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How Should Removed Asbestos-Containing Materials be Packaged?

Any debris that may have come in contact with asbestos-containing materials (ACM) must be viewed as hazardous and packaged to keep fibers from getting into the air. The material cannot simply be thrown into a construction-debris dumpster, even if the ACM is already contained in bags. Containers used for packaging may be hard or flexible and must seal airtight. The materials must go into the containers wet, which prevents the release of dust. Waiting to accumulate an entire dumpster load over days or weeks is prohibited. Debris must be taken to a specialized landfill every day so it can get under ground while the debris inside the containers is still wet.

The standard containers for packaging materials small enough to fit in a trash bag are a pair of special, impermeable plastic bags at least six mils thick and often transparent. The first bag is typically filled with debris only up to a level where the open neck can be twisted tightly, folded over into a "gooseneck," and the ends sealed to the side of the bag with heavy plastic tape such as duct tape. That bag is put inside another one, and if neither one is preprinted with the warning label required by federal regulations for transporting asbestos waste, a copy of the label is dropped between them. The second bag is sealed exactly the same way. The goosenecks are not used as handles for carrying the bags, because that might unseal the ends or tear the bags. Avoid tossing the bags into a dumpster because of the risk of rupture. Load them gently into containers or truck beds that are also lined with a double layer of six-mil plastic sheeting; every seam sealed with tape. The bags are accumulated through the day, the trailer containing them is covered, sealed, and labeled, and they're taken to a waiting landfill.

Larger pieces of debris, such as beams, joists, and studs, may be wrapped completely in two layers of six-mil sheeting, secured with tape, and labeled the same as the bagged debris before it's added to the container for the landfill. Some states (along with federal regulations) allow bulk un-wrapped asbestos debris to be placed directly in a larger waste-disposal container, which must be double-lined with ten-mil sheeting. There are also "bladder bags" that start out with a double layer and "glove bags" that seal over places such as asbestos-insulated pipes. These glove bags allow workers to reach in with integrated gloves to remove the asbestos-containing material and drop it to the bottom of the bag. A glove bag needs to go into a second bag for disposal.

Each bag or container gets a label that reads "Danger - Contains Asbestos Fibers; Avoid Creating Dust; Cancer and Lung Disease Hazard." These labels identify the contents as a Class 9 hazardous material. There is also space for the name and address of the property owner where the waste is coming from. Some states also require an explicit warning statement against breathing asbestos fibers, such as "Breathing asbestos may cause serious bodily harm."

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