Public Health Forms For Asbestos Removal / Abatement

Since the toxicity of asbestos has been acknowledged by federal and state governments, there have been efforts toward tighter regulations over the way it is handled. Public health forms – which are actually notifications to the state, county and/or municipal government of one’s intentions to undertake a project involving asbestos – are generally required only if one is demolishing a building, planning on extensive renovations of a public or commercial building, or starting  a project that can potentially produce a large amount of friable (crumbling) asbestos.

The type of forms that are required vary from one state to another, but in general, are requests for information on issues such as how large the job will be, when it will start, who is responsible for overseeing the job, how long it will take, and how much asbestos waste will be generated.

These forms are not usually required for the removal of asbestos from a privately-owned single family dwelling unless the job is being done by a licensed professional – and in this case, the abatement company will assume responsibility for seeing that such forms are filled out correctly and turned in on time.

Such notification forms also require the payment of some kind of fee. This too can vary considerably, even within one jurisdiction. For example, in the state of Colorado, permit fees for asbestos work performed on a single-family residence by anyone other than the owner range from nothing to as much as $825.00, depending on amount of friable asbestos involved and the timetable of the project.  In addition, failure to adhere to all asbestos regulations can result in fines and project delays.

Different Forms

Colorado has asbestos regulations that are more stringent than many other states; however, most states have similar filing requirements, and at least on the state level, regulations regarding asbestos are likely to become even stricter in the future.

The basic asbestos abatement form asks for the name of the individual or company contracted to do the actual abatement work, the name and location of the work site, where asbestos waste will eventually be disposed of, the owner of the building and the name and contact information of the project manager. In addition, this form asks for the project schedule, amount of asbestos to be removed (in square feet), and the days of operation, and whether or not it is an "emergency" operation.

This last point is important. Often, some filing and reporting requirements will be deferred if the project constitutes an emergency situation; for example, many states require that such forms be filled out anywhere from ten to fourteen days prior to starting work. If the situation is an emergency, the work may be allowed to start much sooner.

In addition to the information outlined above, such forms usually ask for a detailed description of the procedures to be undertaken. If these procedures are not "by the book," the contractor may be required to submit a "variance request form" in order to explain why alternative procedures may be necessary and how they differ from standard procedures.

Finally, there is the compliance checklist form; this is where the contractor provides the details of the project, including permit number, names of all workers involved, and specific areas from which asbestos is to be removed.

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