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Removal

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poli
December 20, 2015, 10:24 PM
In a public building in New York there was a message in in an Spanish to this effect:
The building will be closed on December 20 for asbestos removal
El edifício estará cerrado el día 20 de diciembre por la removación de asbestos.

This is a approximation of what was written, but what surprised me was the term removación. It seems like a wrong word for removal. Am I correct about this?

Rusty
December 21, 2015, 12:07 AM
You're right. It should be 'extracción'.

aleCcowaN
December 21, 2015, 03:14 AM
"...por remoción de asbestos"
"...para remoción de asbestos"

remoción de escombros
recolección de basura
extracción de una muela cariada
remoción de vehículos mal estacionados
recolección de frutas
remoción de árboles frutales viejos
extracción de raíces muertas
extracción de minerales

recolección: you have to pick up
remoción: you have to pull up, tear out, drag
extracción: you have to pull out, pluck, dig out

poli
December 21, 2015, 12:15 PM
That's good to know. When I saw the word remoción. I thought of the word
remover which to my knowledge means to stir up, so I, like Rusty, thought it was wrong. In this case remoción and removal are cognates. What was written as a public notice was most likely written by someone from Puerto Rico or of Puerto Rican heritage. because established Spanish speakers are still largely Puerto Rican in New York. It coincides with Argentinian usage, so I now assume that remoción is a good term for removal in this case in Latin American Spanish.

For the verb remove, I would use quitar. (Van a quitar el asbestos del edificio hoy). I assume you wouldn't use remover in this sentence instead of quitar. Am I correct?

aleCcowaN
December 21, 2015, 06:48 PM
I'd say "van a sacar el/los amianto/s que hay en el edificio" (we don't use quitar), I only know the Spanish word asbesto as a term for hard minerals, not the term for things made with those minerals, specially if they're soft or flexible, like those for making fire-resistant fabrics or insulating panels.

poli
December 22, 2015, 08:11 AM
Thanks. Sacar is certainly the better than quitar, and amianto is a new word for me.