What is Abatement?

Water, fire, mold, and other forms of property damage can be very unsettling. Although VenTERRA has successfully performed thousands of abatement projects, we always remind ourselves that this can be confusing and foreign process to many property owners.

We are true specialists in abatement; it is the only thing we do. Abatement is the industry term used to describe the unique process of safely removing and disposing of hazardous materials, such as asbestos and lead. Sometimes this process is also called Remediation, although this term is more commonly used in the mold context.

The abatement process may include several steps, so we thought it would be helpful to describe the general sequence of events, trade terminology, and the part we play in getting your life back to normal.

Identification of Hazardous Materials

If building materials must be removed due to a loss, and the affected structure was constructed before a certain year, a third-party Hygienist or Environmental Consultant will test for potential hazards, such as asbestos, lead or mold. If the materials are deemed to contain asbestos, lead or mold, then abatement of these materials must be performed.

Job Walk/ Insurance Approval

If this is your first time dealing with an insurance claim, we can help.  After we come to your home to assess damages and costs to do the abatement, we then submit the estimate to your insurance company.

Once this step is completed VenTERRA will need to get approval from Insurance. In some cases, this can happen in minutes. In other cases, this can take longer than 48 hours.  If you have any questions on the status of the claim, you may contact your desk adjuster.

Within the insurance company there is a “Desk Adjuster” and a “Field Adjuster”. The desk adjuster approves all the work and, in some cases, not all, the field adjuster will come to your home and file a report to the desk adjuster about the damages. Sometimes this will cause a delay in the approval process because the desk adjuster may not approve the work until the field adjuster files his report.

Once the Insurance company approves the work you can call the Project Coordinator or Estimator to schedule the work.

Pack-out

Prior to starting the abatement, the affected areas must be cleared of your contents or Packed-Out. Once the pack-out is completed, then we schedule the abatement process to begin. We do not provide a Pack-Out service. Your restoration company or insurance may provide you with one.

Start Work

The type of material to be removed largely dictates the procedures to be followed in its removal. Generally, Abatement, involves the use of plastic containment, decontamination chambers, negative air machines, wet removal methods, HEPA vacuuming, bagging of waste, and of course, the use of personal protection equipment for our personnel.

Clearance Testing

In some circumstances, post-abatement Clearance Testing by a third-party consultant or hygienist is performed. Asbestos, Lead, Mold or Bacteria testing may be required depending on the insurance claim, insurance policy or the loss itself. Some insurance companies do not provide payments for clearances to be performed. Although clearance testing is not required by law to acquire, VenTERRA suggests to all parties involved that this should be performed.

Tear Down

Once the job has been completed through these steps, the Tear-Down is scheduled to remove the plastic containment and equipment. Once we tear down, our part of the process is complete.