Summary of Proposed Draft Asbestos Plan: Geotextile Fabric on Playfields

This page contains information from the Department of Toxic Substances Control, and focuses on a plan to utilize geotextile fabric on playfields to control the risk of exposure to asbestos. Exposure to asbestos is known to cause serious diseases such as mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer and asbestosis.

The mitigation plan proposed in the RAW is to cover the soils containing naturally occurring asbestos and to reduce the possibility of airborne asbestos.

The cover or cap will be comprised of landscape fill, sod, native grasses, plants, shrubs, bushes, etc. or hardscape (buildings, concrete, asphalt, rubberized playing surfaces, etc.).

Approximately 10,000 cubic yards of imported fill will be brought to the site to be placed beneath playfields and planters. Landscaped areas will include placement of a geotextile fabric to act as a warning barrier directly above soils containing NOA. This will alert all personnel (who will later conduct subsurface maintenance or repairs) to not disturb the soil below the warning barrier. The geotextile fabric will be covered by non-asbestos containing clean fill.

Normal construction of building pads, sidewalks, asphalt pads, and some landscaping effectively act to cap soil containing asbestos. These construction activities are not part of the formal mitigation efforts presented in the RAW.

The following proposed mitigation activities will take place during school construction:

Place geotextile fabric in playfields and landscape areas;

Cover the fabric with 8 to 12 inches of clean soil;

Place erosion control blankets, such as netting, over sloped areas; and

Develop an ongoing Operations and Maintenance Plan to control, manage, and report future potential disturbances of soils containing asbestos.