Managing Asbestos Liability
The Texas Asbestos Health Protection Rules, implemented on October 26, 1992 amended September 22, 1994, has increased the responsibility and liability for asbestos containing building materials to building owners. This liability is for any buildings that are "subject to public occupancy, or to which the general public has access" and states that "The owner retains the primary responsibility for the presence, condition, disturbance, renovation, demolition, and disposal of any asbestos." In addition, the Rules stipulate that prior to any renovation or demolition, the building must be inspected for the presence of asbestos by a licensed asbestos inspector and except in cases where only limited amounts of asbestos is present, the removal project for the asbestos must be designed by a licensed asbestos consultant. Astex Environmental Services, Inc. a licensed asbestos consulting agency with all associated personnel being fully accredited and licensed in various disciplines: asbestos inspections, abatement project managers, project designers, and air monitors, by the State of Texas under the 1994 Texas Asbestos Health Protection Act, (Texas Civil Statues, Article 4477-3a).

INSPECTIONS: A review of available building specifications, blueprints, as-built surveys, etc. to determine if suspect materials had been called for; full physical inspection of all areas of a building including tenant areas, mechanical areas, roof systems, common or public areas, etc.; identify suspect materials and take an adequate number of bulk material samples in order to obtain definitive results in determining the presence or absence of ACBM, asbestos containing building materials; quantify the suspect materials and record the condition of same; identify damaged areas of concern; review and evaluate the results of sample analysis from an independent laboratory and fully incorporate all of the above in a clear, concise, easy to understand report with costs and recommendations.

MANAGEMENT: If positive asbestos containing materials are identified (either by us or other consultants), We are available to prepare a comprehensive Operations and Maintenance Plan (O&M) for the management of the material in place to include the necessary maintenance personnel training. Additionally, we are available to perform routine O&M re-inspections.

ASBESTOS ABATEMENT: If the asbestos is to be removed or repaired, we are available and licensed to write abatement specifications, prepare bid documents and work, on the client's behalf, in obtaining competitive bids from licensed abatement contractors for the removal of the material. We have the expertise and personnel to supervise the abatement project from initial notification to regulatory agencies to the transport and burial of the contaminated material in an approved landfill. We are a state licensed laboratory for analysis of asbestos air samples and adheres to the American Industrial Hygiene Association's (AIHA) quality assurance/quality control program.
Since 1989
In 1989, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) imposed a ban on the manufacturing and use of almost all asbestos-containing materials within the United States. In 1991, a federal circuit court remanded parts of the ban allowing continued manufacturing and use of certain asbestos-containing products in the U.S. USEPA provides a summary discussion of the asbestos ban and phase-outs in effect at the following link:
http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/asbestos/pubs/ban.html.

Asbestos Containing Materials
Note: The following list does not include every product/material that may contain asbestos. It is intended as a general guide to show which types of materials may contain asbestos.