Despite asbestos being outlawed as a construction material in the United States decades ago, it’s still rampant in existing structures, causing a nightmare situation in renovation and demolition projects. In most states, like Massachusetts, it’s mandated that a licensed asbestos abatement professional handles the removal of the highly-dangerous material.
Older buildings and homes are often the subject of asbestos-related headlines – sometimes for good and sometimes for the bad. Let’s take a closer look.
For a Connecticut middle school, the asbestos removal was done so safely and by proper standards that activities were still able to be conducted in other parts of the building. The school needed to remove asbestos-laden tank and pipe insulation in their mechanical room as well as tile flooring in one section of the school. Although school officials opted to do the project in the summer, the school was still operating for summer activities. Parents of students were notified and no programming was interrupted thanks to the licensed abatement professionals ability to sanction and isolate the work areas. Regular air testing was also initiated to ensure the safety of the children.
And while this is how it should be done always, unfortunately, that’s not always the case.
In Ohio, the owner of a real estate development company has been fined and sentenced with jail time for the illegal removal and disposal of asbestos. In an attempt to save money, the individual hired a scrap worker to remove the asbestos from a building set to be demolished. The worker then disposed of the asbestos in a nearby wooded area and in trash bins in the neighborhood.
And in Pennsylvania, a man was sentenced to over a year in prison for falsifying documents, claiming that he had removed asbestos from an old church. However, the man never did the work and also fraudulently billed the property owner for services never executed.
Since asbestos was regularly used in building right up until 1990, it’s still very common in structures and needs to be completely removed during renovations and before demolitions. It’s critical to contract with a licensed asbestos abatement company, such as Banner Environmental Services, for all such work. Banner Environmental Services is fully-licensed and trained, providing service to Rhode Island and Massachusetts (including the Cape Cod area, Nantucket, and the Islands). Contact us for more.
Last month, Massachusetts’ Attorney General Maura Healy announce a new initiative to help educate and protect children, families, and workers from the dangers of asbestos. The initiative, Healthy Buildings, Healthy Air, will bring together state agencies and school districts to ensure safe practices are upheld for the handling and removal of asbestos. It will also focus on educating those with the greatest risks caused by asbestos, specifically children, the elderly, and low-income families.
Improper asbestos removal can often lead to hefty fines, increased fees for proper remediation, and health hazards to those whom come in contact with it (residents, neighbors, employees, etc). In recent news, the MassDEP imposed a fine of over $51K to the company whom was conducting a building renovation and did not adhere to the asbestos removal procedures. MassDEP inspectors “found dry, crumbling, asbestos-containing pipe insulation” in piles on the basement floor as well as the ground outside. Not only was the environmental agency not notified of the asbestos remediation, but the dry handling created a hazard for the entire neighborhood. Read the full story 
