ACM (Asbestos-Containing Material)
Any building material containing more than 1 percent asbestos.
Quick Answer
ACM, or asbestos-containing material, is any material containing more than 1 percent asbestos. It turns up in older buildings as pipe and boiler insulation, sprayed surfacing, floor tile, roofing, and siding. ACM is mainly a hazard when disturbed, so renovation and demolition estimates must account for surveys, regulated removal, and disposal before other work starts.
The Full Picture
Asbestos was prized for strength and heat resistance, so it went into a long list of building products. EPA's overview names vinyl floor tiles, roofing and siding shingles, attic insulation and textured paint among the places it turns up, along with hot water and steam pipes and some furnaces. In construction rules, the working definition is simple: OSHA's asbestos standard states that ACM means any material containing more than one percent asbestos. A product that tests below that line is not ACM under the definition, though other rules or project specifications can still apply.
The risk comes from disturbance. Undisturbed, intact material generally releases little, but cutting, grinding, drilling, sanding or demolishing it can release fibers. That is why ACM matters to renovation and demolition more than to new construction. EPA's rule separates friable material, which can be crumbled by hand pressure, from nonfriable material such as floor covering and asphalt roofing products, and it defines regulated ACM (RACM) as friable material or nonfriable material that will be sanded, ground, cut or abraded. Material that looks harmless can become regulated depending on how the planned work will treat it.
Rules apply on several levels. OSHA's construction standard sets an exposure limit and addresses how workers are protected during the work. EPA's demolition and renovation rule requires the owner or operator to thoroughly inspect for asbestos before work begins, and it sets quantity thresholds for notification and work practices, such as 260 linear feet on pipes, 160 square feet on other components, or 35 cubic feet where the area could not be measured beforehand. States, and sometimes cities, add their own licensing, notification and disposal rules, so the controlling requirement is often the local one.
For the estimator, ACM is a scope and risk item rather than a quantity you can price from a plan alone. The inspection report, not the architectural drawings, tells you what contains asbestos and where. The bid should show who is responsible for the survey, who performs abatement (usually a licensed specialty subcontractor), who handles air monitoring and waste disposal, and what happens to the schedule while areas are cleared. Where the survey is incomplete, GCs often carry an allowance and a contingency and state in the qualifications what is excluded.
Real Examples
Common Misconceptions
People assume: Any building from before a certain year is automatically free of asbestos, or automatically full of it.
Actually: Age is a clue, not a test. OSHA presumes that thermal system insulation and surfacing material in buildings constructed no later than 1980 contain asbestos unless shown otherwise, but other products can also contain it, and only sampling and lab analysis confirm what a material is.
People assume: Nonfriable materials like floor tile are not regulated.
Actually: EPA classes items such as resilient floor covering and asphalt roofing as Category I nonfriable ACM when they contain more than 1 percent asbestos. They become regulated if the work will sand, grind, cut or abrade them, or if they have become friable.
People assume: The general contractor can simply add a small allowance and have the framing crew remove it.
Actually: Removal of regulated material is normally done by trained, often licensed, abatement contractors under state and federal rules. Having ordinary demolition crews disturb it can create compliance and liability problems.
Does MeltPlan Solve This?
Partially — adjacentMeltPlan's takeoff service can measure the demolition and renovation quantities shown on the plans, such as areas of flooring, ceilings and lengths of pipe, which feed your abatement and demolition pricing. Identifying which materials actually contain asbestos comes from the survey and lab results, and abatement scope, licensing and disposal decisions stay with you and your specialty subcontractors.
Get demolition quantities measured from plans →Frequently Asked Questions
What percentage of asbestos makes a material an ACM?
Under OSHA's construction standard and EPA's rule, material containing more than 1 percent asbestos is treated as asbestos-containing. EPA's definitions tie the measurement to polarized light microscopy, with point counting required in some cases.
What is the difference between ACM and PACM?
ACM is material shown to contain more than 1 percent asbestos. PACM, presumed asbestos-containing material, is material the standard presumes to contain asbestos unless a proper survey shows otherwise. OSHA's PACM definition covers thermal system insulation and surfacing material in buildings constructed no later than 1980.
Does every renovation need an asbestos survey?
EPA's demolition and renovation rule requires a thorough inspection of the part of the facility where work will occur before it begins. How that is documented, and which smaller jobs are exempt, varies by state and project type, so confirm the local requirement.
How should ACM be handled in a bid?
Carry a clear scope line for survey, abatement, air monitoring and disposal, name who is responsible, and state exclusions for unforeseen ACM. Where information is missing, an allowance with defined unit pricing for additional quantities is common.
Is asbestos still found in new products?
Most of the exposure concern in construction involves materials installed decades ago. Regulations on manufacture and use have changed over time, so specifications and product submittals should be checked rather than assumed.