Today, asbestos is strictly regulated, but before 1980, the dangers of asbestos exposure were not widely known. A majority (53%) of the gas transmission pipelines in the United States were installed pre-1970, using vintage manufacturing and coating materials (Source: PHMSA), including asbestos-containing material (ACM).
According to EPA regulations, asbestos-containing pipeline wrap materials cannot be reintroduced into the marketplace. For any pipe recovered that was installed before 1980, it is likely there will be asbestos that will need to be removed before it can re-enter the market.
Fortunately, the form of asbestos present in these pipeline coatings is non-friable, which means it can be safely removed as long as the proper precautions are taken and the material is not treated in a way that makes it friable. After stripping the ACM, the underlying pipe can be resold for applications such as road boring, construction applications, and other surplus pipe use cases.
Dangers of Asbestos
In the 1980s, it became widely known that asbestos was a human carcinogen. Exposure to asbestos can lead to cancer and mesotheliomas, which are tumors on the thin membranes of internal organs.
To protect human health and safety, the EPA prohibited the use of asbestos in most situations. Regulations also distinguish between friable and non-friable asbestos material. Friable asbestos material is defined as any material with more than 1% asbestos that can be crumbled or pulverized by hand pressure when dry. Non-friable asbestos material cannot be reduced to powder with hand pressure and is considered less dangerous to work with.
In April 2019, the EPA put out a Significant New Use Rule concerning the Restrictions of Discontinued Uses of Asbestos. This rule clarified that the users cannot return prohibited discontinued uses to the marketplace, including pipeline wrap containing asbestos.
Asbestos in Pipeline Coatings
Pre-1980, ACM was typically used in outer pipeline wraps accompanying coal tar enamel coatings. Despite its harmful effects, asbestos had many useful properties that made it attractive for coating materials, including low electrical conductivity, high tensile strength, high friction coefficient, and high resistance to heat.
Today, coal tar enamel coatings are an outdated coating method. It is much more common to see fusion bond epoxy (FBE) coatings on modern pipelines. However, because many lines were installed pre-1980, recovered pipe tends to use vintage methods like CTE and ACM outer wraps.
When asbestos-containing coatings are recovered, they are non-friable and safer to work around. They can become friable if heavy-duty destruction methods such as cranes (i.e., wrecking balls, buckets, etc.), excavators, or explosion techniques are used. In that case, the asbestos may become pulverized and expose humans to air-borne particles. Therefore, it is important to treat non-friable asbestos carefully in removal.
To comply with EPA regulations that prohibit ACM from being reintroduced to the marketplace, ACM should be removed from the recovered surplus pipe.
Safely Strip ACM with CPI
Most pipeline recoveries will need asbestos removed from the pipe. CPI has over 40 years of experience with pipeline recovery, transportation, stripping, recoating, and ACM removal. Contact CPI for more information.