A Typical Day as a Licensed Asbestos Building Inspector

You never know what is in store for you; every job is different even though idea remains the same. It can be very interesting at times. I'm always eager to get to the job site to see what is in store for the day. An asbesto building inspector sees different things everyday.

When I get to the job site I do a walkthrough of the building and look for any suspect asbestos containing materials. Usually there is not any electric in the buildings I inspect and all inspections are done by flashlights or with a generator.
After I do the walkthrough, I calculate the square footage of all the materials. I have to sample each material. Depending on what type of material it is determines how many samples I must take.

In order to protect myself I have to put on a disposal suit and half face respirator.I then begin to inspect the material in question. First I wet the material then cut a small piece of the material and place it in two zip lock bags. It is then assigned a sample number, and it is logged.

After all the required samples are gathered, I do another walkthrough of the building looking for materials that I have may have missed.  Ultimately, this means looking in crawl spaces and roof areas, or anyplace that is not easily inspected. I have got to keep good notes on everything that is done at the building that day.

Once I have thoroughly sampled and documented all materials I begin the actual report on the building. At this time I begin the “chain of custody” paperwork for the lab. At this point my onsite work is finished. Generally I will go to the lab so testing on the material can be expedited. However if there is not an immediate need for results, testing can wait a few days. I may have to wait at the office and write the report of all findings of the building to the client before my day ends.