BID PAGE

Asbestos is a hazardous air pollutant. Its presence can pose serious health risks, environmental liability and financial risks. However, asbestos can often be effectively managed in place or response actions can include repair, encapsulation, enclosure, or removal. In any case, the route of exposure should be eliminated. 

G&M has personnel trained to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards for abatement worker, supervisor, inspector, management planner. State and municipal requirements for effective inspection, management and/or removal apply to all commercial buildings. Further, no employee may disturb asbestos materials without proper training under current Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) regulations. Asbestos-containing materials (ACM) can only be identified by a qualified asbestos inspector through tactile inspection and observation, bulk sampling, and microscopic analysis.

Asbestos Background Information:

Asbestos is a naturally occurring fiber found in rock. Because of its durability and excellent fire resistance, it was used extensively from the early 1900s until the early 1970s in building material manufacture. Federal regulations began limiting the use of asbestos in building material manufacture in the 1970 resulting in a gradual phase out of its use. Generally, the use of asbestos in the manufacture of building materials for commercial building construction was limited to floor tile and associated mastic after 1979. However, some incidences of fireproofing materials containing asbestos being applied as late as the 1990’s have been documented and some asbestos-containing materials (ACM) such as drywall joint compound are still routinely sold over the counter. Generally, any building material that is not glass, wood, or metal is a suspect ACM.

The danger posed by asbestos is from breathing airborne asbestos fibers. The federal government has identified asbestos as a material that, through inhalation exposure, can cause cancer and asbestosis. The asbestos fibers become airborne when ACM are, or become, friable and are disturbed. Hence, materials identified through a inspection of this type as asbestos-containing should not be disturbed in a manner that would create dust (potential airborne fibers).

Occasionally, some building materials may be obscured from view by other materials – such as building framework being obscured by drywall or floor tile obscured by subsequently installed carpet. If during renovation, demolition, or maintenance activities additional suspect ACM or presumed ACM (PACM) is encountered, we recommend review, sampling and analysis of the material by a qualified asbestos inspector to confirm or refute the presence of asbestos.

Our client base has included hundreds of projects for clients of all types. Staff expertise includes engineering, system and site designs, environmental regulations compliance assistance, underground storage tank (UST) investigations and removal, asbestos inspection and abatement, site investigation and remediation, waste management, wetland delineation and determination, biology and chemistry to name a few.