Asbestos siding disposal

[RBManufacturing]

Hi Gang,
Brenda and I are looking at 3 acres to build a new building
on for the company. Brenda wants to keep her horse there
also. There is an old house that is falling in on the property.
It has the old hard asbestos siding on it. Can,t seem to get
a knowledgeable answer from anyone about disposing of the
siding. County said ask state. State said ask local officials.
Local officials said ask Federal. One guy said he rented a
dumpster and filled it with siding, and landfill hauled it off
knowing what it was. He said they told him as long as it was
buried in a landfill it was o.k. Local cop said it must be
disposed of by a licensed hazardous waste disposal crew.
VERY EXPENSIVE!!! Like to know more before I try to buy the
property. Neighbor property owner said just dig a hole and
cover it up. NOT!!!
Also, another interesting fact. 7 acres for sale next to this
property. $125,000. Vacant ground. Next to it is 20 acres for
sale, with new 30x70 Morton building. Fully insulated, water,
elect. and new septic system. 3 yr. old 14x70 house trailer,
and all new fencing. $200.000. The 3 acres I am looking at
is $50.000. One mile down the road is 96 acres for $400.000.
Two miles the oposite direction is 120 acres that just sold
for $1.3 million. All of the ground is zoned commercial.
Seems like alot of variation in estimated value!
Anyway, any knowledge about asbestos siding by anyone???
Rick

 

[Junkman]

I did a Google search using the term "asbestos siding removal" and found some information. The little reading that I had done gave conflicting information. I believe that it depends on the state that you live in and how they feel about the hazard. I know that MA was very difficult about lead paint removal and then did a total reversal when they saw that the cost factor was keeping lead paint from being removed from the outside of houses and relaxed the regulation so more people would remove it. I believe that the same is happening with asbestos siding..... it isn't anywhere as dangerous as some of the other asbestos products. Call a removal company and get a quote...... it might not be as bad as you think.....

One article on how to remove it...... http://www.maine.gov/dep/rwm/asbestos/pdf/asbestossidingremovals.pdf

 

[GaryM]

When we had ours removed before putting on vinyl siding about 15 years ago, they just pulled it off and threw it in a dompster. Went off to the landfill. As mentioned in the link posted, asbestos in siding is not as big a problem as the loose fluffy stuff used on pipes and ducts.

I'd ask the local trash hauler and landfill.

 

[JLD]

I do environmental work, but asbestos is not my speciality. I have been around lots of projects dealing with asbestos. The Asbestos Siding Removals article seems good. If the building is in poor shape, I would guess that much of the siding is friable. I would recommend talking to professionals in the area that do asbestos removal. I would also highly recommend having a professional do the work. The last thing you want is to contaminate the property around the building with friable asbestos.

I am guessing that the property is at a discount as a result of the cost to remediate the old building. I am involved with dozen of environmental site assessments every year of property prior to purchase, and this is a buyer beware situation.

 

[DocHeb]

The fibers in asbestos siding are, for the most part, bound together so they don't become airborne. The inhaled asbestos that is worrisome is the very small fibers that can make it deep into the lung. This is just my personal (not EPA-certified, experienced removal expert, professional highly paid know-it-all) opinion. However, I do know that if you call an asbestos removal company for advice they will make it sound as if you have Love Canal II on your property - which can only be remediated by their expertise. I this were my project I would wear a tight fitting fine particulate mask and remove the siding slowly and gently, and dispose of it the landfill.

I find it interesting to listen to people telling how scared they are of Alar in apples, dioxin, pesticides, asbestos, etc; all while smoking their cigarettes.

 

[BillG_in_TX]

We had an old WWII surplus building at our church that we demolished a few years ago. I should say "had it demolished", because once we had a remediation expert look at it, we were reported to the State of Texas, and had to jump through all sorts of hoops and pay an exorbitant amount of money to have it removed. /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif

In retrospect, we wish we had taken one of our members up on his offer to dig a pit on his land and have the siding "landfilled" in it.

 

[BIGUN]

I have worked in power plants for over thirty years and they have tons of asbestos in them. I have seen the pendulum swing from the days when NO protection at all was provided for employees working with asbestos, to where now a space suit is almost required when in a heavy concentration of the dust. In the early days I saw employees come out from working under a steam turbine looking like snowmen covered with the fibers and were considered a wimp if they tied a red rag over their nose. A lot of these guys now test positive for being exposed to the stuff.

We are taught nowadays that as long as asbestos is encapsulated, as would likely be the case with siding, and not giving off dust, there is not much to be concerned about. Problems with fibers occur when drilling or grinding the material. If the siding is carefully removed it probably won’t release much asbestos fiber. What a lot of people don’t know is other fibers and dust can be about as hazardous to your health as asbestos. Fiberglass fibers and silica (sand) dust are a couple I have heard mentioned. They just haven’t come under the spotlight yet like asbestos has.

Industry is held to a much stricter standard in handling waste than the individual consumer. For instance, light bulbs and empty aerosol cans that individuals routinely throw in the garbage can are required by industry to use special disposal procedures. While asbestos abatement in a power plant can be a very expense process, removing siding from an old building yourself or by a small siding company may involve just pitching it in a dumpster. I would bet that if you call enough government agencies you will eventually find one that will tell you a very strict abatement procedure is mandatory for this type of work and it will cost you a few thousand dollars.

Did anyone see the last episode of “King of the Hill” where the little water leak in his house was tested for mold and next thing you know the whole house is being torn apart. That cartoon exposing this latest environmental scam going on in Texas was so true.
I am not trying to minimize the danger of asbestos but like a lot of things, the ways of handling it have gone from one extreme to the other. Have you considered including a provision in your offer for the property that the old building must be demolished and removed before closing on the property, then the problem is gone before it is yours?

 

[Old_Hickory]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( removing siding from an old building yourself or by a small siding company may involve just pitching it in a dumpster. )</font></font>

I would not want anyone to know I done that,there are a lot of the old shingles that have asbestos and removing them and disposing of them is a very regulated process around here. If you stripped the shingles or siding off of a house and a neighbor knew it was asbestos they could really make life miserable for you. I would call the health department and ask them what to do.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

around here the homeowner is allowed to tear off the siding without any problems. A contractor must be licensed to do it so the way around is to have the homeowner remove the siding before anyone starts working.

As for disposal, just take it to the landfill. We do lead abatement work and were told by the health department if it doesn't meet the requirements for the hazardous waste then it can go to the landfill. Same with the asbesto siding. Even the landfill doesn't care what it is. The only time it is a real hazardous problem is if you are in confined areas so removal is much more dangerous then disposal (but with the siding, removal is not that big of a deal). Get a proper mask and filters, tyvek suit and gloves. Tape the openings and the gloves to the suit to limit the amount of dust that enters the suit. When done, remove the suit carefully so that you roll it inside out. Remove the mask last and then wash the mask and yourself as well as your cloths immediately afterward.

 

[5030]

Heck Doc:

Nothing bothers me. I remember my mother used to deep fry our potato slices in old transformer oil. Besides, in high school we used to make the pipe wrap puff asbestos dust by banging it with our rulers!!

I'm still here and only smoking a pack a day. I was at 2 packs, but now that I roll my own, I've cut down.

Merry Christmas!!!!