Montgomery, New Jersey – A second round of asbestos-containing steam pipe removal work has begun at a site near the Village Elementary School in Skillman Village, New Jersey.

Last year, sections of pipe located both above and below ground were removed from the site. After the completion of that section of the project, all the remaining above-ground steam pipe had been removed, leaving only below-ground sections in place.

During the peak years of asbestos use between the 1940s and 1980s, asbestos was often used in pipes, particularly those that conducted heated air or water, as the addition of asbestos provided excellent thermal insulation, making the conduction of heated air or water more efficient.

The current project is being carried out by subcontractor Demolition and Asbestos Removal Inc. of Richmond, Va. The contractor for the work is Weston Solution officials, who presented a plan for the project to the Community Advisory board earlier in April. Weston Solution expects that the project will be finished by the end of the summer.

There are several remaining sections of pipe located in a number of areas around the Village Elementary School. One is located slightly east of the school. According to Community Information Officer Tamara Garaffa, that section will not be removed until after the end of June, when school has finished for the summer.

This is one asbestos removal project that has been planned down to the last detail: school officials say that even unexpected delays won’t prevent the abatement from being completed on time, as they are prepared to hire extra work crews or weekend crews for the project to ensure it is completed before school reopens after summer vacation.

For the current project, the contractor crews involved in removing the asbestos-laden steam piping are trying to work as far away from the Village Elementary School as possible, to prevent any exposure risks. The crew will start at the most distant location from the school and work inwards.

The process of removing the asbestos-laden pipes is designed to eliminate the risk of exposure to asbestos-containing dust, and involves the use of negative air pressure and a protective ‘tent.’ Within the tent, the air pressure is negative, meaning that even if a small hole or rip occurs in the tent, the negative pressure means that any asbestos dust is unable to escape. These measures make the process of asbestos pipe removal much safer, meaning that it is highly unlikely that any environmental contamination will occur.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 2nd, 2008 at 2:19 pm and is filed under Asbestos Abatement, New Jersey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. Responses are currently closed, but you trackback from your own site.