Asbestos Demolition

Asbestos is a mineral that was used to produce construction materials including:

 

• Concrete
• Insulation
• Drywall
• High Temperature Gaskets

Some of its properties included resistance to heat, resistance to fire and resistance to chemical damage, just for an example. However, several years later it was completely banned from the construction industry because it was found that it was fatally dangerous to the human health. Today, there are still hundreds of buildings and homes that contain asbestos materials. Therefore, when it comes to asbestos demolition and since this material requires special handling, it is extremely important to have the proper contractor.

Removing Asbestos

Whenever a demolition is going to take place, it’s extremely important to verify that there aren’t any asbestos containing materials within the premises. If this has already been verified, then special measures must be taken in order to handle the hazardous material properly. First of all, the area where the asbestos is going to be removed needs to be completely sealed off. This is done in order to prevent any asbestos from becoming airborne. The interesting thing about asbestos is that it has to become airborne in order to pose a real cause to your health. Once you inhale it, it will nest itself in your lungs, causing many diseases such as lung cancer and asbestosis. After sealing the area, the asbestos containing materials are made wet with water, then scraped off and put in special heavy duty bags that don’t puncture.

Dangers to the Health

Only after using asbestos for many years was it found to cause different diseases in humans. When you hear your contractor speaking about friable asbestos containing materials, they are referring to those materials that can be easily crumbled with your bare hands. This is the most dangerous form of asbestos, because it means that it can become airborne extremely fast. One of the most important measures that contractors can take is to hose down the area where they are going to work. Because when the asbestos is wet, it’s a lot harder for it to become airborne; this prevents it from being inhaled and getting stuck in the lungs. There are basically three fatal conditions that you can develop after inhaling asbestos, which are lung cancer, asbestosis and mesothelioma. All three conditions have killed hundreds, if not thousands of people around the world.

Disposal Requirements

Every state has different laws and regulations on how asbestos ought to be disposed. However, it’s extremely important that you are aware of these regulations before you start your asbestos demolition project. Keep in mind that most of these guidelines state that the materials have to be placed in special containers or heavy duty bags. So, once all the asbestos materials have been removed, they have to be placed in a special durable bag. Before you leave the area, you must check the air to make sure that you have indeed removed all of the asbestos. The bags should be then loaded onto a truck, which clearly specifies the type of material it’s carrying.