The Duplex, the Floor Tile, and the Transfer Station
Ray owns a duplex in Bangor. He lives in the first-floor unit and rents the second floor to a tenant. Both kitchens have 600 square feet of 9-inch-by-9-inch floor tile over black mastic. A lab report from a sample of the tile says 15% chrysotile; the mastic was not sampled. Ray wants to save money by removing the tile himself. He plans to strike each tile with a hammer and chisel, sweep up the pieces, put them in 3-mil kitchen bags, and drive them to the town transfer station in the bed of his pickup. He will not remove the mastic; he plans to pour self-leveling compound over it. One bag tears on the tailgate. The tenant is away for the week. Ray asks whether his owner-occupied status exempts him, whether the mastic matters, and whether the transfer station must take the bags.
1. Does Ray's owner-occupied status exempt this work? Explain the exemption and its limits.
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The owner-occupied exemption is narrower than Ray thinks. NESHAP exempts owner-occupied single-family residences from its notification and work-practice requirements, but a duplex with a rented unit is not a single-family owner-occupied residence for the rental unit. The rented unit is a residential building subject to NESHAP, and Maine's rules and OSHA worker protections still apply to the work. Ray's own unit may qualify for the residential exemption, but the shared building and the tenant's unit complicate that. Even in an exempt owner-occupied unit, Ray is not exempt from Maine's licensing requirements if the project is an abatement project above the small-scale threshold, and he still must protect himself and dispose of waste properly.
2. Does the mastic matter, and what is wrong with Ray's removal method?
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The mastic matters. The tile is category I nonfriable and tests 15% chrysotile. If Ray chips and breaks the tile, he converts it to regulated asbestos waste and creates dust. The mastic was not sampled; black mastic in that era often contains asbestos, and pouring self-leveling compound over it does not remove the obligation to know. If the mastic is disturbed by grinding or scraping, it must be sampled and handled as ACM if positive. The correct approach is to remove tile intact - for example, with a less destructive method - wet it, and avoid breaking; if the mastic must be removed, sample it first and use wet methods.
3. How should the waste be packaged, transported, and disposed of, and what should Ray do about the torn bag?
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The waste handling is deficient. Three-mil kitchen bags are not adequate; asbestos waste should be wetted and sealed in leak-tight, labeled containers, typically 6-mil bags or drums, with the required asbestos warning label and generator information. The torn bag on the tailgate is a release; Ray should stop, don PPE, wet and clean the area, and repackage. Transport in an open pickup bed is not acceptable; the waste must be secured and covered. The town transfer station is not obligated to accept asbestos waste unless it is permitted to do so. Ray should confirm with Maine DEP and the disposal facility; asbestos waste typically goes to a permitted landfill with a waste shipment record. The tenant should not return until the area is clean.