Questions & Answers (Q & A) Regarding Asbestos Treatment with the Fire Suppression and Renovation Project
The Watergate Community is currently in the process with the fire suppression and interior renovations project. Due to the age of construction, many building materials that are scheduled to be disturbed during the fire suppression and renovation project contain asbestos.
The asbestos abatement is being conducted by PW Stephens Environmental Inc., a California Licensed Asbestos Abatement Company and the materials are being disposed of as a hazardous waste. Benchmark Environmental
Engineering, a third party independent environmental consultant is overseeing the removal activities and providing final clearance inspections and air sampling prior to the contained areas being removed.
The materials that contain asbestos that are being impacted during the common area installation of fire sprinkler suppression system, common area lighting replacement, fire alarm adjustment, metal soffit cover and interior renovation process are the acoustical ceilings, wall texture coating and the joint compound located in the wall systems.
Below are some general questions and answers associated with asbestos that may assist you with any concerns that you may have:
1. Q: What do I prepare before the abatement work starts in our building?
A: No preparation is needed. Notices will be sent to you by WCA prior abatement work. Alternate access will be necessary to avoid work
area.
2. Q: What steps take place during the asbestos abatement, will we be exposed since air fans are ventilating outside the lobby? Will this
be the same in the corridors?
A: a. For lobbies and common areas, all movable objects are moved out of the area. Any vents or other portals (doors, windows, outlets, etc.) leading to the area should be sealed with plastic. These are referred to “critical barriers” and should be given special attention when sealing, because they are the most likely areas where asbestos fibers would escape during abatement.
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b. Next, all non-removable objects, which are not part of the structural components to be abated, should also be covered with plastic. Finally, the remaining area should then be covered with plastic to protect all surfaces which are not involved in the abatement.
c. At this point, depending on what type of material is to be removed, a three-stage decontamination chamber may be set up. The chamber consists of a series of three rooms. The three rooms are a “clean room”, a “shower room”, and a “dirty room” (in that order). Workers entering the work area should always change out of their street clothes and into disposable overalls, don
appropriate respiratory protection, and then enter the work area through the decontamination unit. When leaving the work area, workers must leave the disposable overalls in the dirty room and take a shower, at which time they will also decontaminate their respirator.
d. Additionally, there will be a filtration unit set up to create a “negative pressure” environment within the containment. This simply means that a specially designed air filtration unit will exhaust, through a High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter (which is 99.9 % efficient in filtering asbestos fibers down to .3 microns in size), air from the contained area to the outside. This will prevent air from “back drafting” through decontamination unit into other areas of the building.
e. The Asbestos Containing Materials (ACM) will be removed. Then the area will be cleaned by wet wiping and HEPA vacuuming all surfaces within the containment area.
f. A visual inspection will be conducted to insure all visible asbestos has been removed. If any material is found it will be removed and the area will be re-cleaned.
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g. A sealant will be applied to all surfaces to “lock down” any remaining microscopic fibers.
h. Air sampling will be conducted to ensure that fibers which
cannot be seen, or have not been “locked down” by the sealant, are not present. The acceptable limit for these air samples are anything below 0.01 fibers per cubic centimeter (f/cc) of air. If the air sample is above this, the area will be re-cleaned and re-sampled. i. Once acceptable air levels are reached, the remaining plastic barriers can be removed and the area can be re-occupied.
3. Q: With abatement work on the corridors, do we have to leave our home?
A: No. Unless the work area is in front of your unit and not accessible for 4 – 6 hours. Once a negative exposure assessment is
conducted and established, this work should only take 1 to 1½ hours.
4. Q: What is a Negative Exposure Assessment (NEA)?
A: Respirators, protective clothing, decontamination facilities and medical examinations are required by OSHA regulations for working with asbestos-containing material in many situations. However, the Construction Industry Standard (29CFR1926.1101) allows you to dispense with these measures and still remain in compliance if a specific process is followed. This process is called the Negative Exposure Assessment.
5. Q: Will asbestos work in the corridors go into my unit through the door threshold?
A: Abatement work will be sealed and no transferable particles will go through your home. This is why the containments are under negative pressure and sampling is being conducted.
Negative room pressure is an isolation technique used to prevent cross-contaminations from room to room. It includes a ventilation system that generates negative pressure to allow air to flow into the isolation room but not escape from the room, as air will naturally flow from areas with higher pressure to areas with lower pressure, thereby preventing contaminated air from escaping the room.
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6. Q: Will asbestos abatement work go through the corridor ventilation system?
A: No. Vents will be sealed prior start of work.
7. Q: I read that PW Stephens will drill a hole above my unit door for fire sprinkler pipe to go through. Do I need to leave my home or can I
stay home especially if I work at home?
A: You can stay home or elect to leave. This work will be done under containment until such time as it is established that the work sequence is not creating an exposure.
The containments are typically floor to ceiling until an NEA is developed and then there will be no need for containment.
8. Q: If I elected to stay home, will I get exposed to asbestos while they are drilling a hole? Will there be a smell?
A: No asbestos exposure will occur. Benchmark is establishing a Negative Exposure Assessment (NEA) for this work sequence. There will be no odors.
9. Q: What is your assurance that I will not get exposed while the abatement work is done on my unit?
A: Laboratory report showing air clearance from Benchmark Engineering and it will be available upon request.
The report will discuss the allowable levels and the actual levels found/analyzed. Also, once the NEA is determined for this work sequence, no further air sampling (associated with the work sequence) will be needed; however, random air quality sampling will occur throughout the project.
10. Q: If I decided to leave my unit when can I return to my unit? A: It will take 4-6 hours for the whole process from set up to containment to drill the hole, air clearance and dismantle
containment area. Once NEA is established this will be about 1 hour to 1 ½ hours; you will be able to come and go as you please. 11. Q: What other areas besides the lobby and corridor?
A: Stair wells will be prepared fire sprinkler installation.
Alternate access will be required and notices will be posted.
Full floor to ceiling containments will be utilized on the stair well and corridor cutouts.
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12. Q: What is the difference of abatement work from removing popcorn in the ceiling to drilling holes in wall and ceiling and cutting out openings?
A: Lobby ceiling work is considered a Class 1 abatement operation and will require full containment and clearance sampling. Corridor drilling holes and cut out opening at ceiling and walls
is Class III which requires containment until a NEA is established and then the work may continue without containment or clearance sampling. During the drilling, the contractor will utilize equipment that contains HEPA filters. The use of wet methods and HEPA filtered equipment, along with Engineering Controls that were established during the NEA will insure that no exposure is being created.
13. Q: If I need additional information about asbestos and effect. What website do you suggest?
A: http://www.epa.gov/asbestos/pubs/ashome.html
14. Q: Will this Q& A posted on Watergate Community website? A: Yes it will be posted.
15. Q: If I have additional question in regards to the abatement process for Watergate to whom shall I send my inquiry?
A: Please forward your inquiries to WCA Construction Manager: Gus Ferriols (Email: constrmgrwca@aol.com ) and he will distribute your questions to the appropriate consultant
