Safety procedures in place for asbestos abatement at JCC

To those of us who don’t sport a hard hat daily, just hearing the word “asbestos” can send our heart rates up a bit.

Andy Gamache, of D.F. Pray General Contractors, of Seekonk, Massachusetts, and John Hem, of Acme Abatement Contractors, of Seekonk, are both part of the team working on the renovation at the Dwares Jewish Community Center, in Providence. They agreed to share some of the asbestos-abatement process to give peace of mind to those who use the JCC.

On the first floor of the building, says Gamache, asbestos is primarily located in the floor adhesive. On the second floor, it is in the old insulation fibers. The areas containing asbestos will be sealed off, airtight, and non-authorized personnel will not be allowed in.

In the working area, a vacuum-like contraption called a negative air machine will suck the air in through a filter every two hours. Hem, who says he receives questions about asbestos all the time, explained that this is a regulation that his team is required to follow.

He said there are “clean” and “dirty” rooms where workers are required to rinse off before exiting the work area, and air pressure is monitored to ensure clean air outside the work area. The moment the measuring instrument, called a manometer, starts beeping, the team is no longer permitted to continue their work.

At the end of all this, the asbestos-containing material is disposed of in a pre-approved facility – “we obviously can’t just dump it in a landfill,” says Hem – and a report is submitted to the state.

ARIEL BROTHMAN is a freelance writer who lives in Wrentham, Massachusetts.