Duties of Employers and Building and Facility Owners

Pre-Renovation / Pre-Demolition Asbestos Surveying

The States of Washington and Oregon require building/vessel and facility owners and owner’s agents to perform good faith inspections on buildings scheduled for renovation or demolition. These surveys must be conducted by AHERA Accredited Inspectors applying a very specific sampling strategy. The purpose of these surveys is to locate, identify, and quantify asbesto containing materials (ACM) and other hazardous building materials before the renovation or demolition process begins. Thereby avoiding accidental exposure to employees and the environment.

Hazard Communication (HAZCOM)

Employers are also required to notify employees of hazards in the workplace. Part of that hazard communication is disclosure of any known ACM or presumed asbestos- containing materials (PACM) in an employee’s work area. To do that, a good faith inspection must be performed to identify ACM or PACM in the work place Employees can then be trained in ways to avoid disturbing ACM while it is managed in place. RCP Environmental AHERA Accredited Inspectors are trained and certified to perform pre-renovation, pre-demolition, and good faith asbestos and hazardous building materials surveys to meet your specific needs and requirements. With over 25 years of experience identifying hazardous building materials and managing removal projects throughout the Pacific Northwest, RCP Environmental is prepared to help you deal with your asbestos issues in a safe efficient manner.

During a Pre-Renovation or Pre-Demolition survey, RCP may perform a visual inspection and create an inventory of the following materials to be properly removed and disposed of prior to demolition.

• Suspect PCB-Containing Light Ballasts
• Suspect Mercury-Containing Light Tubes, Thermostats and Light Switches
• Tritium-Containing Exit Signs
• Radioactive Source Smoke Detectors

A good project design clearly defines the asbestos removal scope of work for the abatement contractor. The project design is developed by an AHERA-Accredited Project Designer. It is based on the findings of the pre-renovation / pre-demolition survey and presented as part of an overall abatement specification. It includes locations and quantities of materials to be abated based on the survey. These are distributed to contractors as part of the contract documents.

Planning and Bid Period Services

RCP is available to conduct on-site pre-bid conferences and present the abatement scope of work and specifications to qualified prospective bidders for competitive quotes. RCP will help assess and evaluate bid submittals and assist in contractor selection.

Abatement Oversight

RCP provides project management and oversight during hazardous building materials abatement activities throughout the construction process. This includes air sampling and analysis by NIOSH 582 Certified Air Technicians in and around the work area to determine the effectiveness of the abatement contractors engineering controls.

Close Out Documentation

At the conclusion of the abatement project, RCP compiles a closeout document containing such things as a project daily log, air monitoring results, required contractor submittals, and proper disposal documentation.