Cleaning Up Lead, Asbestos, and Other Hazards

Largely for peace of mind, however, they wanted the stuff completely eighty-sixed from the house. They called in an army of men decked out in Tyvek suits to seal off the asbestos-contaminated rooms, rig a vacuum system to capture floating fibers, and then scrape it off, double bag it, and haul it to a landfill licensed to handle asbestos. (See epa.gov/asbestos/ for more on asbestos removal.) The Sharmas' entire job took only a couple of days but, together with the inspection, cost more than $8,000. Allison says it was worth it: "The patient was already opened up on the operating table—so why not get all the bad stuff out all at once?"