Opal Group Inc.
Universal Waste and Asbestos Removal
Georgia-Pacific Gypsum Corporation
Florence, CO
Opal provided waste removal services for a defunct Georgia-Pacific Gypsum Corporation wallboard plant in Florence, Colorado. The work consisted of:
- removal and destruction of personnel records containing information that would be susceptible to identity theft other remaining plant paper records and drawings that could create a fire hazard,
- identification and legal disposal of residual laboratory chemicals and chemical products within the plant, and
- removal and legal disposal of exposed pipe insulation on about 225 lineal feet of exterior water supply lines that was found to contain friable asbestos. The above-ground portions of the pipes were insulated and jacketed.
A prior hazardous materials survey identified the presence of friable asbestos within the lower 30-foot section of the middle pipe and along the entire length of the northernmost water line. Work was performed in accordance with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s (CDPHE’s) Regulation No. 8 Control of Hazardous Air Pollutants 5CCR 1001-10. The project was particularly complex because the water lines were located on steep slopes adjacent to the main plant building. A variance was issued by the CDPHE approving an alternate procedure for asbestos removal, rather than typically encapsulating the pipes on the steep slope in negative-pressure tents. The alternate procedure included continuous plastic wrap sealing of the asbestos covered pipes, removal and end-sealing of an approximate two-foot long section of asbestos at approximate 18 to 20-foot long intervals on each line using glove bags and smoke testing to ensure a tight seal, torch cutting of the pipe sections, and crane removal of the sealed pipe sections into double-lined containers for off-site disposal at an approved facility. During the asbestos abatement, asbestos materials that were found below the pipes from previous insulation removal activities were collected along with surrounding soils, bagged and disposed as friable asbestos materials along with the pipe sections.
Services/Disciplines/Materials: Asbestos, Universal Waste
