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Updated over 2 years ago on . Most recent reply
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DIY Asbestos abatement in Los Angeles?
Perhaps this isn't the best place to post this question. If anyone has any suggestion of a better place, please let me know!
Bought an older house in Los Angeles (City), started doing some light demo, then thought it's best to stop and get things tested for asbestos before I really started tearing things out. Had a company collect and test a bunch of samples, found that some of the materials contain asbestos, including material I had already "damaged" (e.g., linoleum floor, of which I removed a few square inches). Company states the following:
" Due to the presence of damaged asbestos containing materials and debris, a Procedure 5 (P5) cleanup plan is required to be generated by a Certified Asbestos Consultant (CAC), such as JLM Environmental, and approved by the SCAQMD prior to asbestos abatement in accordance with SCAQMD Rule 1403."
A few questions:
Does the company report its findings to any government agency?
Am I obligated to hire professionals / certified people to submit a cleanup plan and then also to clean it up? The FAQ for SCAQMD Rule 1403 (http://www.aqmd.gov/docs/default-source/compliance/Asbestos-Demolition-/1403-frequently-asked-questions.pdf) states the following:
- Survey requirements do not apply to an owner-occupant of a residential single-unit dwelling who resides at the property and solely and personally conducts a renovation activity at that dwelling
- No Notifications are required for ... Renovations by owner-occupants of single-family residences.
So I understand those above two points to mean that I don't need to involve any further professionals and I can proceed to carefully take care of this on my own (I'm in the process of educating myself on proper abatement methodology).
Anything else I should know?
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Quote from @Chad Green:
Thank you guys for your input. I am moving forward with hiring professionals to take care of it.
Good. I am a bit late to respond here but in CA, asbestos is no joke and highly regulated. The testing company should report findings and the abatement company certainly must. AQMD is the authority over this and fines are in the tens of thousands for violations. The abatement company must be licensed and certified for asbestos abatement and since you disturbed the item containing asbestos, a level 5 procedure is required. Yes, they will come in with "space suits" along with all the necessary equipment and then report back to AQMD. There is also a mandatory 10 day waiting period so make sure you are aware of that. The abatement company will report, then must wait 10 days prior to doing any work. I have gone through this process several times and just completed a procedure 5 abatement at a flip project.