Bulldozers and Similar Machinery

Included in this grouping of heavy machinery are all types of bulldozers, backhoes, top loaders and skid loaders/bobcats commonly used in conjunction with hand methods to raze buildings. Bulldozers move on tracks whereas backhoes, top loaders, and skid loaders operate on rubber tires.

Only if a great deal of working space exists at a site, and a precisely-controlled demolition is not necessary, can bulldozers such as 977 loaders and D-9s be used to demolish a building. These bulldozers are typically equipped with giant rakes designed to ram building walls and move debris.

977's or D-9s may be used to undermine a building, but hydraulic excavators are usually used for this purpose. Backhoes and top loaders are mainly used for moving debris and tearing off sections of walls and other building components.

Skid loaders, machines commonly used to load skids or pallets onto trucks, may be specially equipped with a type of ram for use during demolitions and are usually of the "bobcat" type.

The razing of a building using the heavy machinery described above causes Category II nonfriable ACM, but not Category I nonfriable ACM to become RACM.

Courtesy of The EPA