Asbestos Removal and Demolition

In West Virginia, the Division of Air Quality is the agency which enforces the federal Asbestos NESHAP rule (40 CFR 61 Subpart M). Since asbestos is recognized as a hazardous substance linked to asbestosis, mesothelioma and lung cancer, EPA promulgated the Asbestos NESHAP rule to control emission of asbestos fibers to the ambient air. This rule has specific requirements which apply to renovation and demolition activities at affected "facilities." As applied to the rule, a facility is any institutional, commercial, public, industrial or residential structure, installation or building.

All Notifications of Abatement, Demolition or Renovation to the Division of Air Quality and the Department of Health and Human Resources must be submitted through DEP's Electronic Submission System (ESS). Once you have obtained an account, you may begin submitting notifications. You do not need a separate account to submit notifications to the Department of Health and Human Resources.

Notices must be received at least 10 working days (Monday through Friday) prior to project startup. Failure to do so may result in your notification being rejected or placed on hold until the deficiencies are corrected.

The general requirements of the Asbestos NESHAP as applied to the standard for demolition and renovation operations are:

1. Prior to any demolition or renovation activity, a thorough inspection of the facility or affected part must be conducted to identify and quantify any asbestos containing materials (ACM).[def.] 40CFR61
2. For any renovations involving reportable amounts of regulated asbestos containing materials (RACM), a notice must be received by the DAQ at least 10 working days (Monday through Friday) prior to disturbing RACM. For demolition, a notice must be received by the DAQ at least 10 working days (Monday through Friday) prior to the demolition, whether asbestos was present or not. All RACM must be properly removed from the structure prior to demolition. Reportable amounts of RACM are at least 260 linear feet of pipes, or 160 square feet on other facility components or 35 cubic feet where the material could not be measured before stripping. There are provisions eliminating the prior notice for certain emergency renovations or demolitions. Contact the DAQ by phone for more information.
3. All RACM must be carefully removed, handled and disposed of. All RACM must be adequately wetted prior to removal and maintained adequately wet until sealed in leak tight containers or wrappings for disposal.
4. After sealing ACM waste in leak tight containers or wrappings, with proper warning labels, the waste must be transported to an approved asbestos disposal site.

If you have questions about the notification process or the regulations associated with the Asbestos NESHAP, please do not hesitate to contact the Division of Air Quality.

Note: Bureau for Public Health, Environmental Health Services ((304) 558-2981) has related rules which require that persons conducting these building inspections and/or removing or handling ACM be properly trained and licensed.

Dawn Jones
West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection
Division of Water and Waste Management
601 57th Street, SE
Charleston, WV 25304
Phone: (304) 926-0499 x43854
Email: Dawn.Y.Jones@wv.gov

Rich Ponak, Asbestos Program Coordinator
U.S. EPA Region 3
Pesticides/Asbestos Program and Enforcement Branch 3LC62
1650 Arch Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103-2029
Phone: (215) 814-2029
Email: Ponak.Rich@epa.gov

• Electronic Submission System (ESS)
• Approved Asbestos Disposal Sites
• West Virginia Office of Environmental Health Services

• Information Brochure on Asbestos
• Instructions for Submitting a Notification of Abatement, Demolition or Renovation Form
• Asbestos Reports

Notifications from 2013 to present are available via DEP's electronic document management system. If you would like to view files, please go to Asbestos Reports in the resources section to access our database. When you open the database to login, enter DEP as the user and DEP as the password (ALL CAPS). Once on the site, click on ASBESTOS and you may search by any of the parameters listed.