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3102271 
Technical Report 
Evaluation of Glove Bag Containment in Asbestos Removal 
Hollett, BA; Froehlich, PA; Caplan, PE; Cooper, TC; Shulman, SA 
1990 
1-131 
The report examines the effectiveness of the glove bag control method to prevent asbestos emissions during the removal of asbestos-containing pipe lagging. Glove bags have been used for asbestos removal without supplemental engineering controls or respiratory protection. Workplace airborne asbestos exposures were determined during asbestos removal operations in four public schools. The same work crew removed asbestos-containing pipe lagging in all four schools. Personal exposures to airborne fibers were determined using NIOSH Method 7400 phase contrast microscopy (PCM) methods. Exposure measurements determined from personal samples indicated short-term exposures as high as 9.0 f/cc and time-weighted average exposures of 0.3 f/cc occurred during asbestos removal operations. In conjunction with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, additional evaluations were made to measure residual work site contamination resulting from incomplete glove bag containment. Airborne asbestos contamination was determined in the work area before and after removal. Aggressive and nonaggressive sampling techniques were used for collecting area samples both before removal, and after removal and subsequent cleaning. Sample analysis was performed using both PCM and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) methods. Samples taken during nonaggressive sampling procedures and analyzed by PCM typically indicated concentrations below 0.01 f/cc, both for pre- and post-removal. TEM analysis of side-by-side samples detected much higher asbestos concentrations than PCM. Exposure concentrations found at these four schools indicate that glove bags, as used during the study, did not completely contain the asbestos being removed. In three of the four facilities studied, workers were exposed to airborne asbestos concentrations above the OSHA PEL. The asbestos concentrations observed in the last of the surveys indicated that glove bags may provide some degree of containment under certain conditions. 
Asbestos; Occupational exposure; Insulation; Technology assessment; Toxic substances; Air pollution control; School buildings; Pipe(Tubes); Asbestos removal; Glove bag containment