A lot of the companies that call us are renovating or demolishing (demo) older buildings. Many have been through this before and “know the drill”. Many are first time contractors who have heard that they need to be concerned about asbestos but are not sure why. They need to know for god reason.
The EPA has a regulation called The National Emissions Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPs). NESHAPs states that if you are going to do any demolition or renovation work, you have to conduct a building survey for asbestos in any of the materials that will be impacted by the demolition of renovation. The reason for this standard is so that no asbestos fibers will be released into the environment during the work that will take place.
How We Help
If you are planning to renovate or demo an older building (or a newer one), you are required to collect samples from all “suspect asbestos containing building materials” (ACBM) that will be impacted by the work. Such items may include what many people think may contain asbestos like pipe and boiler insulation but the regulation calls for sampling ALL suspect material such as sheetrock mud, cove base and floor tile, mastic, caulking, roof shingles, felt paper and many more. Our inspectors will take samples of all the materials that are going to be impacted and our laboratory then analyzes them. If we find asbestos, then you are required by law to abate it or remove it before construction can begin.
Asbestos Survey
We typically work for the building owner but in some cases the Architect or General Contractor. We provide a report of all the materials that we sampled and delineate the samples that are “positive” for containing asbestos and those are the materials that will have to be properly removed before construction can begin.
Construction Management
Most building owners will then contract with us to manage the removal of all asbestos containing material so the project can go forward. We develop what we call a “scope of work” which explains how the abatement work “should” be conducted to comply with state and federal regulations. We then solicit interest from qualified asbestos abatement contractors. We conduct a “bid walk” where we tour the facility in question with those contractors, explain the scope of work to them and share all of our sampling/test data so they know exactly which materials in which locations will need to be abated. We then solicit price quotes from them and help you select an appropriate contractor for the project based on their size, capabilities and available equipment and manpower. It is important to select the right contractor for the job as every job is different.
We then take on the role of construction manager to oversee the abatement and make sure that all work is performed in accordance with the scope of work and compliant with OSHA, State of New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services and EPA.
When the project is complete, we provide you with a three-ring binder with all pertinent project documentation including all worker licenses, training certificates, air monitoring reports including clearance air samples and all waste disposal manifests to document that the waste actually made it to the “approved” landfill. This way, you have everything pertinent for that project in one place in case you are ever required to produce documentation for real estate transactions or regulatory issues.
About the Lawson Group
Since 1978, The Lawson Group has been in the “White Horse” business. That is to say, we help companies do things that are ultimately beneficial for them that they are sometimes unaware of. Our first endeavor was worker health and safety, mostly related to OSHA compliance issues, focusing on the industrial hygiene side of that equation regarding chemicals and noise, indoor air quality, and lead and asbestos management. Since becoming a third-party administrator in 1994, we now manage the workers’ compensation programs for over 300 New Hampshire employers. In 2000, we entered the employee wellness business. Our primary goal is to work with employers and their employees to make better use of their health insurance dollars by helping them to become both healthier AND better consumers of healthcare. We welcome your inquiries regarding our services. Contact us to learn more.
