Asbestos pipe insulation removal
hey all: I was under the impression that the owner of a single family home is allowed to remove a certain amount of asbestos pipe insulation, like 25′. I can’t find anything at nyc.gov to confirm or deny. Anyone know about this or can provide a link? Thanks, Denton
hey all:
I was under the impression that the owner of a single family home is allowed to remove a certain amount of asbestos pipe insulation, like 25′. I can’t find anything at nyc.gov to confirm or deny. Anyone know about this or can provide a link?
Thanks,
Denton
Hi therer . I wouldn’t do it yourself . I have several contacts in the Environmental and General Contracting Arena . I also provide Commercial & Residential Mortgages . Feel free to call me at your convenience .
Elvis J. Jelovcic
646.335.7938
Edub808@msn.com
Actually, asbestos exposure is not over-rated. While those who get diseases from it are mostly people who have worked with it, if you undertake to remove it yourself and end up stirring up a lot of it, or spreading it around in your home, OR if you have friable stuff that is constantly stirred up all the time by humans using the basement (common in some coop basements where the board mnembers can’t get their act together to remove it), you ARE at risk – you have either a one-time exposure that is much larger than the minute amounts that are always around, or else you have continual exposure over time. Having friable stuff in your basement DOES put you at risk. And much of the stuff in these old houses that has been there for decades IS friable.
Hey all:
Here’s the latest… I was able, after some time, to get a hold of an actual expert in the city’s asbestos control office, direct number 718-595-3652. She advised a homeowner can remove up to 25′ of the stuff.
And she also pointed me to the city’s asbestos regs online. I guess they don’t show up in google cuz it’s a big pdf, and under the ‘air and noise’ section to boot. They’re at
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/air_and_noise/asbestos.shtml
HOWEVER (and here 11:09, 11:57, and especially, 3:49 are correct), the waste has to be taken directly to a sold waste landfill. 3:49 took his to Fresh Kills but Fresh Kills is CLOSED. According to the expert, the nearest landfill would be somewhere in PA. That’s a problem, obviously.
6:02, the danger from occasional asbestos exposure is somewhat over-rated IF YOU DO NOT SMOKE AND HAVE NEVER SMOKED. Asbestos is in the air you breathe every day, in very small amounts. It’s a natural mined material that outcrops the earth in various locations, and also floats around from brake linings.
8:50, it’s definitely deteriorated to the friable stage, which is why it has to go. 8:49 has the procedures pretty much down, along with a mop and wet cloths to constantly pick up whatever is left.
Denton
I just got a quote from a highly regarded company (here on the blog): around 40′ to get removed, takes a day, and they provide all the certifications as to air quality, etc. Total cost will be $3,500. Great guys to deal with so far (and there are several others to sing their praises if you look in brownstoner’s history): Leinster Contracting. Angie’s List also shows A+ rating. Good luck!
You really don’t need to remove any asbestos that is not friable. It simply needs to be contained, protected against abrasion. You can actually stir up more asbestos dust (the harmful condition) by removing it.
Yeah, but it takes longer than 10 years for asbestos lung damage to show up.
And, for those considering this, I think that professionals (I got some quotes once for my coop’s basement) set up a portable shower so that what’s in the basement actually does stay in the basement, and isn’t spread to those walking down the street, or being spread upstairs to other residents of the home.
We had our basement finished about almost 10 years ago. When I asked my contractor when he could begin work, he said: “As soon as you get rid of the asbestos.”
I had about 40 feet of asbestos pipe-wrap on the steam pipes and about 1 foot of plaster-type asbestos on the steam line at the burner.
Like you, I had researched asbestos removal and watched a segment on “This Old House” where they showed a professional crew doing the work. I to Home Depot and got a Tyvek space suit, a real asbestos-type respirator (not just a mask), goggles, and gloves. I used lots and lots of newspapers on the floor, plastic sheeting to mask the work area and spay bottles of soapy water. It took 2 days, but I figured that I saved at least $6,000.
I believed that as long as it doesn’t endangering anybody else, what a home owner does in his own basement was his own business. What happens in my basement stays in my basement. I did not even consider the existence of any city, state or federal regulations on what I was doing.
I double-wrapped the debris in heavy-duty contractor bags, and called the NYC Dept. of Sanitation. They were very helpful. They sent me instructions and made an appointment for me to deliver the bags to the landfill on Staten Island (this was prior to ‘9-11’).
I don’t know if the NYC-DS procedures have changed since then. I would suggest that you call them before you start work on your asbestos.
BTW, I am in excellent health, lung-wise.
Good luck.
Thanks all… I should have mentioned that I am very familiar with asbestos and appropriate removal procedures, so I don’t feel I am taking a health risk. But I don’t want to get in a situation where I have to retroactively get robbed by some certification procedure, a la the person who dug out their basement.
I believe that you can remove a certain amount but that the disposal is the issue.