Asbestos floor removal how to#

Reply: Yes, this is an aggressive method of removing the mastic. Question 3a: If an electric floor buffer is equipped with an abrasive scrub pad, would using the buffer to remove asbestos-containing floor mastic be classified as an aggressive method?

Asbestos floor removal how to#

The settlement agreement does not provide the details on how to remove residual mastic by these alternative methods, but OSHA interprets the settlement agreement to require that the procedures set forth in the booklet issued in January 1998 by the Resilient Floor Covering Institute titled, Recommended Work Practices for Removal of Resilient Floor Coverings, be followed. Pursuant to the settlement agreement, employers may remove residual mastic by either of these alternative methods even when it is feasible to remove the mastic from the floor manually by means of a stiff-blade scraper.

1101(g)(8)(i), employers are to remove residual mastic from a floor manually by means of a stiff-blade scraper using wet methods, OSHA entered into a settlement agreement with representatives of the floor-covering business that permits employers to alternatively remove residual mastic by using a low-speed floor machine and wetted sand or a removal solution. Question 2: What criteria does OSHA expect an employer to use to determine whether it is feasible to remove the mastic from the floor manually by means of a stiff-blade scraper using wet methods? Can excessive cost or excessive work time be a valid reason for not using this method? 1101(g)(8)(i)(D), which states: 'All scraping of residual adhesive and/or backing shall be performed using wet methods.' This scraping is done by means of a stiff-blade scraper. The standard specifies a method for removing asbestos-containing mastic from floors that is less aggressive than sanding, depending on the nature of the mastic. It stipulates: 'Flooring or its backing shall not be sanded.' This provision pertains to situations where the floor tile or sheeting has been removed but some pieces of the floor tile or sheeting and some adhesive remain in place on the floor. The specific provision that prohibits the removal of mastic from floors by sanding is. This prohibition appears in a part of the standard pertaining to removing all asbestos-containing materials (ACM) associated with vinyl and asphalt floor coverings. 1101(b), is '.removal or disturbance of building material by sanding, abrading, grinding or other method that breaks, crumbles, or disintegrates intact ACM.' Sanding is the only aggressive method for removing asbestos-containing mastic from floors that the asbestos construction standard explicitly prohibits. Reply: An aggressive method, according to the definition at. Question 1: What provisions of the construction asbestos standard prohibit or restrict aggressive methods for removing asbestos-containing mastic from floors? Your paraphrased questions and our replies are below. This letter constitutes OSHA's interpretation only of the requirements discussed and may not be applicable to any question not delineated within your original correspondence. You have questions regarding OSHA's regulation of the removal of asbestos-containing mastic from floors by the construction asbestos standard. Thank you for your May 21, 2004, letter to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA's) Directorate of Enforcement Programs (DEP).