PipeTaz: Automated Pipe Asbestos Insulation Removal System

Introduction Airborne asbestos-fiber is an important healthhazard. Asbestos abatement is a significant component of the overall cleanup costs associated with building demolition and renovation. For example, asbestos abatement efforts associated with the DoE’s national weapons’ complex clean-up efforts may amount to $300 million. Abatement costs are primarily driven by the issues related to environmental and worker safety regulated by EPA and OSHA, which for asbestos are primarily spelled out in 40 CFR Part 61 (fiber emissions levels to 0.01 f/cc) and 29 CFR 1926.1101 (work procedures and safety processes). Studies of the asbestos abatement market carried out for DoE [1,2] and the industrial market-sector [3], suggest that DoE has a total of about 2 million linear feet of asbestos-clad piping (in the 4 to 8-inch diameter range) across its major facilities (Savannah River, Hanford, INEEL, Oak Ridge, Rocky Flats, Fernald, etc.), both indoors (75%) and outdoors (25%). The residential and industrial abatement market is estimated to approach about 15 million linear feet per year abated (over the next 5 to 10 years) in all pipe-sizes.