Method of removing airborne asbestos dust

摘要

PURPOSE:To make it possible to remove asbestos quickly and safely while eliminating a risk of the secondary pollution otherwise resulting from the treatment of asbestos by spraying a specified hardening solution over asbestos dust floating in air or adherent to the surrounding surface. CONSTITUTION:A hardening solution is obtained by mixing a solution of a water-soluble silicate (e.g., lithium silicate) of the formula (wherein M is an alkali metal belonging to Group IA of the periodic table); x is 2.0-4.5, and aq is an aqueous solution) with a synthetic resin emulsion and/or a water-soluble resin which does not cause shocking when mixed with the silicate and can form a film at room temperature in the presence of, optionally, a film-forming aid and, optionally, a pigment, a dispersant, a thickener, a film-forming aid, an antiseptic, etc. In performing a repair work such as confinement or removal of a coated asbestos layer in a building, the asbestos concentration in air is decreased by spraying the hardening solution over asbestos dust floating in a high concentration in the zone of treatment and the inside of the treated space and recovering the dust in the form of wetted asbestos.