Document r6Qwd1K5RnqOV2mw33gdky9Xq

troweled onto surfaces. That is, containment barriers should be erected and the full range of worker protection devices must be employed Containment bags with sealed holes for hand access are aiier natives to full room or full work area containment. As shown in Figure 14, these bags are positioned around the pipe insulation to be removed and sealed to the pipe with tape. Armholes and an inside pouch for tools let the worker remove insulation without exposure to asbestos fibers. A sealed side port also can be constructed to allow access for wetting the asbestos and evacuating the bag with a HEPA-filtered vacuum. These bags are available commercially. Figure 14. Custom containment bags for repairing or removing pipe insulation. : To remove individual pipe sections or an entire network, small sections, about an inch wide, of insulation should be removed. The pipe then can be cut into manageable lengths with a torch. At a minimum, exposed ends of the insulating material should be sealed with plastic and tape. If the remaining insulation is not in good condition the entire pipe should be wrapped in 6 mil plastic. More information on pipe and pipe insulation removal will be provided in. a forthcoming technical bulletin. Disposal of insulation and lagging material must follow the same EPA procedures discussed earlier and in Chapter 9 and Appendix A, Part I of the initial EPA guidance (USEPA 1979) for asbestos waste. 3.4 The Decision-Making Process Selecting a course of action for controlling asbestos-containing materials is a complicated task. A large amount of complex information can be generated during the asbestos assessment process. Evaluating and applying this information to the control alternatives may be slow and difficult. Moreover, each building owner faces special circumstances involving building use and conditions. Attempts to develop a set of definitive decision rules with broad ' applicability are therefore of little value. However, using a systematic process for organizing and interpreting relevant information has proven to be of considerable value. This section outlines the key steps in such a process. Figure 15 presents a sequence of questions which can be used to organize information and guide decision:makers. Using the information available at each stage of an asbestos 3-24 r.'S.iV -V . 11 GLEASON-OO1104