed.
Effective Jan. 30,
2008, the Colorado
Air Quality Con-
trol Commission
enacted emis-
sion standards for
asbestos, govern-
ing asbestos abate-
ment in Colorado.
These standards
are known as Regulation 8. It is
important to note that structures
of any age may contain asbestos-
containing materials, commonly
referred to as ACM; even those
newly built may have asbestos.
There are circumstances where
testing is not be mandatory. There
must be proof that the building was
built after Oct. 12, 1988, and the
architect or engineer who built the
building is required to sign and sub-
mit documentation showing that no
ACM was specified or used in the
construction of the building. If both
of these requirements are not met,
the structure must be tested for
asbestos, regardless of age.
The various levels of asbestos-
containing materials being manipu-
lated can prompt the need for
testing as well. If the structures/
components being disturbed exceed
the levels listed below, they must
be inspected for asbestos by a
Colorado-certified
asbestos building
inspector.
• Single-family
residential dwell-
ings – the red flag
levels are 50 lin-
ear feet of piping;
32 square feet on
other surfaces; or
the volume equal
to a 55-gallon
drum.
• Public and
commercial build-
ings – the red flag
levels are 260 lin-
ear feet of piping; 160 sf on other
surfaces; or the volume equal to a
55-gallon drum.
In most situations, a Colorado-cer-
tified general abatement contractor
must remove the asbestos-contain-
ing materials. A written applica-
tion to the Colorado Department
of Public Health and Environment
often is required and a 10-working-
day notification period (emergen-
cies excluded) before the initiation
of removal of regulated asbestos
containing materials. All waste
products from the removal must be
disposed of at approved asbestos
waste disposal sites, regardless of
the quantity of ACM being disposed.
Companies are required to abide
by state regulations for disposing
of the removed asbestos material
properly, regardless of who removes
it. It is never acceptable to recycle
items with asbestos containing
materials.
If the asbestos is being removed
from any structure other than one’s
personal home, written notifica-
tion is required to be submitted to
the Colorado Department of Public
Health and Environment at least 10
working days prior to the renova-
tion or demolition. There is a fee
associated with the notification.
Notification must be filed by using
a notification of demolition form
available from the air pollution
control division. The notification
form will ask about the types of
asbestos in the structure, quantity
of asbestos involved and who will
be performing the removal. The
issue with self-removal is that it
inevitably upsets asbestos deposits
and releases thousands of harmful
airborne asbestos particles. Proper
asbestos abatement, under most
circumstances, requires very spe-
cific protocol and is best handled by
a professional.
Only an individual or company
licensed by the state of Colorado,
after completing mandatory train-
ing, may remove asbestos from
structures. It is important to note
that if a structure is demolished,
the owner of the structure will be
subject to federal regulations even
if there is no asbestos in the facil-
ity. The definition of demolition is
the wrecking or taking out of any
load-supporting structural member
together with any related handling
operations or the intentional burn-
ing of any facility.
s
The importance of Regulation 8: Asbestos rulesRegulations
Brandi Peppers
Regional account
executive,
American
Technologies Inc.,
Denver
Michael
Seidenberg
Project director,
American
Technologies Inc.,
Denver