Saturday, December 24, 2011
We Wish You A Merry & Jolly Holidays!
Future Environment Designs wishes all our followers, readers, and those of you who have attended our classes this past year a Merry and Jolly Christmas. We thank all of you for your support and we hope to see you again in the New Year. Thank you again, for your support.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
What Happened with NYS ELAP Ceiling Tile Analysis?
On April 8, 2011, New York State Department of Health's Environmental Laboratory Approval Program (ELAP) issued an FAQ regarding asbestos sample analysis. In this FAQ, ELAP informed us that ceiling tiles with cellulose need to be analyzed using the procedures in Items 198.6/198.4. This meant analysis using gravimetric reduction and inconclusive results requiring transmission electron microscopy analysis (TEM). In addition, the NYS Education Department (SED) in their newsletter #107 (July 2011) recommended that if schools have not tested their ceiling tiles in accordance with the current protocols, they should do so either as part of an existing or planned capital improvement or as an
independent analysis prior to disturbance.
Well its been over six months since this new procedure/protocol was announced, and next month it will be six months since the SED clarification. We would like to hear if this procedure has led to any new findings/concerns or are ceiling tiles still coming back primarily not containing asbestos? Please let us know what you are experiencing regarding this issue? So, far our experience is that most ceiling tiles are coming back not containing asbestos. What is your experience?
Well its been over six months since this new procedure/protocol was announced, and next month it will be six months since the SED clarification. We would like to hear if this procedure has led to any new findings/concerns or are ceiling tiles still coming back primarily not containing asbestos? Please let us know what you are experiencing regarding this issue? So, far our experience is that most ceiling tiles are coming back not containing asbestos. What is your experience?
Related articles
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Read The Preamble, To Better Understand The Standards
The OSHA Training Blog a couple of months ago had an interesting post discussing how to better understand OSHA standards. The post was titled "Want to Really Understand an OSHA Standard? Read the Preamble!". This post discussed the importance of the preamble to the regulatory process. Most importantly, the importance of the preamble in discussing want went into creating the standard. For understanding the standard the section that will provide the most information is titled "Summary and Explanation of the Standard". So, next time you want more information on a standard, a good place to start is the preamble.
Friday, December 09, 2011
2011 Northeast Regional Industrial Hygiene Conference & Exposition
Last Friday, we attended this year's Northeast Regional Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition. This annual conference is sponsored by the three local sections of the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA), the Metro New York, the New Jersey, and the Philadelphia Sections. It is held typically at Hyatt Regency Hotel in New Brunswick, New Jersey which is pretty convenient by mass transit. Traveling from Long Island its pretty simple, we took Long Island Railroad to Penn Station, at Penn Station we take New Jersey Transit to New Brunswick and its about three or four blocks from the train station. Costing about $49. Probably spend that in tolls and gas let alone aggravation.
The presentations were very professional as usual, though not much of the information could be added to our classes. Visit NY Metro Section's website for copies of the presentations. As usual Mr. Aaron K. Trippler (Director Government Affairs, AIHA) was entertaining in discussing what is going on in Washington DC. The highlight of his presentation was his final slide with this quote:
The Conference is a great place to go to catch-up with people who we only see once or twice a year and it provides 1.0 Industrial Hygiene CM points. Hopefully, we'll see you there next year.
The presentations were very professional as usual, though not much of the information could be added to our classes. Visit NY Metro Section's website for copies of the presentations. As usual Mr. Aaron K. Trippler (Director Government Affairs, AIHA) was entertaining in discussing what is going on in Washington DC. The highlight of his presentation was his final slide with this quote:
If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in 5 years there’d be a shortage of sand. - Milton FriedmanThe Exposition Hall was very informative and we enjoyed the champage and chocolate covered strawberries handed out by Mr. Steve Matthews and Mr. Kenneth Burns from Unitech Services Group (Thank you!!!). We were able to get the updated Ashtead Technology Catalog (rental industrial hygiene equipment) and picked-up a few give-aways. The interesting product of the Exposition was Bomark Instruments displaying a Drager confined space entry monitoring system (see the photo below) that can monitor multiple or very large areas. The units monitor for the typical four gases (carbon monoxide, oxygen deficiency, lower explosive limit, and hydrogen sulfide), however, the units are connected wirelessly. So when one unit sounds an alarm the other units sound an alarm, allowing a total evacuation of the confined space (pretty cool! and it looks a little like R2D2).
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| Bomark Instrument's Drager Confined Space Entry Monitoring System |
Thursday, December 08, 2011
OSHA Issues Hazard Alert for Hair Salon Owners & Workers?
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| Image via Wikipedia |
Formaldehyde is a colorless, strong-smelling gas that presents a health hazard if workers are exposed. You can be exposed to formaldehyde if you breathe it into your lungs, if it gets into your eyes, or if it is contained in a product that gets onto your skin. You can also be exposed accidentally if you touch your face, eat food, or drink after using a product containing formaldehyde without first washing your hands. It can irritate the eyes and nose, and cause coughing and wheezing. Formaldehyde is a "sensitizer," which means that it can cause allergic reactions of the skin, eyes, and lungs such as asthma-like breathing problems and skin rashes and itching. When formaldehyde is in a product that gets sprayed into the eyes, it can damage the eyes and cause blindness. It is also a carcinogen.
It is important to realize that though the product may be labeled as formaldehyde free, formaldehyde might be listed as methylene glycol, formalin, methylene oxide, paraform, formic aldehyde, methanal, oxomethane, oxymethylene, or CAS Number 50-00-0. All of these are names for formaldehyde under OSHA's formaldehyde standard. There are also chemicals, such as timonacic acid (also called thiazolidinecarboxylic acid) that can release formaldehyde under certain conditions, such as those present during the hair smoothing treatment process. Formaldehyde can be released from hair smoothing products that list any of these names on the label and workers can breathe it in or absorb it through their skin. Workers can be exposed to formaldehyde during the entire hair straightening process, especially when heat is applied (e.g. blow-drying, flat ironing).
As a salon owners, you must follow the
OSHA formaldehyde standard if a product contains formaldehyde or any of the chemicals mentioned above, this would include:
- Give employees appropriate gloves and other personal protective equipment (e.g., face shield, chemical splash goggles, chemical-resistant aprons) and train them on how to use this equipment while mixing and applying the products;
- Explain to workers how to read and understand the information on a product's label and MSDS;
- Make sure the workplace has eye and skin washing equipment if products that contain formaldehyde could be splashed onto the workers’ skin or into their eyes;
- Train workers how to safely clean up spills and properly throw products out; and
- Get workers the right medical attention (e.g., doctor exams) if they develop signs and symptoms of an exposure to formaldehyde or are exposed to large amounts of formaldehyde during an emergency (e.g., a large spill).
Wednesday, December 07, 2011
NIOSH Blog Discusses Erionite
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| Image by fluor_doublet via Flickr |
Reading this blog post, is like reading an article on asbestos exposure or how to control asbestos exposure. According to the post, the focus of potential exposure are road construction and maintenance workers that work with erionite-containing gravel used in road surfacing. Recommendations by NIOSH are to treat erionite-containing gravel in the same way as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) treats asbestos-containing materials. Train workers, control dust emissions and utilize wet methods, all sounding very familar to us in the asbestos industry, however currently their is no occupational exposure limit for erionite. Which will make things difficult for those exposed to erionite-containing gravel. Let's hope OSHA heeds NIOSH's recommendations
Tuesday, December 06, 2011
Kings Park Psychiatric Center Demolition Up For Bid
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
2011 Northeast Regional Industrial Hygiene Conference & Exposition is Friday
Tuesday, November 01, 2011
CDC Website Discusses Earthquakes
The Centers for Disease Control has updated their Emergency Preparedness and Response website with information on surviving an Earthquake. Considering we had a small one on the east coast this year, that we even felt on Long Island, it is important to be prepared and knowledgeable about what to do. The website discusses the things you can do before, during, and after the earthquake. The key point of the website is that in MOST situations, you will reduce your chance of injury from falling objects (and even building collapse) if you immediately:
The website discusses emergency supplies, and inspecting the home for hazards. One of the more interesting suggestions is the following from "Inspecting Home for Hazards:" - Check to see if your house or garage is securely fastened to the foundation. (If your house was built before 1950, it probably does not have bolts securing the wood structure to the concrete foundation.) If your house is not secured to the foundation, take the following steps:
The website discusses emergency supplies, and inspecting the home for hazards. One of the more interesting suggestions is the following from "Inspecting Home for Hazards:" - Check to see if your house or garage is securely fastened to the foundation. (If your house was built before 1950, it probably does not have bolts securing the wood structure to the concrete foundation.) If your house is not secured to the foundation, take the following steps:
- Using a hammer drill and carbide bit, drill a hole through the sill plate into the foundation. Holes should be approximately 6 feet apart.
- Drop a 1/2- x 7-inch expansion bolt into each hole and finish by tightening the nut and washer
We suggest you visit the website, so you can be prepared, just in case we get a more severe earthquake, next time.
Monday, October 31, 2011
October 31, 2011 Is FEMA's Registration Deadline
It is important that residents in Nassau & Suffolk County who have been impacted by Thunderstorm Irene register for FEMA aid as soon as possible. October 31, 2011 is FEMA’s registration deadline and registrations cannot be accepted after the October 31, 2011 deadline. "Registration keeps open the possibility of a wide range of assistance," said Philip E. Parr, FEMA Federal Coordinating Officer. "If your insurance coverage comes up short, or other damage appears later, you need to be registered with FEMA to be considered for disaster assistance."
Image via WikipediaThe following list is a sample of the assistance available through FEMA:Temporary Housing: (a place to live for a limited period of time): Money is available to rent a different place to live, or a government provided housing unit when rental properties are not available.
Image via WikipediaRepair: Money is available to homeowners to repair damage from the disaster that is not covered by insurance. The goal is to make the damaged home safe, sanitary, and functional.
Replacement: Money is available to homeowners to replace their home destroyed in the disaster that is not covered by insurance. The goal is to help the homeowner with the cost of replacing their destroyed home.
Permanent/Semi Permanent Housing Construction: Direct assistance or money for the construction of a home. This type of help occurs only in insular areas or remote locations specified by FEMA, where no other type of housing assistance is possible.
Other Needs: Money is available for necessary expenses and serious needs caused by the disaster. This includes medical, dental, funeral, personal property, transportation, moving and storage, and other expenses that are authorized by law.
To register, call the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362. Phone lines are open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET,
seven days a week until further notice. People with hearing disabilities can use the TTY number, 800-462-7585.
Applicants can also register online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or with any web-enabled mobile device or smart phone at m.fema.gov. Follow the link to "apply online for federal assistance."
Total Environmental & Safety Blog Post - Discusses Economic Prosperity
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Safety Regulations Don't Add Costs They Decide Who Pays Them
Image via Wikipedia
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Future Environment Designs does an Asbestos Presentation to BOMA's Long Island Chapter
We were invited to do an asbestos presentation to the Long Island Chapter of the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA), last week. Our presentation discussed a little about asbestos in the past, current issues with asbestos, and a discussion about asbestos in the future. Visit our website at http://futureenvironmentdesigns.com/news.html to access the presentation. It was an enjoyable presentation and it was a pleasure discussing asbestos with a group of people who deal with asbestos on a facility/ownership level. Thank you Mr. Robert Bloom for inviting me. If you have any comments on my presentation please post them here.
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| The asbestos mine in Asbestos, Canada |
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Asbestos Fears for Port Hedland Tug Workers
Image via WikipediaAustralian Mining's website reported on October 5, 2011, that up to 10 workers at BHP Billiton’s (BHP) Port Hedland site were exposed to asbestos after completing maintenance work on a tug boat. According to the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) crew from Teekay Shipping, a BHP contractor, were exposed to chrysotile, or white asbestos, while removing gasket material on the Star Voyager last month. Two weeks earlier Teekay workers at Port Hedland walked off the job after asbestos was found in the gasket joining material on another tug, the PB Fitzroy. Both the Star Voyager and PB Fitzroy were built by Chinese shipmaker Cheoy Lee Shipyards.Here is the problem, even though Australia has banned the use of asbestos in their country. That does not prohibit the use of asbestos in products that Australia buys. Which is the same problem the United States has.
This incident exposed workers to asbestos for 24 hours, and in one case, exposed the worker's family to asbestos after returning home from work in contaminated workclothes. Workers must be aware of the potential hazards in the materials they work with or otherwise how will they know how to protect themselves.
Friday, October 07, 2011
EPA Issues a Compliance Order Against Buffalo's Public Housing Authority
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued a compliance order, charging Buffalo's Public Housing Authority with violations of the Federal Clean Air Act resulting in fines up to $25,000 a day for each violation. See the WIVBTV video for the full story or Phil Fairbank's article "Housing Authority faces fines on asbestos" at BuffaloNews.com.This is part 2 of the Kensington Heights housing project where the federal government has handed indictments of nine individuals and two contractors on felony criminal charges related to the asbestos removal project. The 23-count indictment charges the contractors and individuals, including three inspectors -- one from the state, two from the city -- with improperly removing and disposing of asbestos at the complex. EPA spokesman Michael Basile said the allegations against the authority are similar but are administrative charges, not criminal charges. The authority is alleged to have violated the EPA's National Emission Standards for Asbestos.
Basile says the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority needs to first submit a plan of proper asbestos removal for what's left in the building, then a plan for a safe demolition. "We want to make sure that the building is demolished and the removal of the asbestos is done in a safe manner to protect human health and the environment, not only for the people that are going to be working on the project, but for the people that live in the immediate area,” said Basile. Basile says he hopes the fines will never be imposed, and believes the Public Housing Authority wants to get the asbestos removal and demo process done as soon as possible. He says once the plans are developed and submitted to the EPA, the approval process should take less than two weeks.
Thursday, October 06, 2011
Steve Jobs: How to live before you die | Video on TED.com
Image via WikipediaThis video of Steve Jobs' commencement speech is amazing and so true about how to live your life (I see many similarities to my own life). We lost Mr. Jobs today, but his impact on our lives will remain for so many years. Steve Jobs: How to live before you die | Video on TED.com
Friday, September 30, 2011
Strong Link Between Mold & Asthma in Children.
Image via WikipediaThe current issue of Indoor Environment Connection's front page article is "Strong Link Between Mold and Asthma in Children" written by Tom Scarlett. The article discusses a new study that appeared in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, this study indicates that children living in homes with high levels of mold had more than twice the risk of developing asthma than did children in mold-free homes. The article does a really good job of putting together results from several studies to point out the risk of children developing asthma from mold exposures. Discussed in the article is the metric, "Environmental Relative Moldiness Index" (ERMI) that was used in the study to determine the exposure level of the occupants. It will be interesting how we can use ERMI to help us quantitatively describe the mold burden in future studies and testing.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Chemical Lab Safety Refresher in IH News
The current issue of the Industrial Hygiene News has an excellent article on laboratory safety called "A Chemical Lab Safety Refresher" written by Mr. Phillip G. Retallick, who is the Senior Vice President Regulatory Affairs for Clean Harbors. The article covers the typical information regarding lab safety - training, storage, disposal, labeling, and compliance audits. One of the more interesting sections was the discussion on the requirements of a good industrial hygiene program. This section discussed the need for a worksite analysis and a well-defined and monitored work practices. The need for a Chemical Abstract Service (CAS) Registry software and routine monitoring of the air to ensure lab staff are protected is not typically discussed. The assumption is that sufficient ventilation will handle any potential problems. However, how do you know you have sufficient ventilation? Monitoring is the best way to ensure that. The article list important resources such as the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) "Environmental Management Guide for Small Laboratories" and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) hazardous materials portion (Section H) of 29 CFR 1910. A short and to the point article on Lab Safety.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
New Joint NIOSH/OSHA Publication on Nail Gun Safety
Image via WikipediaThe guidance was developed in response to a unanimous recommendation by employer, labor and public members of OSHA’s Advisory Committee for Construction Safety and Health (ACCSH), asking OSHA to develop awareness and materials about nail gun risks. OSHA and NIOSH worked together to make sure the guidance reflects the most current information available. The publication highlights what is known about nail gun injuries, describes the common causes of nail gun injuries and provides six practical steps that contractors can take to prevent these injuries. The guidance includes actual workplace cases along with a short section on other types of nail gun hazards and sources of additional information.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
EPA Warns New York City Residents about Dangers of Illegal Pesticides
Image via WikipediaThe Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), last week, conducted an investigation of businesses in several New York City neighborhoods revealing dangerous and illegal pesticides are widely available. Federal and state experts conducted 47 inspections and found 16 different types of illegal pesticides. The pesticides were not registered by EPA and consumers have no way of knowing how dangerous they are, because they were not subject to testing requirements or manufacturing controls that are required in the registration process. In all, nearly 350 illegal products were collected from the businesses in just three days. Store owners and vendors found with the illegal pesticides were given a warning and told why selling these products are dangerous and illegal. Separate but related criminal investigations conducted by EPA with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the U.S Attorney’s Office, U.S. Customs, the U.S. Postal Service and the Manhattan District Attorney’s office produced similar results and several charges were made against individuals last week, resulting in 12 arrests.
EPA Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck said, "I encourage all New York City retailers to check their shelves and make sure all their pesticides have the required EPA labels. Consumers should be careful to look for the EPA registration number printed on product labels, and to follow the directions for use, storage and disposal. If a pesticide product does not have an EPA registration number, it should not be purchased.”
“The sale of illegal pesticides poses a direct threat to the health and safety of our community. In the cases charged by our Office, that threat was particularly imminent in the Chinatown neighborhood,” said District Attorney Vance. “Some of these illegal products look and smell like cookie crumbs, making them dangerously tempting to children. Some of the other products are so toxic that one small vial can kill an adult male. It is my hope that our collective criminal and civil law enforcement actions will prevent future injury or death.”
The inspections, which took place the week of September 12, targeted stores in neighborhoods in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens. Among the items confiscated were various rodenticides, mosquito repellants and mothballs. These items will be safely destroyed.
Under federal pesticides law, all products sold in the United States that contain pesticides must be registered with EPA. Before a pesticide product is registered, the producer of the product must provide data from tests done according to EPA guidelines, to ensure that the product does not make people sick. EPA then examines the ingredients and the way in which the product will be used, and assesses a wide variety of potential human health and environmental effects associated with use of the product. Distributors and retailers are responsible for ensuring that all pesticides distributed and sold fully comply with the law.
Pesticides have been linked to various forms of illnesses in humans, ranging from skin and eye irritation to cancer. Some pesticides may also affect the hormone or endocrine systems. In many situations, there may be non-chemical methods to control pests. EPA recommends considering and using these methods as part of an overall pest management strategy.
EPA has created an illegal pesticides fact sheet in multiple languages, which it will be distributing to businesses and community organizations in the targeted neighborhoods.
In a separate series of actions earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Justice charged two New York City-based individuals, who together had distributed and sold thousands of packages of illegal pesticides in recent months, with misdemeanor violations of federal pesticide laws. The Manhattan District Attorney’s office also charged 10 retail sellers with selling dangerous and illegal pesticides and with reckless endangerment. Agents seized many more illegal pesticides from the individuals during their respective arrests.
For more information on pesticide regulation and enforcement, please visit the EPA’s Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/region2/pesticides.
Related articles
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Owner of Asbestos Abatement Training School Sentenced to Prison
Image via WikipediaIn November 2008, Albania DeLeon, former owner of Environmental Compliance Training (ECT), the country's largest asbestos abatement training school, fled the United States after her trial. DeLeon was convicted of a broad range of charges including selling training certificates to thousands of illegal aliens who had not taken the mandatory training course. Deleon then placed these unqualified individuals in temporary employment positions as certified asbestos abatement workers in public buildings throughout Massachusetts and New England. Deleon was also convicted of encouraging illegal aliens to reside in the United States, making false statements about matters within the jurisdiction of the Environmental Protection Agency; procuring false payroll tax returns, and mail fraud. On October 30, 2010, law enforcement authorities in the Dominican Republic, working in conjunction with the U.S. Marshal’s Service, arrested her in the capital city of Santo Domingo, where she was living under an alias and had dyed her hair blonde. In November, 2010, she was extradited to the United States. Yesterday, Albania DeLeon was sentenced to prison. U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton sentenced DeLeon, 41, formerly of Andover, Mass., to 87 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay $1,200,939.45 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service and $369,015 to AIM Mutual Insurance Company.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz said, “Today, justice was served, and Albania Deleon has finally faced the consequences of her crimes. I hope that this sentence sends a strong message to anyone who might contemplate fleeing to avoid punishment, that we do not give up on fugitives, and we will take all necessary means and resources to apprehend and prosecute them.”
“She ran and tried to hide, but eventually the law caught up with her,” said Michael E. Hubbard, Special Agent in Charge of the US Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division in Boston. “Ms Deleon cynically defrauded the taxpayer and put her own workers and the public at risk due to her greed. Today’s sentence shows that individuals who put illegal profits ahead of the welfare of society will deservedly be prosecuted and pay a very high price.”
“This sentencing sends a clear message to employers that seek to gain an unfair business advantage over their competitors by employing illegal workers,” said Bruce M. Foucart, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston. “The potential risk to public health and safety involving asbestos and lead abatement and training licenses made this investigation and the need to bring this individual to justice even more compelling.”
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