| Oct. 26, 2007 As wildfire
recovery efforts begin, air quality officials urge home and business owners
to use caution when cleaning up debris from burned homes and other buildings
that could contain asbestos, a toxic air contaminant.
“Just as residents need to protect themselves from poor air quality
during the fires, they now need to protect themselves from potential toxic
hazards when cleaning up debris from burned homes and other buildings,” said
Barry Wallerstein, executive officer of the South Coast Air Quality
Management District.
Homes and buildings built before 1984 may contain asbestos materials,
Wallerstein said. If asbestos is suspected, a certified asbestos consultant
can conduct a survey to identify any asbestos-containing materials.
Residents and business owners should hire a licensed asbestos abatement
contractor if asbestos is known to be present in debris.
To aid the wildfire disaster recovery, AQMD has streamlined its asbestos
notification process and waived fees for contractors cleaning up homes and
businesses damaged or destroyed by the fires. AQMD regulates materials
containing more than 1 percent asbestos.
Prior to 1984 – and potentially even later – asbestos was used in some
building materials including roofs, floor tiles, acoustic ceilings,
insulation, sound-proofing, cement pipes, heating ducts, pipe coverings and
other materials. If asbestos was present in the building materials, it
could also be present in the ash and debris of a home or business burned by
the recent wildfires.
When left in place, asbestos in building materials typically does not
pose a hazard. When disturbed by fire, demolition or remodeling, it can
become airborne. A toxic air contaminant, asbestos is known to cause lung
cancer and other lung diseases.
In addition to asbestos, dust from fire debris can be a hazard when it
becomes airborne.
AQMD offers the following tips to help homeowners and business owners
protect themselves from potential asbestos exposure:
- Hire a licensed asbestos abatement contractor if asbestos is suspected
or known to be present. Debris should be stabilized by wetting and
covering with plastic sheeting until removed;
- When wetting suspected or known asbestos-containing material, use a
fine, low-pressure spray of water and avoid generating runoff; and
- To reduce the amount of material disposed of as asbestos – and the
cost of disposal – homeowners and business owners can hire a certified
asbestos consultant to test and identify asbestos so that it can be
separated from non-asbestos debris.
For more information:
AQMD is the air pollution control agency for Orange County and major
portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
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