Comparison of the effects of use, protection, improper renovation and removal of asbestos products on the example of typical old office buildings in Poland

Our plain-English summary of Comparison of the effects of use, protection, improper renovation and removal of asbestos products on the example of typical old office buildings in Poland, by A. Obmiński (Scientific Reports, 2023).

The study

• Author: A. Obmiński
• Journal: Scientific Reports
• Published: 2023;13(1):13577
• Cited by: 1 article, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

The study focused on old, German building types "LIPSK" and "BERLIN" used in Poland, since the 1960s in Eastern Europe. The different operations on buildings were analysed: protection and maintenance of asbestos products, asbestos removal and inadvertent damage to asbestos as a result of building renovation. Measurements of respirable (countable) asbestos fibres in the air were carried out using the PCOM + PLM method and SEM-EDS. In the case of the accidental destruction of products, initial contamination was ≈7000 f/m3. After 16 weeks from the end of the activity and 20 days of extreme ventilation, contamination decreased to about 500 f/m3. At the same time, in similar rooms, without extreme ventilation, the pollution was above 4000 f/m3. The average increase in pollution in a dozen or so similar buildings, after asbestos removal in places beyond the work zones, ranged from ≈ 1700-2700 f/m3 and lasted for one or two years. These buildings, used without ACM destruction or after product impregnation, have maintained low asbestos contamination < 300 f/m3 for more than 10-20 years. So, due to the easy release of asbestos that occurs with any ACM removal and the increased risk of occupant exposure, these works are often inappropriate for the buildings in question.

© 2023. Springer Nature Limited.

In plain English

This study measured respirable asbestos fibres in the indoor air of old, lightweight German-designed office buildings of the "BERLIN" and "LIPSK" types in Poland between 2002 and 2022. It also covered one similar "MOA" building monitored during demolition. The buildings contained chrysotile asbestos boards, and only chrysotile was found in the air samples. Fibres were counted mainly by optical microscopy, whose limit of quantification was 300 fibres per cubic metre (f/m3). In one building renovated without awareness of the asbestos, rooms averaged 3200 f/m3 two weeks after the work. After 20 days of intensive airing, 16 weeks after renovation, they averaged 500 f/m3. A building whose asbestos boards were covered over in 2005 averaged 930 f/m3 before that work, and below 300 f/m3 in 2022. Places outside leaky work zones during asbestos removal in LIPSK buildings nos. 8 to 10 averaged 2800 f/m3. The author concluded that single measurements are not a reliable risk assessment, and that contamination from defective removal by specialists is comparable to do-it-yourself work. The author noted that results varied widely and should be treated as approximate.

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 study of indoor (and some outdoor) airborne asbestos fibre measurements in buildings under different conditions of use, renovation, asbestos removal and demolition
• Who was studied: Office buildings of the German "BERLIN" and "LIPSK" types (buildings nos. 1 to 11, plus nos. 3a and 4a) and one "MOA" building (no. 12, similar to "BERLIN") in Poland, including Warsaw and Olsztyn, tested between 2002 and 2022
• Exposure: Airborne chrysotile asbestos fibres released from "SOKALIT" fireproof boards (about 18 to 20% chrysotile) and asbestos-cement boards. Releases came from normal use, improper renovation, encapsulation, asbestos removal and demolition. Fibres were counted by phase-contrast and polarised light microscopy, with some samples checked by SEM-EDS.
• Main results:
  • Only chrysotile fibres were detected in the air samples.
  • BERLIN building no. 1 (improper renovation): rooms where renovation had been completed two weeks before testing averaged 3200 f/m3 (5 tests, maximum 6700 f/m3).
  • BERLIN building no. 1: rooms with significant wall damage averaged 5000 f/m3 (2 tests).
  • BERLIN building no. 1: after 20 days of intensive airing, 16 weeks after renovation, rooms averaged 500 f/m3 (3 tests).
  • BERLIN building no. 2 (correct renovation in 2005): rooms averaged 930 f/m3 in 2002 before renovation (10 tests).
  • BERLIN building no. 2, years after renovation: contamination was below 300 f/m3 by optical microscopy and below 170 f/m3 by SEM-EDS. In 2015, two tests in rooms of apartment no. 19, where the owner unprofessionally rearranged interior walls, averaged 1500 f/m3.
  • LIPSK building no. 6, tested in 2022, 20 years after correct preservation of the asbestos materials: below 300 f/m3 (18 tests).
  • LIPSK building no. 7: ground-floor rooms averaged 3000 f/m3 (6 tests, maximum 5700 f/m3) while asbestos removal took place on the 5th floor, about 80 m away.
  • LIPSK building no. 11 (connected to no. 7, with no asbestos work of its own): averaged 1200 f/m3 during removal works in no. 7 (14 tests), and 800 f/m3 after seven days of intensive ventilation (6 tests).
  • LIPSK buildings nos. 8 to 10: measurements outside leaky work zones during asbestos removal averaged 2800 f/m3 (45 tests, maximum 4500 f/m3).
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded that airborne asbestos levels in buildings change over time, so single measurements are not a reliable risk assessment for users. Contamination from defective asbestos work by specialists is comparable to do-it-yourself work and can contaminate a building periodically, sometimes long-term. Local operational damage in normally used buildings did not raise levels above 500 f/m3.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • Results varied widely, and the values should be treated as approximate.
  • It is difficult to recognise the types of asbestos in air testing.
  • The optical method used is not as precise as transmission electron microscopy (TEM).
  • The limit of quantification of the optical method was 300 f/m3.

Related studies

• 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)
• Pollution of the environment and building interiors during asbestos removal as a result of lack of negative pressure in the working areas — A. Obmiński (2024)
• 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)
• Exposure of sheet-metal workers to asbestos during the construction and renovation of commercial buildings in New York City. A case study in social medicine — E. Drucker, D. Nagin, et al. (1987)
• Airborne fiber control in buildings during asbestos material removal by amended water methodology — R.N. Sawyer, A.N. Rohl, et al. (1985)
• Measured removal rates of chrysotile asbestos fibers from air and comparison with theoretical estimates based on gravitational settling and dilution ventilation — J. Sahmel, H.J. Avens, et al. (2015)

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