Yesterday S & S Abatement LLC removed and disposed of approximately 105 linear feet of asbestos pipe insulation from our garage and main basement using the glove bag method.
Last autumn (or was it a year before that?) when we had a heating system tune-up the repairman said that our boiler was pretty old and would need to be replaced one of these years. Before that could be done, we would need to have the asbestos insulation removed from the steam pipes in the cellar, because the installers weren’t allowed to make connections to asbestos-insulated pipes. So we’ve been thinking about getting that cleaned up.
A couple of months ago Arlene got the name of an asbestos removal contractor from the gas company, phoned them, got an estimate, and made an appointment. We spent most of our evenings for the last week cleaning up the cellar so the contractors could get to the pipes without danger to our stamp inventory and materials. Finally the day was here, yesterday. They were due at 7 AM. We set the alarm for 5:45 and were ready. The truck was outside our house at 6:45 and they got going.
The abatement people (it was a three-man crew) brought a four-foot-long carton to the cellar with a roll of plastic sheet with rubber gloves attached every three or four feet. The plastic goes around the pipes, gets taped together to form a bag around the pipe, is sealed at the end, and the disposal workers work with the rubber gloves so the hazardous material is always enclosed in the bag. They wet it down so there’s no dust produced. Here’s the boss. He takes this work pretty seriously. Even with the wet glove bag, he’s in hazmat coveralls.
A closer look at a wet glove bag:
… and here are our lovely asbestos-free pipes after they spray-painted them with aluminum paint for at least minimum insulation:
… and the shelving unit ready for us to clear off and put stamp stuff back on:
