<<Prev Rule

Texas Administrative Code

Next Rule>>
TITLE 25HEALTH SERVICES
PART 1DEPARTMENT OF STATE HEALTH SERVICES
CHAPTER 296TEXAS ASBESTOS HEALTH PROTECTION
SUBCHAPTER BDEFINITIONS
RULE §296.21Definitions

The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, have the following meaning, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

  (1) Abatement preparation--Preparation before asbestos abatement begins, which includes the following activities:

    (A) removing any movable objects from the interior space of a public building once an asbestos abatement contractor takes control of that space for the purpose of asbestos abatement;

    (B) pre-cleaning, wet wiping, HEPA vacuuming, and sealing a penetration or opening;

    (C) installing plastic sheeting, such as a critical barrier, any part of a decontamination system, or any part of the water line connections to a shower, drain, or filtration;

    (D) setting-up or using a load-out or bag-out system;

    (E) selecting, installing, or maintaining a respiratory system or fiber reduction system (such as misting or spraying);

    (F) posting warning signs;

    (G) installing engineering controls, including local exhaust ventilation equipped with a HEPA filter dust collection system, construction of a containment or isolation mechanism to control processes producing asbestos dust, and ventilation of the regulated area to move contaminated air away from the breathing zone of persons in containment and toward a filtration or collection device equipped with a HEPA filter;

    (H) installing scaffolding in an area in which asbestos may be disturbed during the installation; and

    (I) installing, setting-up, and calibrating monitoring devices, including sampling systems and manometers.

  (2) ACBM--Asbestos-containing building material. Surfacing, TSI, or miscellaneous ACM that is found in, or on interior structural members or other parts of, a public or commercial building.

  (3) Accredited person--A person who has attended and passed, within the last year, the appropriate asbestos course, as described in the MAP, that:

    (A) has been approved by DSHS and offered by a DSHS-licensed asbestos training provider;

    (B) has been approved by another state that has the authority from EPA to approve courses; or

    (C) has been approved directly by EPA.

  (4) ACM--Asbestos-containing material. Materials or products, including any single material component of a structure or any layer of a material sample that, when analyzed for asbestos using the method specified in 40 CFR Part 763, Subpart E, Appendix E, Section 1 (relating to Polarized Light Microscopy), by a laboratory accredited by the NVLAP for polarized light microscopy, or by using the EPA-recommended method listed in EPA/600/R-93/116 for transmission electron microscopy, are found to contain:

    (A) for purposes of complying with this chapter's provisions relating to a public building, 1.0% or more asbestos;

    (B) for purposes of complying with AHERA provisions relating to a school building, greater than 1.0% asbestos;

    (C) for purposes of complying with NESHAP provisions relating to commercial buildings and facilities, greater than 1.0% asbestos; or

    (D) for purposes of complying with OSHA provisions relating to occupational asbestos exposure, greater than 1.0% asbestos.

  (5) Act--The Texas Asbestos Health Protection Act, Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 1954.

  (6) ACWM--Asbestos-containing waste material. This term includes mill tailings or any waste material that contains asbestos and is generated by a source subject to the provisions of NESHAP or this chapter. This term includes filters from control devices, friable asbestos waste material, and bags or other similar packaging contaminated with asbestos. As applied to demolition and renovation operations, this term also includes RACM and materials contaminated with asbestos, including disposable equipment and clothing.

  (7) Adequately wet--Sufficiently mixed or penetrated with liquid to prevent the release of particulates. If visible emissions are observed coming from ACM, then that material is not adequately wet. However, the absence of visible emissions is not sufficient evidence of being adequately wet.

  (8) Aggressive air sampling--Collecting air samples after walls, ceilings, and floors are swept with the exhaust of an unaltered leaf blower that is operated per the manufacturer's instructions and is directed at all surfaces to cause loose asbestos fibers to become airborne.

  (9) AHERA--For purposes of this chapter, the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act of 1986, 15 USC §2641, et seq., and EPA's implementing regulations under 40 CFR Part 763, Subpart E (relating to Asbestos-Containing Materials in Schools), adopted by reference as part of this chapter.

  (10) Airlock--A system for permitting movement into and out of the containment that controls air-flow patterns such that the air flows only towards the inside of the enclosure to which the decontamination system is attached. An airlock may consist of overlapping curtains, partitions to a separate chamber, or both.

  (11) Air monitoring--The collection of air samples for the analysis of fibers.

  (12) Amended water--Water to which a surfactant (wetting agent) has been added to increase the ability of the liquid to penetrate ACM.

  (13) Asbestos--The asbestiform varieties of chrysotile, amosite, crocidolite, tremolite, anthophyllite, and actinolite.

  (14) Asbestos abatement--Asbestos removal, encapsulation, or enclosure to reduce or eliminate, or that has the effect of reducing or eliminating, a concentration of asbestos fibers or an ACM.

  (15) Asbestos abatement activity--Asbestos abatement, or any on-site abatement preparations or cleanup related to the abatement.

  (16) Asbestos abatement project design--The design for an asbestos abatement project that includes, at minimum:

    (A) the review of the survey report of a public building for ACBM;

    (B) the evaluation and selection of appropriate asbestos abatement methods;

    (C) the preparation of the project layout;

    (D) the preparation of specifications and plans; and

    (E) the determination of environmental controls, abatement procedures, and personal protection equipment to be employed every day of the asbestos abatement activity, from the start through the completion date of the project.

  (17) Asbestos-related activity--Activities including:

    (A) the removal, encapsulation, or enclosure of asbestos, whether intentional or unintentional;

    (B) the preparations for final clearance;

    (C) the performance of an asbestos survey;

    (D) the development of an asbestos survey report, management plan, or response action;

    (E) the design of an asbestos abatement project;

    (F) the collection or analysis of a bulk asbestos sample;

    (G) the monitoring for airborne asbestos; or

    (H) any other activity for which a license is required under the Act.

  (18) Asbestos removal--Any action that disturbs, dislodges, strips, or otherwise takes away asbestos fibers or ACM.

  (19) ASTM E1494-18--The 2018 edition of the Standard Practice for Testing Physical Properties of Friable Surfacing Materials developed by ASTM International, www.astm.org.

  (20) Bag-out area--An area distinct from the decontamination area that is used to decontaminate asbestos waste bags before placing them into outer bags.

  (21) Building owner--The owner of record of a building.

  (22) Category I nonfriable ACM--Asbestos-containing packings, gaskets, resilient floor-covering material, and asphalt roofing products determined to be ACM.

  (23) Category II nonfriable ACM--Any material determined to be ACM, excluding Category I nonfriable ACM, that when dry, cannot be crumbled, pulverized, or reduced to powder by hand pressure.

  (24) CFR--The Code of Federal Regulations.

  (25) Commercial building--The interior space of any building that does not otherwise fall within the definition of a public building. Interior space includes exterior hallways connecting buildings, porticos, and mechanical systems used to condition interior space. This term includes industrial buildings, federal government-owned buildings, warehouses, and factories. This term does not include a detached single private residence or single apartment building with four or fewer dwelling units.

  (26) Commissioner--The commissioner of the Department of State Health Services.

  (27) Containment--A portion of the regulated area that has been sealed and placed under negative air pressure using negative air machines with HEPA filters.

Cont'd...

Next Page

Link to Texas Secretary of State Home Page | link to Texas Register home page | link to Texas Administrative Code home page | link to Open Meetings home page