Our project, which involved redevelopment of an urban site, included an ASTM Phase II Environmental Site Assessment as required by the credit language. The assessment revealed the presence of asbestos within several buildings, and a cleanup was performed to meet the requirements of Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and NESHAPS (National Emmisions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants). The procedures required specially trained cleanup crews with tyvek suits and breathing apparatus, special containment zones with negative pressurization and HEPA filters to insure no exposure outside of the cleanup areas. The abatement contractors were required by federal statute to carry pollution liability insurance and the materials had to be specially contained and shipped to designated landfill sites. The entire cleanup (for several buildings) cost several hundred thousand dollars (i.e. this was no trivial effort). Because the ASTM language regarding what constitutes a \'\'contaminant\'\' allows for some ambiguity (i.e. whether building materials fall within the definition, or only ground pollution), please confirm for us whether a RCRA/NESHAPS-level asbestos cleanup, discovered in an ASTM Phase II assessment, meets the intent of Sites Credit 3.
Yes, the actions as stated will garner a point under this credit dependent on complete documentation as required by LEED. The site in question was documented as containing hazardous material (asbestos) found on the site pursuant to ASTM E1903-97 assessment (per LEED Version 2.1). Also acceptable is brownfield designation by a relevant local, state or federal government agency. LEED considers the identification, remediation and reuse of contaminated sites as environmentally and socially beneficial whether the contamination is below OR above ground. Follow any generally accepted standard for remediation, such as RCRA and NESHAPS.