In-House Maintenance Crew Removing Pipe Insulation and Ceiling Tile
A property management company owns a 1979 office building and wants to remove 150 linear feet of pipe insulation and 300 square feet of ceiling tile from a vacant suite. The building has not had an asbestos inspection. The company has no asbestos abatement contractor license. To save money, it plans to use two in-house maintenance employees over a weekend. One employee took a 2-day asbestos maintenance course last year; the other has no asbestos training. The company intends to bag the debris and put it in the building's ordinary dumpster. The suite is scheduled to reopen Monday. The owner asks whether the in-house crew can do the work if they wear respirators and keep the doors closed.
1. Is the property management company required to hold a New Mexico asbestos abatement contractor license for this work? Why or why not?
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Yes, as described. Removing 150 linear feet of pipe insulation and 300 square feet of ceiling tile from a 1979 commercial office building is regulated asbestos abatement, not routine maintenance. The single-family owner-occupied exemption does not apply to a commercial building. The company would be contracting to remove regulated asbestos-containing material and must hold an active NM abatement contractor license. Using in-house employees does not avoid the license; the company is still acting as the abatement contractor. It also must file notification and use certified workers and a certified supervisor. If a certified inspector first confirmed the materials are non-asbestos, the analysis would change, but no such determination is stated.
2. Can the maintenance employee who took a 2-day course serve as the worker or supervisor? What certification and supervision are required?
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The 2-day course is likely awareness or maintenance training, not the full initial worker course under the EPA model, which is typically 4 days for workers and 5 days for supervisors. Even if it were worker training, he would need current NM worker certification, and the project would need a NM-certified supervisor on site. A worker cannot supervise. The company should use NM-certified workers and a NM-certified supervisor; if the employee pursues certification, he must complete approved initial training, apply to NMED, and receive the card before abatement. The supervisor must be present during abatement and have authority to stop work. Weekend scheduling does not change certification requirements.
3. What notification, work-practice, and waste-handling steps must be in place before the weekend removal?
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File the required asbestos notification at least 10 working days before start; a weekend does not shorten the clock unless a true emergency exists, and planned maintenance is not an emergency. Establish containment, negative pressure, and decontamination; use wet methods and HEPA vacuums; no dry sweeping or visible emissions. Package waste in leak-tight containers labeled as asbestos and send it to an approved landfill; do not put it in an ordinary dumpster. Arrange any required air monitoring and clearance independent of the abatement contractor. Keep records including notification, certifications, training, medical surveillance, and waste manifests. Starting over the weekend without these is a compliance risk and may trigger a stop-work order.