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I have a situation here with asbestos.

I have a residential home that I'm renting out. Because of water damage inside the drywall I called my homeowner's insurance company and made a claim to fix the wet drywall to avoid potential mold there.

The insurance company referred me to some company that would dry the water damage and fix it.

The water damage company told us that they will do inspection holes to be able to dry the interior. That company did an asbestos test because the building was built before 1980 and might have any asbestos in the house interior, and they found 2% of chrysotile asbestos

After that the company cut 3 holes (of 1 square meter) in the wall and cleaned up everything and left the inspection holes uncovered.

I am in the State of Nevada.

My questions are:

  1. What are the particular standards for removing asbestos from a rental home while tenants are inside? Are there any state codes that they have to use?

  2. Who has liability for the tenants?

  3. Can the tenants sue the landlord or the insurance company or the company that did the drywall cuts, if there was any deviation from the process of the drywall demolition?

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  • Only the first question can be answered here. The other two are legal questions.
    – Steven
    Feb 13, 2014 at 2:40
  • You should contact a lawyer, not a bunch of yahoos on the internet.
    – Tester101
    Feb 13, 2014 at 4:50

2 Answers 2

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  1. Yes, there are industry accepted standards and various laws that must be adhered to. If the asbestos is this prevalent, do not attempt to remediate it yourself. Hire an asbestos abatement contractor and let them handle the compliance.

  2. Consult your lawyer.

  3. Consult your lawyer.

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  • The tenant do not live there anymore but where can I find this standards and laws(website or phone number)
    – Jeffry
    Feb 13, 2014 at 2:31
  • How can I make sure that the company that was cutting the drywall was filling this standards?
    – Jeffry
    Feb 13, 2014 at 2:34
  • Find a couple of contractors that specialize in asbestos remediation. They can answer #1 and "How can I make sure that the company that was cutting the drywall was filling this standards?". They might also be able to advise somewhat on #2 and #3 based on their experience. Also, consult your lawyer.
    – longneck
    Feb 13, 2014 at 14:41
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All the folks here have given you good advice. Both asbestos and lead testing and abatement are covered under Federal standards and some areas have much stricter laws. Do not under any circumstances try to fix the problem on your own, now that you have been made aware that there is a potential for asbestos. People, tenants etc can sue anyone they want nowadays, but as the landlord you are ultimately responsible for your property. You may have to sue some contractors, but you hired them to start, so it is your problem to solve. I'd contact a lawyer, and a professional abatement specialist. Don't touch a thing until you do these tasks. Chances are small anyone was negatively effected, however, cover your tracks carefully.

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