Regulating external facilities within the City and County of Denver
Public and commercial buildings and or private and residential homeowners who are remodeling, renovating or demolishing any structures are subject to State and Federal regulations which require inspection for asbestos. Buildings of any age may contain asbestos and must be inspected for asbestos prior to impacting any building materials by a State-certified asbestos inspector. A current list of Asbestos Inspectors can be found at https://cdphe.colorado.gov/asbestos.
If the amount of asbestos-containing material to be disturbed exceeds the following trigger levels than a State registered abatement contractor must remove and dispose of the material.
- Single- family residential dwellings: 32 square feet of surface material, 50 linear feet on pipes, or the volume equivalent of a 55-gallon drum.
- All other areas other than single-family residential dwellings, the trigger levels are 160 square feet on surfaces, 260 linear feet on pipes, or the volume equivalent of
A certified General Abatement Contractor must remove asbestos-containing materials that are regulated or may become regulated before they are disturbed by renovation or demolition activities. A current list of General Abatement Contractors can be found at https://cdphe.colorado.gov/asbestos.
Demolitions, Destructive Salvage, House Moving
If you demolish, perform destructive salvage, perform de-constructions, burn, destroy, dismantle, dynamite, implode, knock down, level, pull down, pulverize, raze, tear down, wreck all of a structure or structural components or you move a house you are subject to State and Federal regulations even when there is NO asbestos in the facility.
Prior to Demolition:
- Inspection: The building must be inspected for asbestos by a State-certified asbestos inspector.
- Asbestos Removal (if necessary) must be performed by a Colorado-certified General Abatement Contractor. Any asbestos containing material that is friable or will be made friable during demolition activities must be removed prior to demolition.
- Notification of Demolition form must be submitted to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, even if no asbestos was found during the inspection, payment of a notification fee and ten (10) working days waiting period is required before the demolition can proceed.
The Division of Environmental Quality also provides assistance to City and County of Denver residents; however, we do not offer asbestos testing. If you are a resident of the City and County of Denver and have concerns, please contact Jeffrey Wolfe at Jeffrey.Wolfe@denvergov.org (720-865-5474) or Steve Gonzales at Steve.Gonzales@denvergov.org (720-865-5447).