AHERA Project Designer key terms

Any material or product that contains more than one percent asbestos by weight, as determined using polarized light microscopy or an equivalent method accepted under the applicable regulation.

Nonfriable asbestos-containing material that is unlikely to become friable when disturbed, such as packings, gaskets, resilient floor coverings, and asphalt roofing products that are not friable.

Any nonfriable asbestos-containing material that is not Category I, such as cementitious siding, transite pipe, and asphalt roofing that may become friable under demolition or severe handling.

Describes material that can be crumbled, pulverized, or reduced to powder by hand pressure when dry, and therefore readily releases airborne fibers during disturbance.

Material assumed to contain asbestos because it has not been sampled or because sampling results are unavailable, and which must be treated as asbestos-containing until proven otherwise.

A physical portion of a suspect material collected and analyzed in a laboratory to determine asbestos content, typically by polarized light microscopy with gravimetric or point-counting methods.

A laboratory technique that identifies asbestos minerals in bulk samples by their optical properties, including refractive index, birefringence, and extinction behavior under polarized light.

A quantitative microscopic method in which a trained analyst counts asbestos and non-asbestos particles on a prepared slide to estimate the percentage of asbestos in a bulk sample.

A surface area of material that is uniform in color and texture, so that a single set of representative samples can characterize the asbestos content of the entire area.

A regulatory classification covering friable asbestos material, Category I and II nonfriable material that has become friable, and nonfriable material that will be disturbed in a way that crushes or pulverizes it.

Federal Clean Air Act regulations that set work practice and emission control requirements for asbestos handling, including notification, wetting, packaging, and disposal obligations.

The Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act, a federal law requiring inspection, management planning, and response actions for asbestos in schools, and establishing accreditation for asbestos professionals.

A person who has completed required training and passed an examination, and who is responsible for designing asbestos response actions and preparing the specifications and drawings for a project.

A written document prepared for a school or facility that describes the location and condition of asbestos-containing material and the response actions planned to manage it over time.

An ongoing program of work practices, training, and cleaning designed to prevent disturbance of asbestos-containing material that remains in place and to minimize fiber release during routine activities.

A response action that removes, encapsulates, or encloses asbestos-containing material, or that prepares damaged material for disposal, in order to prevent fiber release.

An abatement method in which asbestos-containing material is physically taken out of a building or structure and disposed of as regulated waste.

An abatement method in which a sealant is applied to the surface of asbestos-containing material to bind the fibers and prevent their release, without removing the material.

An abatement method in which a permanent airtight barrier is built around asbestos-containing material to isolate it from occupied space, leaving the material in place.

A sealed plastic bag with built-in gloves and access ports that lets a worker remove small amounts of asbestos-containing material while keeping hands isolated from the work area.

A containment built around a work area and kept under lower air pressure than surrounding spaces, so that air flows inward and any released fibers are captured by filtration.

A high-efficiency particulate air filter rated to remove at least 99.97 percent of airborne particles of 0.3 micrometers in diameter, used on vacuums and ventilation units in abatement work.

The practice of soaking asbestos-containing material with water or a wetting agent before and during disturbance to suppress dust and reduce airborne fiber release.

The emission of asbestos fibers into the air when material is disturbed, damaged, cut, sanded, or otherwise physically broken apart.

A written document that defines the scope, methods, materials, sequence, and quality requirements of an asbestos abatement project, and forms part of the contract documents.

The portion of project documents that describes exactly what work is to be performed, including quantities, locations, and boundaries of the abatement area.

A meeting held before bids are submitted at which the project designer explains the scope and specifications and answers contractor questions so that bids are based on a common understanding.

A written employer program covering respirator selection, fit testing, medical evaluation, training, and maintenance requirements for workers who may be exposed to airborne asbestos.

A qualitative or quantitative test that checks whether a tight-fitting respirator seals properly against a worker's face before the respirator is used.

The legally enforceable maximum airborne concentration of asbestos to which a worker may be exposed, averaged over a specified time period.

A short-term ceiling on airborne asbestos concentration that must not be exceeded over a brief sampling period, regardless of the longer-term average exposure.

The collection and laboratory analysis of air samples to measure airborne asbestos fiber concentrations during abatement, after completion, or in occupied areas.

A rapid, low-cost laboratory method that counts all fibers in an air sample regardless of mineral type, and is the standard method for most abatement air monitoring.

A high-resolution laboratory method that identifies and counts asbestos fibers specifically by their structure and elemental composition, used for definitive clearance and verification sampling.

The formal determination, based on visual inspection and satisfactory air sampling results, that a containment area is clean enough to be released for reoccupancy or further work.

A document that tracks regulated asbestos waste from the generation site to the disposal facility, confirming proper transport and disposal and retained as a project record.

A documented record of who collected, handled, and transported a sample at each step, used to show that samples and results are reliable and unaltered.

The organized retention of documents such as inspection reports, specifications, air monitoring data, waste records, and clearance results to demonstrate compliance after a project ends.