Asbestos release from whole-building demolition of buildings with asbestos-containing material

Our plain-English summary of Asbestos release from whole-building demolition of buildings with asbestos-containing material, by R.A. Perkins, J. Hargesheimer, W. Fourie (Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, 2007).

The study

• Authors: R.A. Perkins, J. Hargesheimer, W. Fourie
• Journal: Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• Published: 2007;4(12):889-94
• Cited by: 14 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

The whole-building demolition method, which entails one-or two-story buildings pushed down by heavy equipment, loaded into trucks, and hauled away, is generally the most cost-effective means to remove small buildings. For taller buildings, a crane and wrecking ball may be used initially to reduce the height of the building. Demolitions might release asbestos fibers from friable asbestos-containing material (ACM). Fibers also might be released from nominally nonfriable ACM (Categories I and II nonfriable ACM) if it becomes friable after rough handling throughout the whole-building demolition process. This paper reports on asbestos air monitoring from two demolition projects involving ACM. In one building, Category II nonfriable ACM was present because it could not be removed safely prior to demolition. Both projects had large quantities of gypsum wallboard with ACM joint compound and ACM flooring. One building had large quantities of ACM spray-on ceiling material. During the demolitions personal air monitoring of the workers and area air monitoring downwind and around the sites were conducted. The monitoring found the concentrations of fibers detected by phase contrast microscopy were generally well below the permissible exposure limits (PEL) of workers. Electron microcopy analysis of samples at or near the PEL indicated most of the fibers were not asbestos, and the actual asbestos exposure was often below the detection limit of the procedure. The buildings were kept wet with fire hoses during the demolition and that required large quantities of water, 20,000-60,000 gal/day (75-225 m(3)/day). Earlier studies found little asbestos release from buildings containing only nonfriable ACM demolished by this method. This project found a negligible release of asbestos fibers, despite the presence of nonfriable materials that might become friable, such as ACM joint compound and spray-on ACM ceiling coating.

In plain English

This study reported air monitoring during two whole-building demolitions in Fairbanks, Alaska, in which asbestos-containing material was left in place. Building A was a vacant hotel demolished in May 1999. It still held wallboard joint compound with 2–3% chrysotile, flooring with 2–3% chrysotile and popcorn ceilings with 5% chrysotile. Block B was several one- and two-story wooden buildings demolished in August 1994. They held joint compound with 5–8% chrysotile, plus flooring and roofing reported as asbestos-positive. The buildings were kept wet with fire hoses. Fiber counts by phase contrast microscopy were mostly well below the workers' permissible exposure limit. The highest worker sample at Building A, 0.141 fibers per cubic centimeter by that method, measured 0.013 fibers per cubic centimeter by electron microscopy, which counts only asbestos fibers. None of the Building A area samples checked by electron microscopy showed asbestos fibers. At Block B, two asbestos fibers were found in nine samples analyzed by electron microscopy. The authors concluded that their results confirmed earlier work finding no significant asbestos release from whole-building demolitions of sufficiently wetted buildings.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Field air-monitoring study (personal and area air sampling) of two whole-building demolition projects
• Who was studied: Two demolition sites in Fairbanks, Alaska. Building A was a vacant, mainly three-story reinforced-concrete block and timber hotel (footprint about 1700 m2), demolished in May 1999. Block B was several one- and two-story wooden buildings built before 1980 (combined floor area 1650 m2), demolished in August 1994. Personal samples came from the most highly exposed workers; area samples came from around each site.
• Exposure: Chrysotile-containing materials left in place during demolition. Building A: gypsum wallboard joint compound (2–3% chrysotile, 2400 m2 of wall), Category II flooring (2–3% chrysotile, 560 m2) and Category II popcorn ceilings (5% chrysotile, 1,400 m2). Block B: joint compound (5–8% chrysotile, 1120 m2 of wall), plus Category I flooring and roofing reported only as "Positive".
• Main results:
  • At Building A, area air monitoring by phase contrast microscopy showed more fibers than at baseline (baseline below 0.001 f/cm3 in all 3 samples; downwind mean 0.012 f/cm3 in 6 samples, range 0.003–0.04). These levels were well below the permissible exposure limit.
  • At Building A, most personal samples by phase contrast microscopy were well below the permissible exposure limit. Mean levels were 0.042 f/cm3 for general labor (13 samples, range 0.0066–0.14), 0.038 f/cm3 in the excavator cab (14 samples) and 0.036 f/cm3 for the front-end loader (12 samples).
  • Two Building A laborer samples were 0.1 f/cc. These were excursion samples, for which the article gives a limit of 1.0 f/cc.
  • The highest Building A worker sample was 0.141 f/cm3 by phase contrast microscopy. By the NIOSH 7402 electron microscopy method, which counts only asbestos fibers, the same sample measured 0.013 f/cm3.
  • None of the Building A area samples analyzed by electron microscopy showed asbestos fibers. Results were reported at the method's detection limit.
  • At Block B, all fiber counts were well below the permissible exposure limit. Personal monitoring had a mean of 0.0145 f/cc (3 samples).
  • At Block B, two asbestos fibers were found in the nine downwind air samples analyzed by electron microscopy.
  • Wetting Building A used 157,500 gallons of water, or 20,000 gallons per day. Block B use was estimated at about 64,000 gallons per day.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that very low levels of asbestos fibers were found: less than 0.004 f/cm3 by electron microscopy in downwind areas, and less than 0.03 f/cm3 in the most heavily exposed workers. They said their results confirmed earlier work finding no significant asbestos release from whole-building demolitions of sufficiently wetted buildings.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • Water use at Block B was not metered. The authors' estimate is likely higher than the true volume, because the hoses were not run continuously.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Asbestos-Containing Material (ACM), Friable, Air Sampling, Category I and II Nonfriable ACM, Joint Compound, phase contrast microscopy (PCM), Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL), Asbestos Exposure.

Related studies

• Asbestos-containing materials in New York City buildings — P. Lundy, M. Barer (1992)
• Worker exposure to asbestos during removal of sprayed material and renovation activity in buildings containing sprayed material — N.W. Paik, R.J. Walcott, et al. (1983)
• Estimating the Additional Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Korea: Focused on Demolition of Asbestos Containing Materials in Building — Y.C. Kim, W.H. Hong, et al. (2016)
• Composition of heavy metals and airborne fibers in the indoor environment of a building during renovation — M.T. Latif, N.H. Baharudin, et al. (2011)
• Does the Presence of Asbestos-Containing Materials in Buildings Post-construction and Before Demolition Have an Impact on the Exposure to Occupants in Non-occupational Settings? — R. Singh, A.L. Frank (2023)
• Respiratory morbidity in workers exposed to asbestos in the primary manufacture of building materials — T.G. Robins, M.A. Green (1988)

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