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— 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 rules

Regulations

Brandi Peppers

Regional account

executive,

American

Technologies Inc.,

Denver

Michael

Seidenberg

Project director,

American

Technologies Inc.,

Denver