Green Coatings Encasement - A Single Project Saving $117,500,000
I continuously speak and write about saving money & time with Green Coatings Encasement, especially in overall long-term savings. So I’m going to cite one project that had $117,500,000.00 immediate and direct cost savings over unnecessary and expensive removal and replacement. Again, that’s 117.5 million dollars. No small amount by any standards. I traveled to Canada and did a presentation at a large teaching hospital on the benefits of Green Coatings Encasement for in-place management of asbestos containing, spray-on fireproofing covering structural steel as opposed to costly full removal and expensive replacement. Among the audience were the hospital Administrators, the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Labor. I emphasized on the economical cost and time saving advantages with the right products.
It was costing the hospital $600,000 per year to vacuum up asbestos fireproofing that was coming loose, raining down and contaminating surrounding areas. The encasement process would immediately stabilized the delaminating asbestos fireproofing and permanently lock it in place while quickly saving the cost of annual cleanup. The cost to remove and replace the spray on asbestos fireproofing alone was calculated at $125,000,000. After the formal conference room presentation, we moved to the pilot project site where I took off my suit jacket, loosened my tie and put on a Tyvek, disposable paper suit. Then, I went into the containment area and sprayed GEI’s (GLOBAL Encasement, Inc.) coatings onto the asbestos containing fireproofing to demonstrate the viability of the coatings and application process. The encasement project was monitored by an outside consultant. The consultant documented the results of air monitoring to evaluate fiber release during the process, and to verify ease of application, product adhesion, impact- and abuse-resistance, and long-term sustainability. The results proved that the coatings met all criteria and would safely seal in the asbestos. Most important, there was no asbestos fiber released during the installation process, which was accomplished by using the right tips on the spray gun and minimizing the pressure to reduce blowback. The documentation of successfully proving no asbestos fiber release in the application process meant that the entire project could be accomplished without the expensive full containment methods that are implemented during the complicated and costly removal process. With encasement, only caution tape was used to cordon off the work areas and some overspray protection as with standard paint application, which is similar to the encasement process.
Accredited testing and approvals backed up all claims about the coatings. This formed a large part of the approval process. One concern that came up in the presentation was whether the coating applied over the fireproofing would adversely affect the insulation factor of the fireproofing. The ASTM E119 test result not only shows very specifically that there was no negative affect of the coatings on the fireproof rating, but also that the coatings actually added more insulation to the existing fireproofing. Another extreme step that was taken to approve the process and products was for the hospital administrators, along with the consultant and his assistant, to fly to and inspect several of our similar existing projects that had been completed in Southern California. They flew into Los Angeles and drove to the past project sites where I met them and together we toured those locations. One of the lasting comments that one of them made and we all agreed with was, “it looks like these projects had been just completed,” even though the green coating encasement had been completed a decade before. With that, the process and products were approved and the project proceeded saving time and money. If that same asbestos was removed and replaced, it would have cost $125,000.00 direct cost. This was NOT including indirect costs of building downtime, loss of production, relocation fees for personnel and contents. All of those indirect costs would add to the already unreasonable, excessive price tag of removal and replacement.
On a side note, Green Coating Encasement with GEI coatings has been used to stabilize and seal in spray-on fireproofing covering structural steel that has no asbestos content, including exterior fireproofing. Green Coatings Encasement is beneficial in many additional areas protecting people, and the environment while defending buildings other than just those with hazardous materials. It is the greenest and also the best protection that can be used defending buildings against increasingly stronger storms and heavy weather events. To learn more about Green Coating Encasement contact us at service@encasement.com or visit our website at www.encasement.com.
