Environmental Consulting
Asbestos
Morse Zehnter Associates personnel have been involved in the specialized area of asbestos evaluation and control since the 1970s. MZA professionals hold accreditations in asbestos inspection, management planning, and abatement design. Recognized as experts in the field, MZA has authored publications on asbestos control in buildings that have become industry standards for this type of work.
MZA professionals have surveyed hundreds of buildings with asbestos-containing materials, and then evaluated and developed control programs for these materials. MZA's asbestos consulting services cover a variety of applications, including the following:
- AHERA
- Abatement design
- Abatement project management
- Phase contrast microscopy (PCM)
- Pre-demolition assessment and compliance
- Pre-renovation assessment and compliance
- Roof inspections
- Asbestos product identification
- Due diligence surveys
- Dust, air, and bulk sampling
Once an asbestos abatement project has been initiated, MZA works with the building owner/facility manager to select qualified asbestos abatement firms. Having selected a contractor, MZA assists the owner in several areas, including the following:
- Write up a work authorization for the contractor
- Execute the NESHAP notification
- Coordinate access to the site
- Monitor contractor activities
- Verify all quantities and any Time & Material expenses
- Verify worker training and medical clearance
- Serve as liaison with the local NESHAP inspector
- Conduct daily air sampling and on-site air sample analysis
- Provide a final visual inspection
- Conduct TEM or PCM final air clearance
- Provide a comprehensive final report to the owner, with copies of all certificates, air sample reports, and waste shipment records
Pre-demolition surveys identify ACMs in structures scheduled for demolition. The inspections are intrusive and destructive. Materials identified as containing asbestos are segregated into friable, potentially friable, and non-friable materials under the National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) regulation. The owner is presented with various options depending on the type, quantity, and condition of materials identified.
Pre-renovation surveys identify asbestos-containing materials in structures scheduled for renovation without removal of load-bearing structures. The surveys are generally limited to the scope of the renovation and may not include the complete structure. In contrast to pre-demolition surveys, MZA must consider any material containing even trace amounts of asbestos as regulated under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Construction Standard. The owner is presented with various options depending on the type, quantity, and condition of materials identified.
MZA conducts Due Diligence surveys to assist owners of buildings built before 1980, who have an obligation under the OSHA Construction Standard to identify thermal system insulation or surfacing materials in their buildings and either have them sampled or assume they contain asbestos. This type of survey provides building owners with information regarding the type, quantity, and condition of identified asbestos-containing materials in their building for the purpose of preventing exposure to building occupants and outside contractor personnel.
Identifying asbestos-containing materials in roofing presents unique challenges for asbestos inspectors; access is difficult and sample locations must be weatherproofed following the collection of samples. MZA has the equipment and experience to perform roofing surveys and protect the integrity of the roof membrane pending renovation. MZA roofing reports provide a breakdown of all layers of roofing and also identify exterior architectural and mechanical systems that may contain asbestos.
Roger Morse AIA, Founder and President of the firm, is the principal author of the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) "Asbestos Abatement and Management in Buildings, Model Guide Specification." This document sets forth generally recognized work practices for removal of asbestos-containing materials and has become a standard for this type of work.
Mr. Morse also served as the representative of the architectural community to the committee that developed the AHERA regulation through the process of regulatory negotiation (RegNeg). He represented the AIA on the EPA committee which developed the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) regulation. He was on the EPA Peer Review Committee for AHERA Inspector/Management Planner Certification course. In addition to teaching EPA asbestos classes, he wrote the section "Surveying for Asbestos" for the EPA course training manual.
Much of MZA's asbestos-related work is also related to building forensics. As part of numerous asbestos evaluation projects, MZA has performed feasibility analysis involving detailed analysis of cost estimates and project schedules. Examples of services that MZA has provided include the following:
- Development of costs and analysis of the construction sequence, duration, and carrying costs in order to evaluate the cost benefit of different construction schemes or material choices, such as the evaluation of alternative fire protection schemes (spray fireproofing, concrete encasement, drywall enclosure, cast in place concrete) for high-rise office buildings.
- Life cycle cost analysis as part of cost optimization studies for issues such as upgrades to insulation or equipment that affect energy costs during operation, or material quality that affects maintenance costs and replacement schedules.
- Analysis of project cost documentation to determine the incremental increase in renovation project costs due to environmental remediation.
- Retrospective development of project schedules from documentation such as payment applications, schedules of values, project meetings, and historic and public documents.
- Retrospective development of unit costs to calculate construction costs at a point in the past, e.g., determination of asbestos removal costs in the World Trade Center towers, had this work been performed in 1971 when asbestos first became an issue on the project.
- Development of cost models applying historical data, national unit costs, and geographical adjustments to determine cost trends or overall costs for a building type or family of types.
- Research of historic records and other documentation to develop models to determine the number of buildings affected by a specific building material.
- Design of environmental remediation and demolition methods, and estimation of costs and schedules for remediation and demolition in complex situations such as that of a high-rise building damaged by the collapse of World Trade Tower 2.
Clients have relied on MZA's expertise in situations involving property damage, product liability, and personal exposure. MZA's expertise in architecture, building science, and construction are available to address these complex environmental issues.
MZA's forensic investigations have often led to the investigation of other material properties, composition and material failures. For example, as part of a project involving the application of asbestos-containing fireproofing, MZA analyzed a bonding adhesive used to adhere spray-applied fireproofing to building structures.