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How to detect dangerous amateur asbestos removal jobs: this article provides photographs of amateur, incomplete, and incompetent asbestos cleanup jobs to help building owners or home buyers spot asbestos in poor or damaged condition in buildings, including
identification of amateur or improper asbestos "abatement" projects that failed to properly remove materials or that left abandoned
asbestos materials in place.
Fuzzy scraps of asbestos-suspect material left on a rusty steel heating pipe in a basement indicate that
asbestos insulation was removed without cleaning and sealing the surface of the pipe.
Here is a close up of asbestos debris left on a heating pipe. The insulation was simply removed without cleaning.
This is another heating pipe elbow which was not cleaned of asbestos insulation. Unlike the "corrugated paper" asbestos
insulation used on horizontal pipe runs, an asbestos paste was used at pipe elbows and on other irregular shapes.
Here is a close up of asbestos insulation paste left on a pipe elbow, evidence of amateur workmanship during
an asbestos insulation remediation.
The orangish fibrous material under the
white covering on the straight pipe runs is fiberglass pipe insulation which has been added.
But the remaining paste on the
elbow tells us that the pipes were not cleaned and washed during the remediation.
Someone installed fiberglass heating pipe insulation around the elbow but left
the elbow un-cleaned.
The building owner had been told that a proper asbestos removal had been performed and that all pipes were re-insulated.
A professional asbestos abatement company with properly-trained workers and competent supervision would have washed these pipes and probably painted them with a sealant.
Finding scraps of
asbestos insulation material left on heating pipes (such as in these photos)
is a strong indicator that removal was done by an amateur. In such cases I recommend that the
building air and settled dust on surfaces be tested for asbestos contamination since removal was by amateurs.
Any air handling equipment
(such as a central air conditioning system) should also be checked for asbestos fiber contamination.
When we see evidence of short cuts and amateur workmanship in an asbestos remediation project we're worried that
there may have been asbestos contamination of other site or building areas.
So the expense to "correct" this condition,
if testing confirms cross-contamination of the site with asbestos fibers, could be greater than the simple cost to
clean and re-insulate the piping. Professional cleaning of other building areas could be needed.
Certification & Licensing for Asbestos Abatement, Removal, & Cleanup Companies: Consumer Warning about Environmental Cleanup Contractors
Watch out: in 2010 The New York Times reported [paraphrasing from that article] that over a five year period beginning in 2001 hundreds of asbestos-removal training certificates were given to people who had completed no training whatsoever. The U.S. E.P.A. reported [according to the Times] that Albania Deleon, operating Environmental Compliance Training, a certified asbestos-removal training school in Methuen, MA and the largest such asbestos cleanup training school in the state. 65 to 80 percent of those receiving certification as qualified asbestos removal experts had not received the necessary training.
Many "Graduates from Environmental Compliance Training also obtained jobs through a temporary employment agency also owned by Deleon, were sent out to perform dangerous asbestos cleanup jobs, and were paid "under the table". Deleon was convicted in 2008 of criminal charges but fled the U.S.. She was captured in the Dominican Republic in 2008.
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Technical Reviewers & References
Related Topics, found near the top of this page suggest articles closely related to this one.
06/07: thanks for photographs of transite asbestos heating ducts, courtesy of Thomas Hauswirth, Managing Member of Beacon Fine Home Inspections, LLC and (in 2007) Vice President, Connecticut Association of Home Inspectors
Ph. 860-526-3355 Fax 860-526-2942 beaconinspections@sbcglobal.net
Asbestos regulations for Ontario are published under the Occupational Health and Safety Act and are in Ontario Regulation 278/05 Web search 11/4/2010, original source: http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/regs/english/elaws_regs_050278_e.htm
June 1997 - Window Putty - OSHA case cites contractor for asbestos exposure during removal of window putty http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=1091
Asbestos Identification and Testing References
Asbestos Identification, Walter C.McCrone, McCrone Research Institute, Chicago, IL.1987 ISBN 0-904962-11-3. Dr. McCrone literally "wrote the book" on asbestos identification procedures which formed
the basis for current work by asbestos identification laboratories.
Stanton, .F., et al., National Bureau of Standards Special Publication 506: 143-151
Pott, F., Staub-Reinhalf Luft 38, 486-490 (1978) cited by McCrone
Asbestos in Your Home U.S. EPA, Exposure Evaluation Division, Office of Toxic Substances, Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington,D.C. 20460
Asbestos products and their history and use in various building materials such as asphalt and vinyl flooring includes discussion which draws on Asbestos, Its Industrial Applications, D.V. Rosato, engineering consultant, Newton, MA, Reinhold Publishing, 1959 Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 59-12535 (out of print, text and images available at InspectAPedia.com).
"Handling Asbestos-Containing roofing material - an update", Carl Good, NRCA Associate Executive Director, Professional Roofing, February 1992, p. 38-43
EPA Guidance for Controlling Asbestos-Containing Materials in buildings, NIAST, National Institute on Abatement Sciences & Technology, [republishing EPA public documents] 1985 ed., Exposure Evaluation Division, Office of Toxic Substances, Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington,D.C. 20460
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Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair
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The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 25th Ed., 2012, is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume. Special Offer: For a 10% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference Book purchased as a single order. Enter INSPECTAHRB in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space. InspectAPedia.com editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author.
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