The Summer Wing: Splitting Phases and a Late Postmark
A Missouri school district plans to renovate a 1962 classroom wing during summer break. The accredited inspector's survey reports 240 linear feet of friable pipe insulation in the gym corridor, 150 square feet of 9-inch vinyl floor tile with black mastic in the cafeteria, and 20 square feet of boiler gasket material. The district's plan is one project in two phases: pipes in June, tile and gaskets in August. The abatement contractor argues that no notification is needed because 240 is below 260 linear feet and 150 is below 160 square feet. The contractor mails the MoDNR notification form on a Friday, postmarked 8 working days before the Monday Phase 1 start. On the second day of Phase 1, a worker finds 200 square feet of textured ceiling coating (7% chrysotile) above the corridor that was not in the survey.
1. Does this project require notification to MoDNR? Work through the thresholds and any aggregation issues.
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The question turns on which materials are RACM and how they add up. The three thresholds in 40 CFR 61.145(a) (adopted in Missouri's 10 CSR 10-6.250) are separate: 260 linear feet on pipes, 160 square feet on other facility components, 35 cubic feet where length or area cannot be measured.
- Pipe insulation: 240 lf - under 260; no trigger on its own.
- Other facility components: floor tile (150 sf) plus boiler gasket (20 sf) = 170 sf if both are RACM - over 160, so notification is required.
The "if" is the crux. Nine-inch vinyl tile is Category I nonfriable. It counts toward the threshold only if it is already friable, will become friable during removal (grinding, sanding, high-speed scouring), or has a high probability of becoming friable. Tile popped intact with a hand scraper and mastic softened with solvent would not count; tile ground off with a scarifier would. The removal method decides the count, so the contractor cannot assume the low number.
Splitting one planned renovation into June and August phases does not reset the thresholds. Treat the wing as one project, notify once, and list both phases, amounts, and start dates.
2. The form was postmarked 8 working days before the Monday start. Can Phase 1 begin on Monday?
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No. 40 CFR 61.145(b)(1) requires the notification to be postmarked or delivered at least 10 working days before asbestos removal, or before any activity that disturbs ACM. "Working day" means Monday through Friday, and holidays that fall on a weekday still count as working days - do not add them as free days.
Postmarked at 8 working days means the owner is 2 working days short. Phase 1 cannot begin Monday; the earliest legal start is the date 10 working days after the postmark, two working days later than planned. Re-mailing a corrected form does not erase the first postmark - the 10-day clock restarts from the new one.
Handling: move the start date rather than improvising. The notification is a certification, and an early start is a stand-alone violation even if the abatement itself is done perfectly. There is no routine state waiver for schedule pressure; the narrow federal emergency provisions do not cover a contractor who mailed late. Amend the form with the new dates and keep the postmark receipt in the project file.
3. What must happen before the newly found 200 square feet of textured ceiling coating is disturbed?
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Treat it as newly discovered RACM, not a field change.
- Stop work in the affected corridor. That area is not in the containment design, and the project total just moved from 170 sf to 370 sf on other facility components.
- Amend the notification to MoDNR as soon as possible and before disturbing the new material. Add the amount, location, work practices, and a start date at least 10 working days after the amendment is postmarked or delivered. Expect the corridor cannot be stripped on the original schedule.
- Have the accredited project designer or supervisor revise containment, decontamination, and worker protection for a friable surfacing material - the original room containment may not be adequate for ceiling work overhead.
- Notify the building owner and document with photos and the inspector's written confirmation.
Anyone who already disturbed the material needs the exposure assessment and medical surveillance review that goes with a potential overexposure.