Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
chapter two
Inorganic contaminants:
asbestos/radon/lead
Inorganic substances such as asbestos, radon, and lead are major indoor
contaminants. Though very different, they have in common a mineral or
inorganic nature. Exposures may pose significant health risks.
Lead is of concern because it is a common surface contaminant of indoor
spaces, and contact with lead-contaminated building dust is the primary
cause of elevated blood levels in children under the age of six.
I. Asbestos
Potential airborne asbestos fiber exposures in building environments and
associated public health risks were brought to the nation's (United States)
attention in the late 1970s by both public interest groups and governmental
authorities. This attention was a logical extension of exposure concerns asso-
ciated with the promulgation of a national emission standard for asbestos
as a hazardous pollutant (NESHAP) by the United States Environmental
Protection Agency (USEPA) in 1973. The asbestos NESHAP banned appli-
cation of spray-applied asbestos-containing fireproofing in building con-
struction; there was a subsequent ban of other friable asbestos-containing
building products in 1978. Under NESHAP provisions, friable (crushed by
hand) asbestos-containing building materials (ACBM) must be removed
prior to building demolition or renovation. Such removal must be conducted
in accordance with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
requirements to protect construction workers removing asbestos, as well as
building occupants. As a consequence of these regulatory actions, asbestos
in buildings, particularly in schools, became a major indoor air quality (IAQ)
and public health concern.
