In June 2001, Colorado implemented a new law that extended the regulatory umbrella of asbestos abatement protections to single-family residential dwellings with regulations that, until recently, have only applied to public and commercial buildings. 

Currently in public and commercial buildings, asbestos abatement work is regulated and monitored by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE).  Asbestos abatement workers must be trained in asbestos abatement, certified by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, and follow work practices known to prevent or contain the release of asbestos fibers when asbestos is disturbed.  Companies that perform asbestos abatement are required to use safe work practices, but only if the asbestos abatement removal work takes place in an area of public access.

Since the scope of previous public health regulations did not include single-family residential dwellings, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment was unable to protect homeowners from these exposures.  With this new law homeowners who reside in the home they wish to renovate can now choose to be afforded the same protections as they are entitled to in a public and commercial building, unless the homeowner chooses to waive this protection.

To waive these protections, the homeowner must sign an Owner Opt Out form declaring that they do not want their home to be considered an "Area of Public Access" for purposes of determining the applicability of portions of Colorado's asbestos regulation.  The term "Area of Public Access" is unique to Colorado's asbestos regulation and basically determines if an abatement permit, engineering controls, and air clearance testing is required.  If a building is not an "Area of Public Access" then only worker certification, notification and asbestos disposal requirements in Colorado's regulation are applicable.  This declaration will not affect you in any other way as it only determines your home's status with respect to Colorado's asbestos abatement regulation.

The monetary differences for the home owner is there is a $400 permit fee and a 10 working day waiting period prior to starting of the asbestos abatement for a CDPHE asbestos abatement permitted project compared to a $60 permit fee and an immediate start for the asbestos abatement for the Owner Opt Out permitted project.

KKES work practices for an Owner Opt Out project is to construct engineering controls isolating the asbestos abatement work area from the remaining portions of the residence using polyethylene to cover all vents, doorways, windows, electrical outlets, and any areas where air passage could occur.  The asbestos work area is placed under negative pressure and the exhausted air is filtered through a high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter and exhausted to the outdoors.