Estimation of the cost of asbestos abatement in public buildings in the state of California: An application of the bootstrap

In response to California Assembly Bill No. 2070 (1986), an Asbestos Assessment Task Force was created to analyze the magnitude of the asbestos problem in public buildings in the State of California. A survey of 207 city‐owned and county‐owned buildings was carried out to determine the presence and condition of asbestos‐containing material. In addition, a ranking and priority system was developed to rank buildings according to the degree of asbestos hazard, and to estimate the costs of abatement and/or management according to this system. This information was then extrapolated to the universe of city/county buildings using bootstrapping procedures. It was estimated that the average cost for recommended asbestos abatement was $194 million (range $146–254 million). The average cost for total removal of all asbestos increased to $379 million (range $312–470 million).