Is Your Building Exposed to Asbestos Liability?

Written by: Simon Turner and Chris Roberts (CAC), December 2012

Most property owners and managers are not aware of the current regulatory standards regarding asbestos in their buildings. Even in newer buildings these standards create substantial liability and can have large impacts on building renovation project deadlines and costs.

Building owners are required to identify asbestos in buildings constructed prior to 1981 under federal law. Until the late 1970s, asbestos was installed from floor to ceiling in thousands of buildings. It was cut back in allowable production and use in the 1980s but it is still found in many building products today. Because asbestos was so widely used (over 3,000 building products), it can be found in acoustical ceiling finishes “popcorn”, plaster, roofing material, flooring material, insulation, HVAC ducting and covering, drywall, joint compound, thermal system insulation, window putty, and many more.   Asbestos surveys and document review are typically the initial steps in identifying asbestos within a building and ensuring a legal plan is in place to manage these materials.

Asbestos is regulated on three levels; federal, state, and local. For instance, in Southern California, the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) is the air pollution control agency for all of Orange County and the urban portions of Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. SCAQMD is a policing agency funded by the state, federal and local regulatory agencies for the enforcement of environmental laws. The SCAQMD regulates asbestos under their Rule known as Rule 1403. This regulation dictates how demolition, renovation and asbestos removal projects are to properly and legally be conducted. SCAQMD has stated that,

“Regardless of the date of the building construction, and because of potential unknown renovations Rule 1403(d) (1) (A) requires an asbestos survey report prior to demolition to determine and verify the absence or presence of asbestos”

SCAQMD rules, which implement portions of the federal Clean Air Act, require that an asbestos survey be conducted by a certified asbestos abatement contractor before a renovation project can begin. If asbestos-containing materials are identified, the responsible party must submit to SCAQMD for approval a plan on how the material will be properly handled, removed and disposed of before renovation activities commence

In California, Assembly Bill 3713 of 1988 – Asbestos Notification Rule (The Connelly Bill) implemented California Health & Safety Code Section 25915 which requires building owners (which is defined as an owner, lessee, sublessee, or agent of the owner of a building or part of a building) of any building constructed prior to 1979 to disclose to employees (as well as any other person contracting with an owner for the performance of services in the building) the existence of ACM in their buildings to the occupants of that building. It also allows for the development of an Asbestos Management Plan.

Healthy Buildings Asbestos Consulting Services

The Healthy Buildings asbestos team can answer any of your asbestos questions. We can help guide you through many individual items that a building or facility might need, such as:

• Asbestos Document Review/Site Walks
• Operation and Maintenance Plan
• Cal/OSHA Hazard Communication Standard
• Connelly Bill Notification
• Proposition 65 Notification
• Annual Re-inspections
• Project Oversight and Monitoring
• Asbestos Bulk Survey
• Two Hour Employee Asbestos Awareness Training
• Airborne Fiber Sampling and Analysis

Learn more about our asbestos inspection and monitoring services on our website.