Did you know there are different types of asbestos building inspections?
How can it be determined if there is asbestos in your facility portfolio can be answered differently depending on the situation. There are at least four major categories of asbestos building inspections each with a different purpose and resulting data. There are National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) asbestos surveys, Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) asbestos surveys, property transaction surveys, and simple bulk sampling surveys. Let’s take a brief look at each.
NESHAP surveys tend to be the most comprehensive asbestos building surveys in the United States. These surveys are required prior to building demolition or renovation activities. Demolition surveys are all-encompassing, whereas renovation surveys tend to be specific to targeted building materials in the area to be renovated. Generally, these surveys are requested by permitting agencies before renovation or demolition permits are issued. These surveys are best performed prior to the design phase of a building project.
AHERA surveys are specific to public K-12 school buildings. These surveys are focused on the interiors of school buildings, covered porticos, and exterior surfaces where mechanical systems enter the building. AHERA surveys are not generally as comprehensive as NESHAP surveys in that they are for purposes of controlling asbestos fiber release during operations and maintenance of a school. Even with a full AHERA building survey in place, a NESHAP survey is most often required to ensure materials specific to a renovation or demolition have been assessed. These surveys are required prior to a building being occupied for school purposes unless a letter is filed by the architect stating no asbestos was specified in the construction of the building.
Property transaction surveys are often conducted in support of a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) prior to the purchase of a commercial building. It is important to note that asbestos is generally an out-of-scope item for Phase I ESAs. This can be problematic for buyers, in that often a property owner will point to a Phase I ESA that did not mention asbestos as being evidence that asbestos does not exist in a building. However, most often the Phase I ESA did not include the finding, or absence, of asbestos because asbestos was not in the scope of the Phase I ESA to begin with. Even when a Phase I ESA does include asbestos, sampling is often very cursory and does not meet the requirements of AHERA or NESHAP to keep Phase I ESA costs down. This is an important area of discussion for your commercial real estate and/or environmental attorney prior to buying a commercial building.
Simple bulk sampling surveys are often conducted in support of maintenance. This would be for instance, where insulated pipes need repair but there is no known data on whether they are asbestos or not. Samples of the insulation are collected, but not generally other material which is not part of the maintenance project. While most survey work is driven by environmental regulations this type of survey would be more OSHA driven.
It is best practice to treat a building material as asbestos until there are compliant sample results that prove the material to be negative. Under the AHERA regulations, materials are either assumed to be asbestos or must be sampled. OSHA stipulates that any thermal system insulation or resilient flooring installed prior to 1981 is presumed asbestos until sampling proves the material negative. Asbestos can be found in modern building products too, so testing is most often the only way to be sure if a material is or is not asbestos.
No matter which type of inspection is necessary you should always have an AHERA accredited and state licensed (where applicable) asbestos inspector conduct the sampling. This will help with the mitigation of liability plus credentialed inspectors understand the regulatory framework that determines how many samples are required and how to interpret the results.
Some key decision points in asbestos regulations include: how many samples are required to prove a negative result for each type of material being sampled, what type(s) of laboratory analysis is required, how the results are interpreted for compliance purposes, and how long are sample results valid.
It is generally impossible for an inspector to know exactly how many samples are required prior to conducting an inspection. The number of samples is determined by the types of materials present and the variations of material within those material types. For instance, while floor tile might seem like one material for testing, each size and color of flooring is treated as a separate material for testing purposes … and then there is the floor tile mastic …. and then there is always the possibility that there may be multiple layers of tile ... each requiring analysis to prove a negative floor.
One final note for this blog entry is that an asbestos inspection is not an asbestos project design specification. If you want to be better protected and get the most bang for your project buck, be sure your asbestos project design specifications are prepared by a credentialed asbestos project designer independent of your abatement contractor. Third-party design and monitoring both support liability mitigation and often assist in controlling project costs.
Asbestos regulations are complex and often are specific to state and sometimes municipal requirements. This blog posting is not intended to be legal advice or a comprehensive review of regulatory requirements. Asbestos is an important area of discussion we do recommend discussing with your commercial real estate and/or environmental attorney prior to buying, demolishing or renovating within your portfolio.
Feel free to reach out to us for your EHS needs. We are always looking to help!
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