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Southeast Military Station Hurricane Recovery
Damaged kitchen area showing water mark
Rapid microbial growth and the presence of asbestos-containing materials added to the complexity of the recovery efforts.
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Military housing on five Southeast military bases was inundated by a storm surge from Hurricane Katrina. Most of the duplex houses had been flooded to a level about four feet up from the first floor, requiring removal and disposal of the damaged walls. MARCOR removed all water-damaged sheetrock (65,000 sq. ft), some vinyl asbestos tile (VAT), and mold growth, which was added as a change order. Up to 75 technicians worked 12-hour days, seven days per week, to perform the work, with the exception of Christmas, the day after, and New Year’s Day.
All work was performed in adherence to applicable federal, state, and local regulations, including the Army Corps of Engineers Safety Manual (EM 383-1-1).
Depending upon the type of work being performed, personal protective equipment (PPE) included hard hats, full-face respirators, goggles, Tyvek suits, hoods, gloves, and foot coverings, with tape used to secure coverings at the wrists, ankles, and neck. Work methods for mold and asbestos removal utilized HEPA-filtered vacuums, wet wiping, taped/sealed 6-mil poly for containment of the work area, and negative air machines to maintain a continuous, minimum pressure differential in the control area of minus 0.02 inch of water column relative to adjacent, unsealed areas. In addition, a fine spray of amended water was applied during asbestos abatement actions to minimize the possible emission of airborne fibers. Following performance of the cleanup efforts, a third-party consulting firm performed clearance testing, which passed on the first round and confirmed the project's success.
