Asbestos

On November 1, 2024, NHDES adopted several significant changes to Env-A 1800, including changes to all applications and notification forms. You can find the applications and notification forms on our Asbestos Management Forms page. Env-A 1800 protects the health of the public and environment by ensuring that asbestos is managed in a manner that minimizes the release of asbestos fibers to the environment and reduces human exposure to those asbestos fibers. 

Env-A 1800 has been reorganized and re-written to:

• Fulfill RSA 141-E:1 directive for NHDES “… to control the exposure of the public to asbestos by regulation of asbestos abatement and asbestos disposal site activities. The intent of this chapter is not to overburden the unknowing homeowner, but rather to assure commercial and industrial compliance with asbestos disposal site regulation and asbestos abatement efforts.”
• Maintain minimum requirements that will be at least as stringent as the federal requirements in 40 CFR 61, Subpart M.
• Implement enforceable, practical changes which streamline and clarify requirements in the rule.

Asbestos is the common name for a group of naturally occurring mineral fibers that are known for their high tensile strength and thermal insulating properties. It is commonly found in heating system insulation, vinyl floor tiles and sheet flooring, roofing paper and shingles, cement siding shingles, and a variety of other building construction products. When asbestos is disturbed, it can break down into microscopic fibers that may become airborne. 

Inhalation of airborne asbestos fibers has been determined to be a cause of adverse health effects such as lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis. To prevent such exposures, NHDES implements the requirements of state statute RSA 141-E Asbestos Management and Control and state regulations Env-A 1800, Asbestos Management and Control, which was first adopted in 1987.

NHDES regulates asbestos requirements related to renovation or demolition projects; licenses required to work on projects, schools and inactive asbestos disposal sites, largely located in Nashua and Hudson, N.H., due to past dumping practices by an asbestos manufacturer.