The purpose of this guide is to (1) define good commercial and customary practice in the United States of America for conducting a baseline limited asbestos screen (hereinafter, LAS) to evaluate the presence of asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) in major building systems within the interior of buildings involved in commercial real estate transactions, including, but not limited to, acquisitions, sales, leasing and financing; (2) facilitate consistency in the industry as to the scope and reports associated with an LAS; (3) establish reasonable expectations and an industry baseline standard of care for an LAS; and (4) recommend protocols for providers in communicating observations, opinions and recommendations in a manner meaningful to the user.

Formerly under the jurisdiction of Committee E50 on Environmental Assessment, Risk Management and Corrective Action, this guide was withdrawn in January 2014 in accordance with section 10.6.3 of the Regulations Governing ASTM Technical Committees, which requires that standards shall be updated by the end of the eighth year since the last approval date.

1.1 The purpose of this guide is to (1) define good commercial and customary practice in the United States of America for conducting a baseline limited asbestos screen (hereinafter, LAS) to evaluate the presence of asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) in major building systems within the interior of buildings involved in commercial real estate transactions, including, but not limited to, acquisitions, sales, leasing and financing; (2) facilitate consistency in the industry as to the scope and reports associated with an LAS; ( 3) establish reasonable expectations and an industry baseline standard of care for an LAS; and (4) recommend protocols for providers in communicating observations, opinions and recommendations in a manner meaningful to the user.

1.2 Other Purpose LimitationsWhile an LAS is intended to reduce the risk of the presence of ACM within a building, it is not designed to eliminate that risk. The LAS presented in this guide is not intended to serve as a comprehensive asbestos building survey, comprehensive inspection or comprehensive assessment for the presence of ACM in all or most of the building systems throughout a building, nor does an LAS serve to adequately assess the presence of ACM in a building or portions thereof for pre-demolition, pre-renovation or OSHA notification purposes. For such services, a comprehensive asbestos building survey should be performed that meets applicable state and local regulations. In light of the foregoing purposes, this guide primarily offers scope and insight into the limited nature of asbestos screens driven by the commercial real estate market. It is recognized, however, that the asbestos industry utilizes procedures for sample collection, friability evaluation and analyses based upon such rules and regulations as AHERA, OSHA, and various state regulations. This guides use of terms defined by such regulations (e.g., friability, damage assessment, suspect materials) in no way implies that the scope of this guide is designed to meet all other mandates of those regulations.

1.3 Considerations Beyond This ScopeThe use of this guide is strictly limited to the scope set forth in this section. The scope of this guide does not include safety considerations, certification or licensure of inspectors other than requiring that work be performed in a safe manner and that inspectors be properly credentialed, as described in . The LAS set forth in this guide is not intended to eliminate the risk potential of ACM within the building, nor should it be interpreted as a comprehensive building asbestos survey, comprehensive inspection or comprehensive assessment for the presence of ACM in all or most of the building systems throughout a building, nor does this LAS serve to adequately assess the presence of ACM in a building or portions thereof for pre-demolition or pre-renovation purposes. Assessment of roofing materials and exterior materials (such as siding/stucco), conveying systems (such as escalators and elevators), energized systems (e.g., charged electrical systems, hydraulic and pneumatic pressure systems), or private single-family residences are specifically excluded from this guide. Such exclusions are addressed in comprehensive building asbestos surveys, or users may request the addition of the foregoing exclusions as Additional Services (see Section ).

1.4 Organization of the GuideThis guide has 12 sections. Section defines the Scope. Section is Referenced Documents. Section is Terminology. Section defines the Significance and Use of this guide. Section describes User Responsibilities. Section sets forth the components of an LAS under this guide. Section describes the Interview and Report Review process. Section describes the scope of the building walk-through. Section provide Analytical Guidelines. Section describes LAS report contents. Section identifies Non-Scope Considerations. Section lists keywords for Internet reference.

1.5 Uncertainty Is Not EliminatedA LAS is not designed to wholly eliminate uncertainty regarding the potential for the existence of asbestos-containing materials within the building systems of a building. Conformance with this guide is intended to reduce, but not eliminate, uncertainty regarding the potential for asbestos in major building systems within buildings. Although such uncertainty is generally reduced in proportion to an increased number of sampling locations and increased number of samples collected, this guide does not purport to be comprehensive or fully evaluate a building for the presence of asbestos-containing materials.

This guide offers a set of instructions for performing one or more specific operations and should be supplemented by education, experience and professional judgment. Not all aspects of this guide may be applicable in all circumstances. This ASTM standard guide does not necessarily represent the standard of care by which the adequacy of a given professional service must be judged nor should this document be applied without consideration of a projects unique aspects. The word "standard" in the title means only that the document has been approved through the ASTM consensus process.