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EVALUATION OF TWO CLEANING METHODS FOR THE REMOVAL OF ASBESTOS FIBERS FROM CARPETS
Citation:
Kominsky, J., R. Freyburg, J. Chesson, AND E. Chatfield. EVALUATION OF TWO CLEANING METHODS FOR THE REMOVAL OF ASBESTOS FIBERS FROM CARPETS. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/2-90/053 (NTIS 91-125740), 1990.
Description:
The effectiveness of dry-vacuuming and wet-cleaning for the removal of asbestos fibers from carpet was examined and the potential for fiber reentrainment during carpet cleaning activities was evaluated. Routine carpet cleaning operations were simulated by using high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filtered dry vacuum cleaners and HEPA-filtered hot-water extraction cleaners on carpet artificially contaminated with asbestos fibers. Overall, wet-cleaning with a hot-water extraction cleaner reduced the level of asbestos contamination in the carpet by approximately 70 percent. There was no significant evidence of either an increase or a decrease in carpet
asbestos concentration after dry-vacuuming. The level of asbestos contamination had no significant effect on the difference between the asbestos concentrations before and after cleaning. Airborne asbestos concentrations were two to four times greater during than before the carpet cleaning activities. Neither the level of asbestos contamination in the carpet nor the type of cleaning method used greatly affected the difference between the airborne asbestos concentration before and during cleaning.
This document was submitted in fulfillment of Contract No. 68-03-4006 by PEI Associates, Inc., for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Research and Development, Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory. This
report covers the period from January 1988 to September 1989, and work was completed as of September 30, 1989.