Alternative Asbestos Control Method

Project Description for the Alternative Asbestos Control Method Demonstration Project #3 at Oak Hollow Apartments, Fort Worth, Texas

Fort Worth has been identified as the third demonstration location of the Alternative Asbestos Control Method, a potential alternative to current National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for demolition of buildings containing asbestos. The site is 5901 Boca Raton Boulevard, in the east corner of Fort Worth, Texas. This location is in a long standing residential area next to the Woodhaven Country Club and surrounded by a number of well established apartments and duplexes. This area has been the focus of the City of Fort Worth for redevelopment efforts.

The third demolition test will occur on a weekday to minimize potential public exposure to those living in the neighborhood. No schools exist within a ½ mile radius of the building site for demolition. The area will be secured during the time of demolition. The building has a clearance of approximately 300 feet from the nearest occupied site. The 2200 square-foot building is two stories high and surrounded by soil on the back side and pavement on the front side.

The Environmental Protection Agency plans to perform a controlled demonstration to provide additional data for the Agency to determine the equivalency of the Alternative Asbestos Control Method to the NESHAP method. This asbestos-containing material on this building consists of about 2000 sq ft of asbestos popcorn ceiling, tile and wallboard materials that contain 2 to 5 percent chrysotile asbestos. 

The asbestos-containing materials for the first test were positive wallboard systems and vinyl asbestos tile and the second test were positive for transite siding, which included commercial grade panels as well. Data indicate that the first test was promising and improvements in the protocol were factored into the second test. We are now evaluating the data from the second demolition conducted in July 2007. Initial results from the second test are also encouraging.

As stated in the pilot demonstration, the alternative method, if successful, will potentially accelerate the demolition of many abandoned buildings around the nation that remain standing, currently presenting a variety of serious risks to nearby residents. Using the Alternative Asbestos Control Method, these former blighted areas would be available for redevelopment, potentially creating new jobs and tax revenue for communities across the country.

As described in the initial project description, the Alternative Asbestos Control Method requires removal of certain friable asbestos-containing materials before demolition, but leaves some asbestos containing materials (primarily wall systems and vinyl asbestos tile) in place. Friable means the material can be crumbled or reduced to powder by hand pressure when it is dry. The friable asbestos-containing materials (for example, pipe wrap) be removed by the AACM following the requirements of the Asbestos NESHAP and are disposed of properly as asbestos-containing wastes.

The demonstration will include extensive environmental monitoring and will allow for on-site enforcement officials from the State and from EPA to stop work if needed.

A technical team of EPA scientists and engineers is assembled to review and further refine the demonstration protocols as necessary. A site-specific Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) was developed. EPA’s Office of Research and Development in conjunction with Region 6 is conducting the study.

Like the first and second demonstrations, this project will be carried out as a joint effort with state and local government and regulatory authorities. In this case, the City of Fort Worth, the Texas Department of State Health Services, and EPA will all be involved. Public involvement is an important component for the project success; therefore, communication with the stakeholders is a prominent part of the project plan. Local residents involvement will be an integral part of the project plan.

Additional Site Information

Aerial view of project location (Large Scale 4.14mb) (Smaller Scale 127kb)

Photograph Gallery

Background Information

Quality Assurance Project Plan for the Alternative Asbestos Control Method demonstration project 3. (99 pages, 1.79mb)

Asbestos Remedial Action Project Plan for Demonstration pilot 3 - updated December 12, 2007. (24 pages, 262kb)

Asbestos Health and Safety Plan (77 pages, 1.8mb)

Q & A for the Alternative Asbestos Control Method

Alternate Asbestos Control Method Program

More than three years ago, EPA’s Office of Research and Development and Region 6 embarked on a project to evaluate an alternative method to speed up efforts to demolish abandoned, dilapidated buildings containing asbestos.

These buildings dot the landscape in communities nationwide. Communities, law enforcement and local government officials spend much time, energy and revenues addressing problems posed by these abandoned structures containing asbestos. Often these properties remain vacant for years and then collapse. During a two-year period, beginning in 2003, more than 166,000 asbestos-contaminated buildings were demolished or renovated nationwide. They were havens for crime, unsafe shelters for the homeless, magnets for children, and potential sources of harmful asbestos.  Read more ...>

AACM Project #2 - July 2007

AACM Project #1 - April 2006

Project 1 Peer Review Report Available

The Peer Review on the Comparison of the Alternative Asbestos Control Method and the NESHAP Method for the Demolition of Asbestos-Containing Buildings (PDF). (169 pp, 685KB, About PDF)

EPA Response to Comments: Report on the Workshop to Peer Review EPA's Draft Report: Comparison of the Alternative Asbestos Control Method and the NESHAP Method for Demolition of Asbestos-Containing Buildings in PDF (57pp, 342 KB)

The report reviewer summary remarks are in Section 9 of the AACM Peer Review Report (pages 73-76). These closing remarks reflect the final positions of the reviewers after two days of discourse on the topics. A smaller file has been created for people interested in these highlights (PDF). (4 pp, 38KB, About PDF)