Identify Hazardous Materials Before They Delay Your Project
A-Tech’s hazardous materials consulting services identify, inventory, and characterize the regulated materials in your building, then tell you how to manage or dispose of each one. We offer three services for sites across California and Washington: PCB Assessments, Universal Waste Inventory, and Chemical Inventory & Characterization.
Hazardous materials are substances that require special handling, removal, or disposal under state and federal rules. In buildings, the most common are PCBs in caulk and older light ballasts, universal waste like fluorescent lamps and batteries, and stored chemicals with missing labels. Found late, they can stall a renovation, sale, or closeout.
Our Hazardous Materials Services
PCB Assessments
PCB testing that confirms whether building materials or electrical equipment contain PCBs at regulated levels, so removal can be planned before work begins.
When you need it
- Buildings built or updated 1950 to 1979
- Replacing old fluorescent fixtures
- Removing older transformers or equipment
What’s included
- Inspection of caulk, glazing, and paint; ballast label survey; transformer nameplate and records review
- Testing by an accredited laboratory
- Report with locations, concentrations, and disposal classification
Why it matters: PCBs at or above 50 ppm in caulk, paint, and other building materials are not authorized for use under TSCA, and EPA has found caulk above 440,000 ppm.
Universal Waste Inventory
A survey that locates and counts the lamps, batteries, mercury devices, and electronics (universal waste in California) that must be removed before demolition and managed as universal waste whenever they are taken out of service.
When you need it
- Before demolition or major renovation
- Moving out or returning a lease
- Closing or consolidating a facility
What’s included
- Room by room walkthrough
- Counts of lamps, batteries, electronics, and mercury devices
- Photo inventory your contractor can bid from
Why it matters: California DTSC and Washington Ecology generally limit universal waste storage to one year from the date it becomes waste.
Chemical Inventory & Characterization
Catalogs chemical containers, identifies unknown contents, and classifies the waste so it can be transported and disposed of legally.
When you need it
- Closing a facility, shop, or lab
- Buying or selling industrial property
- Finding unlabeled drums or containers
What’s included
- Container catalog by location and condition
- Sampling and lab analysis of unknowns
- Waste profiles for your disposal contractor
Why it matters: Misclassified waste can be rejected at disposal, and California penalties reach $70,000 per violation, per day.
Hazardous Materials by the Numbers
Why Choose A-Tech for Hazardous Materials Consulting
Frequently Asked Questions
A hazardous materials survey is an inspection that identifies regulated materials in a building, such as asbestos, lead, PCBs, universal waste, and stored chemicals, before renovation, demolition, sale, or closeout. It tells you what must be removed and how to dispose of it.
If it was built or renovated between 1950 and 1979, it may. Researchers estimate 12,960 to 25,920 U.S. schools alone have PCBs in caulk. Only laboratory testing confirms whether materials exceed regulated levels.
In most cases, yes. Lamps, batteries, and mercury devices must be removed before demolition, along with any PCB ballasts, and a survey documents what was there and gives your contractor an accurate scope.
Generally no more than one year in California or Washington. Removed PCB ballasts follow a separate federal timeline: shipped to an approved facility within nine months and disposed of within one year. In California, PCB ballasts are hazardous waste, and shorter state accumulation limits apply.
Yes. Many clients bundle them into one survey before renovation or demolition to save time and keep findings in a single report.
