What is Necessary to Decontaminate Myself and My Home Once the Asbestos is Gone?

After properly containing asbestos during the work and avoiding to raise unnecessary dust, decontamination should be fairly straightforward. It amounts to backing out of the containment area and bringing any equipment used out as well.

After removing the ceiling material and sealing the asbestos waste in double bags (using a "gooseneck" twist with the ends duct-taped to the side of each bag), wipe down the outside bag and send it out to the disposal site as directly as possible, preferably through the outside door. If you had to construct an air lock that leads into an unprotected part of the house, it is better to slit the plastic covering over a window and hang another sheet of plastic over it. Open the window only when taking a waste bag out, and be sure not to drop waste bags to the ground outside or to an unprotected worker.

Next, carefully fold and roll up the top layer of loose plastic sheeting on the floor to contain fallen debris, regardless if any debris is in sight. Bag the folded plastic along with the debris it contains into another disposal bag.

Thoroughly wipe down all tools and ladders with clean, wet rags, being careful to get into all of the creases, ridges, and hinges. Place the cleaned equipment on the plastic sheet or in the air lock outside the containment area. Do not try to rinse and reuse rags. Fold them over until you have used the full surface area and then dispose of them as asbestos debris.

Encapsulate any fibers that may remain on the surfaces from which asbestos-containing material (ACM) has been removed. unfortunately, some asbestos fibers will remain, especially if the asbestos-containing products were applied in the original construction of the house. The underlying wallboard or other surface was probably never finished for painting, and it is now too risky to sand or even use conventional patching methods because of all the scraping and sanding. Instead, spray on a latex primer or another latex product specifically intended to encapsulate asbestos. Spackle over the top of this surface later if there are major dents to fill, but always be careful not to sand through the encapsulant. An even better strategy would be to encapsulate now and hang fresh wallboard at a later date.

Spray the plastic-sheeting walls and floors with water one last time, making sure any visible asbestos debris is thoroughly wet. Do not wait for it to dry. Begin at the point most distant from the containment exit and peel the sheeting off the walls and lower it to the floor. Overlapping is good, as the back of the sheeting that has been against the wall is assumed to be cleaner than the inside. If overlapping creates too much plastic to fit into a single disposal bag, carefully fold each wall sheet onto itself, or roll it down to the floor to be bundled into a bag.

Be careful not to walk from a contaminated section onto a clean surface. Begin rolling the plastic off the floor from the farthest side of the room. Make sure all debris stays inside the plastic. If necessary, re-wet the debris. Work backwards toward the exit while remaining on the protective surface (area that is already as contaminated as your coveralls and boots). Double bag each roll of contaminated sheeting by using the same asbestos waste bags and gooseneck seal that was used for the actual material removed.

When using an abatement contractor to remove a large amount of asbestos-containing material, the contractor will probably use aggressive methods to clean up after the work is completed. One method used by contractors is running the air-exhaust system at higher levels to "blowdown" stray fibers. After shutting down the air system and allowing remaining fibers to settle, contractors will wipe down the area once again.

Every surface must be cleaned thoroughly with mops, rags, sponges, or professional-quality high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) vacuum cleaners, even if they were under protective sheeting. These materials must be disposed of just as the ACM itself is. The asbestos inspector may come back to take air samples before and after the area is unsealed to verify no dust and debris remains.

When asbestos was widely used, workers in many industries were not only exposed to the fibers themselves, but unwittingly carried them home to their families. Anyone working on an asbestos abatement project should careful during the decontamination process. Do not walk out of a room where asbestos may have been disturbed without changing clothes and shoes (preferably full-body protective gear). Washing your hair and exposed skin is also necessary.

Make sure to dismantle and bag the containment area in such a way that the last piece of plastic is next to the exit or air lock. Any ladders or tools should be wiped down with wet rags one more time, then sent out to the yard for rinsing. They need to stand out in a disused part of the yard for several days after drying. It is best if these tools are retired exclusively for outside use to minimize the chance of hidden asbestos fibers becoming loose in the home.

While standing in the transitional exit area, spray yourself (or each other) thoroughly with water to wet down any asbestos fibers that may be clinging to the outside of respirators and disposable coveralls. Wiping down the walls of the air lock is also necessary. Remove boots first. If you're going to keep them, clean them assiduously with wet rags. It's safest to discard all boots in an asbestos-waste bag.

Thoroughly clean goggles and respirators (before taking them off) with wet rags. Next, step on through the air lock, but it should be onto another piece of sheeting. Working backwards, collapse the ceiling first and then the walls of the air lock. Fold the sheeting from the air lock and bag it as waste.

While standing on the plastic sheeting, remove gloves and coveralls by peeling them inside out. Avoid touching the outside of them with anything and step off the last sheet of plastic still wearing the respirator and goggles. Like the boots, the goggles can be washed thoroughly, but it's safest to discard them. Finally, remove the respirator and take out the filters. Discard the filters with other asbestos waste and perform a final cleaning of respirators, goggles and other equipment using clean, wet rags. Place the rags in the asbestos-waste bag and double bag everything left, including the last plastic sheet.

For the last act of decontamination, take a shower. Rinse carefully, especially in folds and under hair that was near the face opening of coveralls. More water is always best when dealing with asbestos, including a thorough rinse of the shower itself after you are done.

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