I know that asbestos is a hazardous product. We've decided to remove our popcorn ceilings as they tested positive for the presence of asbestos. Are there some legal requirements to remove asbestos?

Popcorn ceilings, whether residential or commercial, that have been determined to contain asbestos may require a state-certified professional asbestos contractor for removal.

Contact the EPA, the State Environmental Protection Agency, your state's Labor and Industries office, and the air quality governing body in your area to learn their requirements. Be sure to speak with your local building department as they may also require permits.

A good place to begin is to go to www.epa.gov and click on "Where You Live" on their tool bar. Once you reach this page, click on the links to EPA Regional Offices. Each EPA Regional Office is responsible for the execution of the Agency's programs within its region. Select a region by clicking within the area of the map covered by the region, use the links located below the map to go directly to a region, or click on State Environmental Agencies. Links to some local government environmental offices are also included.

If you are considering a home improvement project and asbestos is—or may be—a factor, e.g., removing a popcorn ceiling, I encourage you to read all the Q&As here carefully, check out all the links to read what others have to offer, and consult your local/regional/state air quality and building authorities about the applicable regulations before you begin the project.

Asbestos abatement has stringent requirements. When you finish your research, you may decide to turn it over to the pros, something I heartily recommend.

I've been in the construction field for over 25 years and wish I'd known then what I know now about asbestos. I would not have tackled a lot of projects because of the asbestos content of certain building products.

To get the whole picture, I recommend that you purchase my informative article, Asbestos In Popcorn Ceilings, which describes how to determine if asbestos is present and the steps a professional takes to decide if removal is the correct course of action. These same steps apply to homeowners facing the same decisions.

Included are links to government and state agencies where you can get more information on the subject, locate state-certified professional asbestos contractors for removal, and find other documents that address removing the asbestos yourself.

As an added bonus, Patching a Popcorn Ceiling has been added to Asbestos In Popcorn Ceilings to help those who need to make repairs to their ceilings. The process is about the same whether the ceiling contains asbestos or not; however, for your own peace of mind, you still need to determine if your ceiling contains asbestos, and the article describes procedures to follow to safely take a sample for testing.

Don't forget—before starting this project get your informative 10-page PDF article titled Asbestos In Popcorn Ceilings and Patching a Popcorn Ceiling. To order your downloadable .pdf printable copy, click here or click the purchase button to the left!

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C.R.S., Inc. · Spokane, Washington · USA