The Board shall establish by regulation standards for major asbestos projects in order to protect the health and safety of building occupants and the general public by preventing the dispersion of asbestos fibers through a building or into the environment. Such major asbestos project standards shall include, but not be limited to, the following requirements:
(1) Work Area Preparation.
(a) Appropriate caution signs shall be posted at all entrances to the asbestos project work area and waste storage area at all times during the asbestos project, until the re-occupancy standard has been met.
(b) All furniture, equipment, fixtures, and other movable objects shall be HEPA-vacuumed and, where feasible, wet-cleaned and removed from the work area.
(c) All other objects that cannot be removed shall be HEPA-vacuumed and, where feasible, wet-cleaned and covered with plastic sheeting taped in place.
(d) Except to allow for the entry of air necessary to maintain negative pressure, the work area shall be isolated for the duration of the asbestos project by completely enclosing the work area and sealing off all doors, windows, ducts, and other openings with plastic sheeting taped in place.
(e) All ventilation systems into or out of the work area shall be shut down.
(f) An effective airlock chamber which will prevent contamination outside the work area shall be constructed at the entrance to the work area.
(g) All walls shall be covered by at least four (4) mil plastic sheeting taped in place; all floors shall be covered by at least two (2) layers of six (6) mil plastic sheeting taped in place.
(h) A series of three (3) enclosed areas connected to the work area and separated by sealable barriers shall be constructed in order to prevent asbestos workers from carrying asbestos outside the work area on their bodies, clothing, or equipment.
(.1) First, an equipment area for removal of contaminated protective clothing and storage of contaminated equipment, clothing, and other items;
(.2) second, a walk-through shower area where, after leaving the work area and removing their protective clothing in the equipment area, workers shower to remove all asbestos from their bodies; and
(.3) third, a clean area where, before entering the work area, workers change from street clothes into clean protective clothing and respirators and store their street clothes in lockers.
(i) A negative pressure system shall be established with HEPA-filtered exhaust units that achieve a rate of at least one (1) air change in the work area every fifteen (15) minutes and maintain negative air pressure in the work area at all times in order to prevent airborne asbestos fibers from escaping the work area.
(j) Building occupants shall be removed from any floor where an asbestos project is in progress, unless the work area is completely separated either by an airtight physical barrier, such as a wall, or by a plastic barrier with the work area under negative pressure.
(k) The Department may approve alternative equivalent methods for work area preparation proposed in the permit application.
(2) Asbestos Project Procedures.
(a) General Procedures.
(.1) No person shall enter the work area during an asbestos project without proper equipment, clothing, and training.
(.2) The contractor or supervisor shall provide all authorized persons who enter the work area with required protective clothing and equipment, in accordance with applicable federal regulations, including: disposable protective clothing including full-body coveralls, head and foot covers, gloves; and appropriate respirators not including disposable paper dust masks approved by NIOSH for asbestos exposure.
(.3) The contractor or supervisor shall ensure that:
(.a) protective clothing and equipment is properly used;
(.b) respirators are used, fitted, and worn in a proper manner;
(.c) workers wear protective clothing and appropriate respirators, not including disposable paper dust masks, in the work area and other contaminated areas at all times;
(.d) workers refrain from eating, drinking, and smoking in the work area and other contaminated areas;
(.e) workers remove asbestos debris from clothing and equipment before leaving the work area; remove protective clothing and leave contaminated clothing, equipment, and other materials in the equipment area; and shower before entering the clean area.
(.4) Appropriate air monitoring to determine worker exposure shall be conducted for all asbestos workers not covered by the OSHA Asbestos Standards.
(b) Removal Procedures.
(.1) Asbestos materials shall be thoroughly wetted before being removed with an appropriate wetting solution in order to minimize the amount of asbestos fibers in the air which could escape the work area.
(.2) Dry removal of asbestos materials shall be permitted only when wet removal is not feasible and only with the approval of the Department.
(.3) Containment bag techniques shall be used to the maximum extent feasible for removal of asbestos pipe insulation or other appropriate asbestos materials. The Department may approve alternative, equivalent methods for work area preparation proposed in the permit application when containment bag techniques are used.
(c) Encapsulation Procedures.
(.1) Encapsulation shall be permitted only in areas where there is minimal activity and where asbestos materials are not damaged, deteriorated, delaminated, readily accessible to building occupants, or likely to be disturbed by building maintenance activity.
(.2) Only encapsulants approved by the Department may be used to encapsulate asbestos materials.
(.3) The Department shall maintain a list of approved encapsulants.
(.4) Asbestos materials that have been encapsulated shall be clearly labeled with a hazard warning prescribed by the Department. Labeling shall remain in place as long as the encapsulated asbestos materials remain intact.
(d) Waste Disposal Procedures.
(.1) As asbestos materials are removed, they shall be thoroughly wetted and placed into plastic disposal bags.
(.2) Asbestos contaminated materials such as plastic sheeting, clothing, and other items shall be placed into plastic disposal bags.
(.3) Plastic disposal bags shall be sealed, cleaned, and, while being removed from the work area, placed into approved six (6) mil plastic disposal bags, which shall be sealed, labeled in accordance with applicable EPA regulations, and transported to an approved waste disposal facility.
(.4) Any asbestos contaminated materials likely to penetrate the asbestos disposal bags shall also be placed into fiber drums, which shall be sealed, labeled in accordance with applicable EPA regulations, and cleaned before being removed from the work area and transported to an approved hazardous waste disposal facility.
(.5) The Board shall establish by regulation procedures for the disposal of large asbestos contaminated structural or mechanical components which cannot be handled according to the procedures specified in this Section.
(.6) There shall be no visible emission of asbestos dust during transport of asbestos waste.
(e) Work Area Clean-Up Procedures.
(.1) After all asbestos abatement work has been completed, but before the plastic containment barriers are removed, all surfaces in the work area shall be HEPA-vacuumed and, where feasible, wet-cleaned with an appropriate solution. When surfaces have dried, they shall be HEPA-vacuumed.
(.2) After thorough cleaning, such that no visible residue remains, all surfaces within a building from which asbestos material has been removed and all plastic sheeting shall be sprayed, where feasible, with an appropriate sealant.
(.3) The sequence of wet and dry cleaning shall be repeated in twenty-four (24) hour intervals until no residue is visible and, based on aggressive air monitoring conducted after all surfaces have dried, the airborne asbestos levels do not exceed the occupancy standard established by the Board.
(f) Re-Insulation.
(.1) No structural or mechanical surfaces from which asbestos has been removed shall be re-insulated with asbestos materials.
(3) Air Monitoring. Except for asbestos projects that do not involve reoccupancy, air monitoring shall be conducted before, during, and after all asbestos projects in order to protect building occupants and the general public from exposure to asbestos.
(a) The building owner shall retain an independent certified asbestos project inspector to monitor the level of airborne asbestos fibers within and outside of the work area during the course of the asbestos project.
(b) Air sampling and analysis shall be conducted according to the latest NIOSH or EPA method, if a standard NIOSH or EPA protocol has been established.
(c) Air samples shall be analyzed by an independent certified laboratory by appropriate analytic methods. Testing results shall be forwarded directly to the Department and to the independent certified asbestos project inspector and posted outside the work area so that they are readily accessible to asbestos workers and their authorized representatives.
(d) Air samples shall be taken before, during, and after asbestos abatement and analyzed as follows:
(.1) initial samples shall be taken before asbestos abatement begins to establish prevalent airborne asbestos levels;
(.2) project samples shall be taken inside and outside the work area on a daily basis while asbestos abatement is occurring to monitor the work area and detect any escape of fibers;
(.3) initial and project samples shall be analyzed by methods prescribed by the asbestos project inspector;
(.4) clearance samples shall be taken inside and outside the work area, after final clean-up, to determine whether airborne asbestos levels exceed the re-occupancy standard;
(.5) clearance samples shall be analyzed by electron microscopy, unless the asbestos project inspector certifies that an alternate analytic method provides adequate assurance that airborne asbestos levels will not exceed the re-occupancy standard and the Department concurs therewith in writing;
(.6) the Board shall establish criteria for approval of alternate analytic methods.
(e) The Board shall establish a standard for maximum allowable increase in airborne asbestos levels outside the work area; if air testing results show that the standard has been exceeded, the asbestos contractor or supervisor shall immediately halt asbestos work and implement remedial measures prescribed by the asbestos project inspector and notify the building owner and the Department.
(f) The Department shall establish a re-occupancy standard setting a maximum airborne asbestos level no higher than one one-hundredth (.01) fiber per cubic centimeter of air or the ambient level outside the building, whichever is greater. After final clean-up, the asbestos project work area shall not be unsealed or re-occupied until air testing results based on aggressive air monitoring, show that airborne asbestos levels do not exceed the standard.
(.1) The Board shall establish by regulation, air monitoring procedures for asbestos projects that do not involve reoccupancy as occur in demolition and out of door projects.
(4) Project Completion.
(a) A building owner shall not permit an asbestos project work area, including any 116 part of the building evacuated during an asbestos project, to be occupied until the Department has certified, in writing, that the following conditions have been met:
(.1) The asbestos project inspector has certified that, based on a visual inspection, the area contains no visible dust or debris; and
(.2) The asbestos project inspector certifies that, based on the results of aggressive air monitoring, the airborne asbestos level in the area does not exceed the occupancy standard established by the Board;
(.3) The Department, based on a visual inspection, has determined that the area contains no visible dust or debris;
(.4) The Department has determined that the air monitoring required to establish that the re- occupancy standard has been met has been performed in accordance with applicable regulations and procedures;
(.5) The contractor or supervisor has submitted an amended permit application for any project changes and evidence of the final, total cost of the asbestos abatement portion of the project.
(5) Alternate Standards.
(a) The Board may establish by regulation alternate standards for renovation, repair, or demolition projects involving non-friable asbestos materials that may be rendered friable by project activity, and for projects involving the repair or enclosure of friable asbestos materials where the asbestos materials are not disturbed by the process of repair or enclosure.
(6) The Department may approve alternative equivalent methods for work area preparation proposed in the permit application if the methods required by this Section are not technically feasible or would cause unsafe or unhealthy conditions. A request to the Department for approval of alternative equivalent methods shall include the reasons for not using the methods required by this Section and a description of the proposed alternative methods. The fee for an application for an alternate method request pursuant to this subsection shall be forty-five dollars ($45). 117
Notes
| 115 | Amended, 1988 Ordinances, p. 882. |
| 116 | Enrolled Bill No. 760-A read "...including or any...." |
| 117 |