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is it safe for my family to be in the house when a ceiling containing asbestos is removed?

my local council has to carry out repairs on my kitchen ceiling they have tested the artex for asbestos and it came back positive they are going to remove the whole ceiling and as i have 2 people in my house with asthma i am worried about A. is it safe for my family to be living in the house while the work is being carried out and B.how long before we can return to the house i am really worried about dust being left behind which will then be breathed in by my family

Answer to A: It depends. It depends if the abatement crew is a licensed contractor AND if they are using good work practices to remove it such as wet methods, negative pressure containments with a PROPERLY WORKING Hepa exhaust, etc, etc. Without continuous air monitoring by an independent industrial hygienist, I personally wouldn’t risk it. If they aren’t using a containment with negative pressure (plastic sheeting and HEPA exhaust) I would tend to be suspect of their removal methods.

Airborne asbestos is hazardous to anyone, regardless of asthma issues or not.

Answer to B: It’s safe to re-enter when the containment has been cleaned up (vacuumed, wet-wiped, etc) and a clearance sample has been conducted. A clearance is conducted by an independent consultant (industrial hygienist) who uses leaf blowers and box fans to stir up the air, and air pumps to draw air into a cartridge and then analyze it for fibers with a microscope (PCM method).

Don’t call OSHA if you have questions….OSHA is for worker protection. Instead, call your local Department of Environmental Quality or air regulation authority.

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Tags: asbestos, asthma, children(0-18), health, lung

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 20th, 2009 at 3:03 pm and is filed under Mesothelioma Lawyers in San Diego, Mesothelioma Attorneys San Diego. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.