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How Do I Hire an Asbestos-Abatement Company?

The procedure for hiring a contractor to remove asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) from a home is essentially the same as the procedure for hiring any contractor. Specialized knowledge, equipment, experience, and licensing for asbestos abatement should be at the top of your list of criteria.

Consider hiring an asbestos inspector to assess the situation and oversee the work of all contractors doing the actual abatement. Check for lists of licensed inspectors and abatement professionals from the agency responsible for asbestos regulation in the state, or from a neighboring state. Having two separate lists and hiring two independent contractors might be necessary. Especially if the site is in a sparsely served state or area. It is unlikely to find inspectors and contractors who have never worked together before. Remember to make sure they have no stake in each other's business interests.

Relying entirely on the presence of a state license to evaluate a contractor's quality is not necessary. The same source that provides the list of contractors to consider should be able to find the specific local and state regulations for training and licensing of abatement contractors. Ask the companies in consideration to document specifically how they meet these requirements:

• Ask for the license numbers of all the individuals who will work on the project. The first, easy test is to see whether they mention wetting the asbestos-containing material to minimize dispersal of fibers into the air. If they do not have these provisions, do not give that contractor any further consideration.
• What equipment will they bring to the work site? An experienced contractor should, at a minimum, have systems for continuous wetting of the ACM, for ventilation using high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters, and specialized containers for the hazardous-waste debris. At best, they may be prepared to create "negative air pressure" in a room-sized or larger work area. For small jobs that can be modularized, such as pipe insulation. They may mention glove bags that contain the ACM and allow workers to remove it all in one bag.
• What specific precautions will they take to protect your family, their workers, and the community from asbestos set airborne by the work? They should have standard procedures to seal off the work area from the rest of the home, protective gear for the workers to wear, including dual-canister filtration respirators that cover at least half their faces, and disposal bags and wrappers pre-printed with the warning labels mandated by federal authorities.
• How and where will they dispose of the contaminated debris? They should be able to explain what asbestos-receiving dump site is closest to your house and has available capacity to receive the amount of debris your job will generate. The contractor should also explain how they will alert the dump site that they're on the way and that they will transport the debris in a closed vehicle.

Ask for past clients and contact these references. Try asking about before-and-after analyses of asbestos fibers in the air at these past jobs (at a minimum, there should be no more asbestos fibers in the air at the end of a job than there were before the asbestos was disturbed). Get multiple bids and compare them in detail. This is an area where quality and care in the work may be much more important than price. A few states maintain databases of complaints against contractors and their conformity to regulations, but even if it takes some research on your part, it is a good idea to check directly with local air-pollution and worker-safety authorities, as well as the Better Business Bureau.

Although private homes are not generally covered by the legal definitions of procedures for treating public buildings, the private contractor should document that the same methods will be used regardless. There is no wiggle room on disposal of asbestos-containing debris and you should check in advance that the contractor knows what the requirements are and how to meet them. Ask for a written work plan that extends through cleanup and specifies the applicable federal, state, and local regulations, including permits and notifications. Double-check these regulations. At the end of the job, get certification from the contractor that all requirements have been met.

Ordinary roofing, flooring, and plumbing contractors may deal with asbestos only incidentally and therefore may not be required to have as thorough training and experience. If they are going to deal with asbestos-containing material, they need to know what they're doing, and they may need to be licensed to handle ACM. Remember, although asbestos materials may be non-friable and unregulated as they lie undisturbed on your roof or floor, the minute someone starts scraping or ripping them up is when they can become friable, regulated, and very dangerous.

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