Asbestos Inspections & Asbestos Assessment
Get The Lead Out (GTLO) can assist clients with the identification, assessment, and management of asbestos. Our expertise, training, and up-to-date regulatory knowledge allows us to provide comprehensive and complete asbestos testing and consultation.
GTLO routinely performs asbestos material inspections and surveys. These surveys involve bulk material sampling to test for the presence of asbestos fibers in building materials.
Our certified and licensed asbestos inspection team provides comprehensive inspection services including the following:
- Identification of asbestos type, percent composition, material location.
- Hazard/risk assessment, document condition of asbestos, mitigation and response action recommendation.
- Written reports to support AHERA, NESHAPS, or Building Permit needs
How can GTLO help you understand if you have an asbestos problem?
We will make sure that the inspection will include a complete visual examination and the careful collection and lab analysis of samples. If asbestos is present, the report will provide a written evaluation describing its location and give recommendations for correction or prevention.
OPERATION AND MANAGEMENT PLANS (O&M PLANS)
Get The Lead Out commonly investigates sites which are determined to be built with asbestos-containing materials. However, the condition of the materials may be such that they do not present any eminent danger to building personnel. In these cases, we recommend in-place management of asbestos containing materials.
In-place management is controlled and documented by a written “Asbestos Material Operations and Management Plan.” We routinely provide clients with the compilation of building specific asbestos management plans and proper training of facility managers.
What is asbestos?
Asbestos is a mineral fiber. It can be positively identified only with a special type of microscope. There are several types of asbestos fibers. In the past, asbestos was added to a variety of products to strengthen them and to provide heat insulation and fire resistance.
Where can you find asbestos today?
Most products made today do not contain asbestos. those few products made which still contain asbestos that could be inhaled are required to be labeled as such. however, until the 1970s, many types of building products and insulation materials used in homes contained asbestos.
Common products that might have contained asbestos in the past, and conditions which may release fibers, include:
Resilient floor tiles (vinyl asbestos, asphalt, and rubber), the backing on vinyl sheet flooring, and adhesives used for installing floor tile. sanding tiles can release fibers. so may scraping or sanding the backing of sheet flooring during removal.
Patching and joint compounds for walls and ceilings, textured paints and ceiling texture. sanding, scraping, or drilling these surfaces may release asbestos.
Houses built between 1930 and 1950 may have asbestos as insulation.
Steam pipes, boilers, and furnace ducts insulated with an asbestos blanket or asbestos paper tape. these materials may release asbestos fibers if damaged, repaired, or removed improperly.
Cement sheet, millboard, and paper used as insulation around furnaces and wood burning stoves. repairing or removing appliances may release asbestos fibers. so may cutting, tearing, sanding, drilling, or sawing insulation.
Door gaskets in furnaces, wood stoves, and coal stoves. worn seals can release asbestos fibers during use.
Soundproofing or decorative material sprayed on walls and ceilings. loose, crumbly, or water-damaged material may release fibers. so will sanding, drilling, or scraping the material.
Asbestos and Cancer
People may be exposed to asbestos in their workplace, their communities, or their homes. If products containing asbestos are disturbed, tiny asbestos fibers are released into the 
air. When asbestos fibers are breathed in, they may get trapped in the lungs and remain there for a long time. Over time, these fibers can accumulate and cause scarring and inflammation, which can affect breathing and lead to serious health problems
Asbestos has been classified as a known human carcinogen (a substance that causes cancer) by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the EPA, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
Pleuralmesothelioma.com has the most up to date and comprehensive information about Pleural Mesothelioma and asbestos exposure related cancer on the web today.
Websites for additional information:
Asbestos in your Products and Buildings
http://www.epa.gov/asbestos/pubs/pubs.html
http://www.epa.gov/asbestos/pubs/ashome.html
Asbestos Substance Profile
http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/ntp/roc/eleventh/profiles/s016asbe.pdf