Asbestos Services
Asbestos is a group of six naturally occurring minerals that were used in building products for its strength, heat resistance, chemical resistance, and insulating properties. Asbestos, especially Chrysotile asbestos, was added to over 3,000 building materials in the United States. These products ranged from flooring to roofing and everything in between. There are only three materials not considered suspect to contain asbestos which are wood, glass, and metal.
When left undisturbed in good condition, asbestos-containing materials are generally innocuous. Asbestos becomes a health hazard when fibers are released into the air and inhaled or ingested. This typically occurs during renovation, demolition, on when natural deterioration or damage has occurred.
Exposure to airborne asbestos fibers has been linked to serious medical conditions such as asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma.
Pre-Acquisition Screening
Asbestos screening is a visual observation conducted by an accredited professional to identity building materials suspected of containing asbestos, determine their condition, and categorize them as regulated or nonregulated materials. Our team can use this data to develop cost estimations for inspection and potential abatement to anticipate the cost of ownership and can even be used as a means for price negotiation.
Asbestos screenings are commonly completed in the escrow period and concurrently with other due diligence services such as a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) and Property Condition Assessment (PCA).
Pre-Renovation or Demolition Inspection
If you’re planning to renovate or demolish a building, you’ll first need to conduct an asbestos inspection to comply with the National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP). The inspection must be conducted by an accredited Asbestos Inspector. Certain states also require that a notification of renovation or demolition is filed including the inspector’s license number.
These inspections include sampling building materials to be submitted to a laboratory for Polarized Light Microscopy (PLM) analysis. Building materials determined by the laboratory to containing greater than one percent asbestos are considered Asbestos-Containing Materials (ACM) by definition.
Envise’s asbestos inspection reports have everything you need to retain contractors and plan for abatement including building floorplans indicating the locations of asbestos in the building, types and quantities of materials, easy to understand summaries of laboratory results and regulations.
With years of industry experience, we can connect you with trust, reputable contractors; helping you to avoid costly mistakes and make confident decisions.
Asbestos Management
In some cases, the safest approach to asbestos is to leave it undisturbed. Our team can help you develop a tailored written plan and administrative procedures to safely manage asbestos-containing materials in place.
Asbestos management can take different forms for different properties. For most commercial and industrial properties, asbestos management is covered under an Operations & Maintenance (O&M) Plan.
These plans help maintenance personnel identify where asbestos is located, assess whether it may be impacted during routine work, and outline safe procedures to prevent exposure. They also define roles, responsibilities, emergency contacts, and cleaning protocols to ensure the asbestos remains contained in place
If you operate a school, or in some states a government building, you are required under the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) to maintain an Asbestos Management Plan. This includes notifying parents and occupants, training staff, and keeping documentation up to date through routine inspections of asbestos-containing materials.
Whether you need to update an existing plan or create one from scratch, we can help. Our team also includes accredited training providers who can provide on-site staff training programs to ensure your team understands regulatory requirements and knows when it’s time bring in a professional.
Abatement Oversight and Air Monitoring
Envise often acts as the eyes and ears for our clients during asbestos abatement. Our team of licensed abatement supervisors have the necessary experience to identify issues before they develop into big problems.
Our supervisors write daily reports documenting abatement operations and ensure that abatement contractors are complying with regulations and specifications. We also monitor the ambient air and analyze daily samples using a Phase Contrast Microscope (PCM) to ensure the safety of building occupants and the public alike.
This data can be vital in the event of regulator inspections or threatened litigation.