Search for an asbestos consulting company if you want to hire an inspector to determine if there is asbestos containing material in a building. These companies employ the inspectors who can perform this inspection.
For homeowners: Only licensed asbestos inspectors are allowed to collect and handle asbestos samples from buildings, unless you are a homeowner. Though the Health Department advises against it, you can take your own bulk samples from your home and bring them to a lab for testing. The Health Department encourages you to hire an asbestos inspector to collect the asbestos samples because inspectors are trained to know which and how much of the materials to test so that you get accurate results. They also know how to handle possible asbestos containing material to avoid creating a health hazard during the process of collecting and transporting the samples.
Asbestos consultants may be certified to perform other tasks such as assisting with managing asbestos in place (management planner), monitoring of asbestos abatement projects (project monitor), and designing asbestos abatement project specifications (project designer).
Search for an asbestos abatement company if you are looking for a company to repair, enclose, remove or encapsulate asbestos containing material in a building. These companies can also clean up after an asbestos fiber release. These companies are licensed to perform asbestos abatement in Vermont.
Search for an asbestos analytical company if you are looking for a laboratory with analysts who are certified to analyze air and material samples for asbestos content.
Search for a lead consulting company if you want to hire an inspector to determine if there is lead based paint on a building. These companies employ the inspectors who can perform this inspection.
Lead consultants may be certified to perform other tasks such as identifying lead hazards from deteriorated paint, dust, and bare soil and identifying options to control the lead hazards (risk assessor) and designing lead-based paint abatement project specifications (project designer).
Search for the Lead-Safe RRPM Firm license if you want to hire a Vermont licensed Renovation, Repair, Painting and Maintenance (RRPM) contractor or look up the license of a contractor you are considering hiring.
All contractors who perform RRPM work for hire need the Lead-Safe RRPM Firm license and at least one RRPM supervisor on staff who must remain at the job site the entire time RRPM work is underway. You can also search for the Lead-Safe RRPM Supervisor license.
Search for a lead abatement company if you are looking for a company to remove lead-based paint from a building. These companies are licensed to perform lead abatement in Vermont.
Lead abatement is different than RRPM work. Contractors with RRPM licenses perform work on buildings built before 1978 using lead-safe work practices. However, the intention of this work is not to permanently remove, or abate, the lead-based paint.
Lead abatement contractors work with lead inspectors and must apply for permits to perform lead abatement work. Lead abatement requires more training and the work practices are more stringent than RRPM work. Usually, lead abatement costs more than RRPM work.
Both work practices, if performed correctly, will not leave lead dust and debris that creates a lead hazard in the areas where the work was performed. In a building where RRPM work was performed, lead-based paint is still likely on the building so could become hazardous in the future if not kept from chipping and peeling, or if renovation work is performed using unsafe work practices.
