Construction industry is a very wide industry as of now. Its growth has surged to leaps and bounds and has generated millions of jobs around the world. Construction industry is believed to literally feed many of the dependent industries like that of cement, wood, electrical equipment and many more.
A major ingredient used in the recipe of a successful building is Asbestos. The use of Asbestos phased out during late nineties and later on got completely banned. But due to the majority of applications that Asbestos has from brake linings to building material, does require special attention to be given to it while removal and proper disposal of the substance.
So, what can be a suitable proposition to take due care and precautions while handling or precisely disposal of Asbestos for professionals and contractors working on the job site which has or might have asbestos? For starters, it is believed that hiring an accredited abatement contractor or professional junk removal company would be a good option.
What is Asbestos?
The very first thing to keep in mind is that asbestos is not at all a single material. The very definition of the word ‘Asbestos’ is naturally occurring minerals which later on aggregate and form strong and long fibres. The material has been used for a number of years down the line, majorly over the past century primarily in the wide array of insulation applications that it is believed to be having.
When the fibres of asbestos separate and come in contact with air, the material then is called friable asbestos. Exposure to this kind of fibres may have a really bad impact on health of the people who are exposed to them for a considerable span of time. The decision to remove and not to remove asbestos from a work site is also dependent on the fact if asbestos is or may become airborne and people get exposed to it. For instance, a popcorn” ceiling or aging insulation which contains asbestos may lead to airborne fibres. Many undisturbed building sites which contain asbestos but do not get easily exposed are known as “non-friable”. This non-friable asbestos forms airborne asbestos and thus become “friable”.
The presence or even the potential presence of the friable material plays a major role in deciding whether to remove asbestos and its related materials and if removing, how to remove them
How to distinguish asbestos
Identifying asbestos with naked eye and even with a microscope is not believed to be possible. However, various clues like age of the building, presence of building products which typically contain asbestos etc might help in identifying the likelihood of presence of asbestos and related materials. The best practise is that in case of doubt regarding the presence of asbestos, always bring a professional to carry out test of identification for the substance. An accredited and well trained abatement contractor carries out detection tests for asbestos by obtaining several samples from air and the materials lying on site. They then get the samples analysed by an accredited laboratory. If the test results show the presence of asbestos in the collected samples, the contractor will give reports on amount of asbestos present and due recommendations for correction. In addition to this, the abatement contractor helps ensuring that the contractors thoroughly know and also follow due procedures for proper clean up and disposal in order to reduce the potential exposure to asbestos. One thing that they strongly recommend is hiring a good and just in time service of a professional trash removal and waste recycling company.
Safe removal and handling of asbestos
As soon as asbestos is detected on the site, abatement contractor should quickly start working upon an effective plan to get the required clean up done along with the due local, state and federal regulations which must be followed when notifying, handling, removing and disposing the materials. The regulations make clean up activities which reduce the potential exposure to asbestos mandatory. The activities include using special vacuum cleaners, wetting asbestos materials, using appropriate respirators and sealing off the work site etc.
Safe transportation and disposal of asbestos
Right from the very removal of asbestos from the site, it begins to be treated as a “special handling waste”and is also subject to federal requirements which include shipping documents, the packaging, labelling and also vehicle placarding. Such requirements are required to be followed to make sure that asbestos is properly loaded, handled and also unloaded in a way which minimises exposure to the airborne asbestos fibres during the transit.
Since asbestos is generally disposed off in specified landfills, the local and state governments do not give due attention to the proper disposal of it. Therefore, regulations may vary from state to state and may get more stringent than the federal regulations.
Asbestos is typically wetted, sealed in proper wrappings or containers and labelled with all the information about source of material before land filling.
Best practices
It is best to consult an expert who specialises in special wastes before starting off with any project which involves asbestos. As described above, the process of detecting, testing, handling, transportation and disposal of asbestos waste is complex and needs special attention.
The experts at Able Junk Removal & Dumpsters regularly consult abatement contractors and other professional services for requirement testing and project planning which helps in timely completion and cost effectiveness any project that comes up to them. They specialise in all kinds of garbage removal, trash removal and junk removal along with waste recycling as well. If you have any query or wish to know howAble Junk Removal & Dumpsters can help you in dealing with asbestos, feel free to contact.
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