Asbestos abatement is a critical process that offers many challenges to businesses, institutions, and professional contractors. Well-designed asbestos removal glove bags are equipped with a number of features designed to enhance productivity and protect workers. Following the standard operating procedures outlined below will enable workers to use glove bags efficiently and securely. Look for the following features when selecting asbestos removal glove bags:
- Pre-cut openings on top. These eliminate the time Consuming and cumbersome process of slitting the Ends and tape reinforcement prior to attaching the Glovebag.
- Fitted collars allow quick, secure attachment to pipes. Fitted collars speed up installation, strengthen attachment points and eliminate bunching that can trap debris.
- Look for glove bags constructed of clear, strong polyethylene, blended specifically for glove bags. The clearer the better… like the AVAIL™ glovebag.
- OSHA requires glovebag material to be a least 6 mil thick. All AVAIL™ glovebags are standard in 6 mil and available special order in 10 mil.
- Seamless bottoms are essential. The bottom of a glovebag Receives the most pressure. A bag with seams may break open under a heavy load. OSHA requires that glovebags be of seamless bottom construction.
- An airtight seal where the glove/sleeve assembly joins together. Sewn seams allows fibers to escape, increasing the risk of contamination.
- Entry ports that allow quick, fiber-tight attachment of the vacuum and water wand. Weight of debris doesn’t rest on workers’ arms.
To review, when selecting glovebags, look for: Pre-cut edges or tops; fitted collars; custom polyethylene construction; seamless bottoms; an airtight glove/sleeve assembly; fiber-tight entry ports and proper glove/sleeve position.
Once you have selected the proper glovebag, you must provide yourself with the equipment and supplies needed for glovebagging. Every worker at the asbestos abatement site should be equipped with the following personal protective gear.
- Disposable polypropylene coveralls with a built-in hood. Coveralls protect your clothing, skin and hair from collecting asbestos fibers.
- Latex pullover work boots to keep contaminants off your street shoes.
- Work gloves for all tasks outside of the glovebag.
- A hard hat.
- Eye protection.
- And a High Efficiency Particulate Air or HEPA filtered respirator. Glovebags contain the asbestos fibers released during abatement; however, as added protection, OSHA requires asbestos workers to wear a HEPA filtered respirator which filters out 99.997 percent of asbestos particles as small as .3 microns in size.
- Different types of respirators are required depending upon the exposure levels you will encounter. Consult with a qualified Hygienist to determine what type of protection factor is required.
You will also need the following supplies and tools for glovebagging.
- High-quality duct tape, which is used to seal the bag to the pipe and for many other functions. Tape strength is very important because the bag endures a significant amount of stress under use.
- A smoke test kit to check the glovebag for leaks.
- Warning signs and barricade tape to warn passersby that an asbestos danger is present and to keep them at a safe distance from the removal site.
- Surfactant, which enables water to saturate asbestos containing insulation and reduces the amount of airborne particles.
- Encapsulant, which locks down fibers that remain on the pipe after abatement. A product is available that combines Surfactant and Encapsulant.
- A pump-up type garden sprayer to apply the Surfactant and Encapsulant.
- A vacuum cleaner equipped with a HEPA filter to safely remove contaminated air from the glovebags.
- A roll of 6 mil clear polyethylene to use as a drop cloth under the pipe. It can also be used to wrap a pipe whose insulation is damaged or very brittle. This prevents fibers from being released into the air during glovebag installation.
- Asbestos disposal bags are needed to remove the contaminated glovebags and coveralls. These bags should be well marked to identify the asbestos hazard and must comply with all local, state and federal regulations.
- Personal air sampling pumps. OSHA requires that the air in a worker’s personal breathing zone, as well as room air, be tested at regular intervals during asbestos abatement. The sampling pumps are typically supplied and operated by an industrial hygienist that contracts independently with the building owner.
- For work inside the glovebag, you will need tin snips and pliers to cut the metal jacketing or wires that are found on most pipes.
- Flexi-wire saws to cut through the insulation.
- Retractable utility knives to cut the cloth jacketing.
- A tape measure to calculate the number of glovebags needed.
- Scrub brushes and scrapers to thoroughly clean the pipe.
Once you have all of the required supplies and tools, you are ready to prepare the job site for glovebagging.
- When you arrive at the job site, make sure you have all the needed equipment and supplies on hand. Use a checklist if necessary.
- After taking inventory of your supplies, put on your personal protective gear, beginning with the coveralls. Use duct tape to secure the ends of the sleeves to your wrists.
- Put on your boots, gloves and respirator. Whichever type of respirator you use, make sure to wear it under the hood of your coveralls to ensure a snug fit. Shut off HVAC, or ventilation fans and tag and lockout access to control panels.
- Next, mark off the regulation area with barricade tape, leaving a wide margin around the abatement area. If there are doors or windows accessing the regulated area, you must set up critical barriers.
- Post asbestos-warning signs prominently. These precautions are required by OSHA. In some cases, it will be necessary to construct a decon facility adjacent to the regulated area. The decon consists of an equipment room, shower and clean room.
- Roll out the polyethylene sheeting and position an adequate length under the pipe as a drop cloth.
- Vacuum the pipe with the HEPA vacuum cleaner to remove any asbestos dust.
- If the insulation is extremely friable, that is if it crumbles easily, wrap the pipe with a layer of polyethylene sheeting and wrap the area of pipe adjacent to the regulated area with two layers of 6 mil poly to prevent release of fibers during the project. Secure it by wrapping it with duct tape in a “candy-stripe” pattern.
- Next, measure the length of pipe to be treated.
- To determine the number of chambers to cut from the roll, consult the chart on the back of the AVAIL™ brochure.
- Unroll the appropriate length of AVAIL™ Extended-Run Glovebags. It is critical to use the proper number, it may appear that you have too many; however, slack is required in the glovebag to facilitate the twisting off of the debris chambers
- Using a utility knife, cut the glovebag at the collar that separates the chambers.
- Place the required tools in the tool pouch of the chamber or chambers where the work will begin. One of the advantages of AVAIL™ Extended-Run Glovebags is that multiple chambers can be used simultaneously.
- Set-up time efficiency is increased due to the elimination of repetitive tasks; one large bag set-up versus multiple single bags could save you up to 40 percent in labor.
- However, for every glovebag operation, OSHA requires two workers on hand to assist and monitor safety.
- The next step is to install the glovebag. Take each end of the bag and lift it to the pipe.
- Move along the glovebag and pull the opening around the pipe. Overlap the ends, but don’t pull them taught.
- Tack the bag in place with small pieces of duct tape.
- Beginning with the first chamber in the glovebag run, lay the seam flat and seal the bag opening from one end to the other with duct tape. Duct tape should not come in contact with pipe insulation during this step. Leave openings where pipe hangers are located.
- Return to the start of the run. Gather the open collar around the pipe and seal it tightly to the pipe with several layers of duct tape.
- Repeat the procedure at the far end of the glovebag. Attach the end according to the maximum work area published in the AVAIL™ catalogue.
- There should be some slack. This extra space will be important when removing glovebag chambers.
- Then, seal the collar to the pipe with several layers of duct tape. Modify the glovebag where the pipe hangers occur by cutting with a utility knife and carefully sealing with duct tape.
- Loosely support the collars between chambers using either lengths of duct tape or straps. Leave room enough to reach the insulation that runs through the collars.
- Now test the glovebag for integrity using the smoke test kit.
- First, tightly cinch off the collar in the first compartment using the strap or duct tape.
- Insert the smoke generator through one of the entry ports and introduce just enough smoke to fill the chamber.
- Remove the smoke generator and seal the entry port with duct tape.
- Gently squeeze the bag and watch or listen for escaping smoke. Leaks usually occur in taped sections.
- Seal any leaks with duct tape and uncinch the collar. Repeat this procedure for each glovebag chamber before entering it. Should the glovebag become punctured during any part of asbestos removal, quickly repair it with duct tape.
- Fill the sprayer with the surfactant. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for details on mixing and using the surfactant. Insert the HEPA vacuum and wetting wand of the pump sprayer through the entry ports. Seal each to the entry port socks with duct tape.
- You are now ready to remove the insulation.
- Put your hands and arms into the first glove/sleeve assembly.
- Generously wet the insulation with surfactant.
- Using tin snips, cut any banding or wires that hold the jacketing in place.
- Carefully remove the jacketing, especially if it is made of metal. The sharp edges can cut the glovebag. Fold the jacketing inward to no sharp edges are exposed. Some contractors insert burlap rice bags to hold the jacketing material and protect the glovebag.
- Gently lower the jacketing to the bottom of the bag.
- Wet down the insulation again with surfactant. It is important to keep the insulation wet to decrease the amount of asbestos particles released into the air.
- If the insulation is too firmly attached to the pipe, it may be necessary to use a flexi-wire saw to cut through the insulation.
- Lift the insulation off the pipe and lower it to the bottom of the bag. Be sure to remove the insulation that extends into the collar. Typically, insulation attaches to pipes in semi-circular segments. Insulation is typically installed in three-foot sections. So if you are careful to find the seam, you can easily remove the insulation intact. Unless the insulation is severely deteriorated for friable, these segments usually come off easily.
- One of the benefits of extended run glovebagging is the ability to work a continuous piece of pipe reaching between chambers.
- Thoroughly scrape or chip off the remaining asbestos using a scraper.
- Once the insulation has been removed, scrub the pipe clean using the brush and surfactant.
- Fill the pump sprayer with encapsulant and spray a generous coating of it onto the pipe and inside the glovebag. This locks down any residual asbestos fibers.
- Now pass the tools into the next work chamber.
- The next step is to seal off the contaminated chamber.
- Tightly wrap the collar around the uninsulated section of pipe using duct tape or a strap. Activate the HEPA vacuum evacuating the air from the glovebag.
- When empty, twist off the contaminated chamber just below the pipe, and tightly wrap the twisted section with duct tape.
- Deactivate the vacuum and cut the chamber away from the pipe.
- Remove the vacuum wand from the glovebag and reseal the sleeve with duct tape.
- Immediately place the contaminated chamber into a properly marked asbestos disposal bag.
- Your are now ready to move onto the next chamber and repeat process.
- Once your have finished work in the final chamber of the Extended-Run Glovebag, you have to remove the tools. Grasp them with one of the glove/sleeve assemblies, and pull the sleeve inside out.
- Twist the sleeve above the tools, wrap the twisted area securely with duct tape, cut the center of the taped area, and remove the tools. Then remove the last chamber of the glovebag using the previously described procedures. Remove all stubs remaining, starting at the collar, slitting the top of the stubs free while folding inward into an asbestos disposal bag.
- After the last chamber of the Extended-Run Glovebag has been taken down and safely disposed of, proceed with clean up and decontamination.
- Seal up all asbestos disposal bags and discard them in accordance with local, state and federal regulations. If a decontamination unit has been set up, follow all applicable procedures. Vacuum and clean the area for final clearance.
- While still wearing your respirator, remove your coveralls, boots and gloves. Place them in an asbestos waste bag and dispose of it properly.
- Finally, remove the barricade tape and warning signs. The job is now complete.
