Importance Of Asbestos Abatement Certification
An asbestos abatement certification is required by those contractors who aim to work for the removal or abatement of asbestos. The term Asbestos was first coined by the Greeks. It means inextinguishable. That is, the Greeks were the first people to have used asbestos. Being a mineral fiber, asbestos was used extensively for industrial as well as domestic purposes. Over the centuries, researchers have been looking out for new ways to use asbestos. They utilized asbestos as a material in flooring and roofing because asbestos is highly resistant to fire. But as time passed and researches brought out their findings, it soon became evident that asbestos is toxic and hazardous in nature. It came into notice that inhalation of asbestos can cause lung diseases, such as lung cancer, asbestosis, and various other life threatening diseases.
Asbestos removal became essential to avoid such after effects. Therefore, it became essential to remove or abate asbestos. This purpose was resolved by contractors whose business was asbestos abatement. Before a bid for working on a project of asbestos abatement, a contractor, person or individual must obtain an asbestos contractor certificate that is provided to him by WAC 296-65-017. The contractor must have at least one certified asbestos supervisor, as an employee. The asbestos supervisor would be responsible for the supervision of all the asbestos projects that are taken by the contractor. If a project involves three linear feet or less than three square feet of asbestos containing material, then a certified asbestos supervisor might not be required. Each contractor has to acquire an asbestos abatement certification, in order to practice the business of removal of asbestos. The asbestos contractor certifications are not allowed to be granted for a period more than a year. This certificate is set to expire after the period of one year. The registration of a contractor also expires after one year. If a contractors registration is going to expire in more than twelve months from the present date, the Department of Labor and Industries, that performs the asbestos certification program, would still set the asbestos contractor registration to the exact date. If a contractor were to get a certificate granted for less than a year, then the annual fee can be divided appropriately, that is, you can pay a partial payment. For acquiring a certificate, one must complete a training course and qualify a multiple choice exam, depending upon the area of specialization. |