The Environmental Information Association Conference Is Back in Phoenix.

We will be attending the Environmental Information Association (EIA) 2022 National Conference and Exhibition.  It is being held at the Hyatt Regency in Downtown Phoenix and it is also being held virtually.  If you wish to register for the conference click here!  

Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West

Our love of Phoenix, Arizona started when we became a member of the American Council for Accredited Certifications (ACAC) Certified Indoor Environment Consultant Board.  Our meetings were always in January/February time period which is an absolutely perfect time to visit Phoenix.  The weather gave us a break from the winter of the Northeast.  It's not too hot during the day and not too cold at night.  Meeting members of the ACAC boards was a fantastic networking event!  This year the ACAC was planning a meeting of the Boards, however, attendance by ACAC members was not as hoped.  But we are still planning on getting together and will attend Adam Andrew's presentation in Session 4 - "Asking the Right Questions: Inbound marketing with professional certification."

Some of the ACAC Board Members we're hoping to see!

The EIA conference starts on Monday, March 21, 2022.  The opening of the General Session starts at 8:30 am and the schedule for this session includes the introduction of EIA governance, a short presentation by EIA Managing Director J. Brent Kynoch, EIA President Steve Fulford, and EIA 2022 Conference Chairs Chris Gates and Vessa Roberts. This session also features the presentation of the 2022 Jack Snider Jr. Award and the EIA 2022 keynote address.  The EIA's 2022 Keynote Presentation: "National Environmental Public Health Tracking: From Data to Action" Centers for Disease Control (CDC) National Centers for Environmental Health Environmental Public Health Tracking Program, CDC & AZ Department of Health Jena Losch, CDC, Public Health Advisor, National Center for Environmental Health and Hsini Linn, AZ Department of Health, Deputy Office Chief for Environmental Epidemiology.

Chihuly at the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix

We are looking forward to the Technical Program and seeing several sessions in addition to Adam Andrew's presentation.  We are looking forward to Lee Poye's, Eurofins - J3 Resources, presentation on "Libby Amphibole, Talc, Erionite, and Other Respirable Elongate Mineral Particles – Nonregulated Hazards?", Dylan Staack's presentation "Qualitative vs. Quantitative Fit Testing: Understanding the Gaps in Your Respiratory Protection Program", Danaya Wilson's, CHC Training, & Tom Laubenthal's, Air Quest Environmental plenary session on "Asbestos Regulation 101: Past, Present, Future", Michael P Menz's, CIH, CHMM, Indoor Environmental Concepts, LLC, Deregulated Asbestos Floor Tile Removal Using Dry Ice Technique", and Peggy Forney's, EPA - Retired, "Enforcement of Asbestos Abatement Projects."  To see the entire schedule of events click here.  We hope to see you at the conference and look forward to writing about the various presentations.

13 Days Till PACNY's 22nd Annual Environmental Conference!

Here we are again!  The Professional Abatement Contractors of New York's (PACNY's) 22nd Annual Environmental Conference is 13 days away.  As usual, we are excited for the conference and looking forward to going to Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York to hear some presentations, gamble a bit, and enjoy some great networking.  We are sponsoring the conference, again.  So come visit Future Environment Design's (FEDTC) at booth 18!  Ms. Sheryl Esposito will be womaning the booth!  As we have done in the past, we will be tweeting the conference live at twitter.com/angelogarcia3 with the hastag #FEDTCPACNY on Twitter.  There are some exciting presentations we look forward to hearing, this year!

Long Island is Usually Represented by Some Entertaining Characters! 

Linda Reinstein, President & Co-Founder of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization and the Global Ban Asbestos Network, presentation on Thursday, March 1, 2018, is the keynote speaker.  She is inspiring and we are looking forward to hearing an update about the ban of asbestos under the current administration.  Mr. James Meacham, of the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL), presentation on Wednesday, February 28, 2018, "Solving the Mystery of the ACB" sounds intriguing.  Considering all the problems we have experienced on Long Island (Clemente Park & Dix Hills) with the dumping of asbestos and other hazardous materials, Richard Clarkson, of New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), presentation on Thursday, March 1, 2018, on "Part 360 Revisions and Solid Waste Regulations" should be very interesting!  On the same day, Mr. Adam Andrews, of the American Council of Accredited Certifications (ACAC), presentation on "The Advantages of Certification for Indoor Air Quality" will give us a different perspective.  Mr. Bob Krell of IAQ Technologies and Healthy Indoors Magazine, presentation "Avoiding Potential Pitfalls of Mold Investigations and Remediation Projects" will close out Thursday.  Leading us into the cocktail reception in the exhibitor hall.

Cocktail Reception in the Exhibitor Hall

The final day of the conference typically starts with a presentation before NYSDOL's panel and round table discussion.  This year, we are looking forward to hearing AAC's Peter DeLucia's presentation on "Managing the Many Facets of the Silica in the Construction Standard".  It will be interesting to hear how a contractor is dealing with this new standard that went into effect in September 2017.  The conference will close out with the Panel from the NYSDOL featuring Dr, Eileen Franco, Director; Mr. James Meacham, PE, Program Manager; Ed Smith, PE, Engineering Services Unit; & Mr. Kirk Fisher, Licensing & Certification Unit.  They will be giving us an update on what they are doing and an opportunity to ask questions.  If you wish to attend you can register for the conference at PACNY's website.  We look forward to seeing you there.  It always a good time!

Yes it is!

   

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All Eyes Turn To Turning Stone Casino For PACNY's 19th Annual Environmental Conference

This week is the Professional Abatement Contractors of New York's (PACNY's) 19th Annual Environmental Conference.  The conference is being held at Turning Stone Casino in Verona, New York from Wednesday, February 25 through Friday, February 27th.  The conference is New York's premier conference for the abatement and remediation industries.  Like most conferences it consists of meetings and a vendor hall.  Unlike other conferences, regulators usually participate and are the main speakers at the event.  Find the registration form here.  

Turning Stone Casino is a Beautiful Casino

Future Environment Designs (FED) is again sponsoring the event, find our booth in the vendor hall staffed by Ms. Kimberly Granmoe & Ms. Sheryl Esposito, you met both of them last year.  The ladies will help you get our new app for Negative Air Calculations and a parting gift.  If you can't make the event, we will be posting updates on our Twitter feed (https://twitter.com/angelogarcia3) with the hashtag #FEDTCPACNY.

FED's Booth in the Vendor Hall

Last year, the conference expanded to three days, adding the Proficiency Day designed primarily for training providers.  This year PACNY has expanded it to include other proficiency topics.  In addition to Mr. Kevin Malone of New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) speaking on the training regulations, Mr. Andy Oberta & Mr. Sean Hart will be speaking on the asbestos visual inspection standard American Society of Testing Materials (ASTM) E1368; and Ms. Diana Wolgemuth of Dale Carnegie speaking on "Incorporating the Human Element into our Business."

The Long Island Contingent for PACNY Last Year.

Technical sessions on the second day this year will include discussions on vermiculite, the new mold regulations, asbestos abatement, understanding ASTM D7886, and "Industrial Hygiene Lessons Learned from the World Trade Center Disaster."  Opening speaker will be Ms. Linda Reinstein of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO).  Other speakers include: Mr. Brent Kynoch of the Environmental Information Association (EIA); Mr. Christopher Alonge (is Back!) from the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY); Matthew Darin from Bluepoint Environmental; Matt Sanchez from RJ Lee (guess what he will be talking about?); Dr. Marty Rutstein; Dr. Barry Castleman; Mr. Andy Oberta of the Environmental Consultancy; & Mr. Jack Springston of TRC Environmental Corp.  All should be great presenters with great topics!

Last Year's Regulatory Day

The final day of the conference is usually Regulation day.  It will start with Mr. Ed Cahill from EMSL (guess what he will be speaking on?).  It will then move to a roundtable consisting of asbestos and mold representatives from New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) from the engineering, enforcement, & legal divisions led by Dr. Eileen Franko, who is always entertaining and hopefully not offended this year.  For more details about the conference you can find the conference flyer here.  The conference is always fun and a great networking event.  The Cocktail Hour on the second day happens in the Vendor Hall and Wednesday night President's reception features Dan the Magic Man!  Hope to see you there!  Come by our booth and say hello.

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Mold Legislation Threatens Restoration/Remediation Industries

The New Year wasn't very old before the restoration/mold industry was beset with concerns regarding new regulations and legislation.  The first, Nassau County in New York State started requiring licensing for companies and owners of those companies who are environmental hazard remediation providers, this legislation Local Law No. 13-2014 was voted on by the County Legislature on September 22, 2014 and signed by County Executive Ed Mangano on September 25, 2014 (Thank you Mark Drozdov for the info).  The second item, on December 30 New York State's "Licensing of Mold Inspection, Assessment andRemediation Specialists and Minimum Work Standards" legislation was presented to Governor Andrew Cuomo to sign.  The Governor has until January 29 to either sign it, or veto it or he can let it expire (called a pocket veto) (Thank you Chris Alonge for the info.).

 

Water damage/Mold growth in a Basement Apartment

There is a growing group of industry individuals who feel that Governor Cuomo should veto the NYS legislation.  Many feel it is poorly written and have major issues with it.  Some examples include the definition of mold (to narrow a definition), NYS Department of Labor is charged with writing rules and regulations for overseeing the practices of assessment & remediation (it should be either the NYS Department of Health or NYS Department of Environmental Conservation), and does not mention or exempt a minimum quantity.  In our opinion, the law does use existing infrastructure to create the rules and regulations, recognizes conflict of interest issues, and leaves the details of the procedures up to the agencies who already have experience handling the restoration/remediation industry and provides some minimum procedures.  The law puts the responsibility for creating the details to NYS Department of Health and the NYS Department of Labor.  Both agencies already regulate the asbestos industry and have the experience to create, write, and enforce the potential rules and regulations to handle this industry.  Our feeling this legislation is better than the Nassau County legislation, and our concern is that we might get one like the Nassau County law.

Nassau's Local Law is meant to address problems that happened after Super Storm Sandy

Nassau County Local Law No. 13-2014 requires "Licensing of Environmental Hazard Remediation Providers" or in another words environmental contractors.  However, environmental contractors are defined "any person who or legal entity that, contracts with an owner or an owner's agent to inspect a suspected environmental hazard or to implement any measure or measures that result in the remediation of an environmental hazard in a building."  This definition means both consultants and contractors have to be licensed.  Even more amazing is the definition of Environmental hazard.  "Environmental hazard(s) means any condition that constitutes an indoor air quality violation as defined by any United States statue or regulation, any New York State Law or regulation, any local law or any regulation promulgated by the Commissioner of Consumer Affairs, and which hazard was caused by fire, flood, storm, chemical spills, dust, sewage, mold, pathogens or other biological contaminants and not caused by the presence of asbestos or lead."  There are so many statements in this definitions that we're not totally sure what is or isn't covered.  

The Local Law 13-2014 requires two licenses, environmental contractors have to get the Environmental Hazard Remediation Provider (EHRP) License ($1,000 for a two year license, renewal fee is $500 every two years) and the Environmental Hazard Remediation Technician (EHRT) License ($100 for two year license, every two years) shall be issued to an EHRP or their principal(s) and any person employed by, seeking employment by or under contract to a EHRP for the purpose of environmental hazard assessment and environmental hazard remediation.  It does allow an EHRT to supervise up to 10 unlicensed employees or contractors performing a remediation or remediations.  To get the EHRT license you must have taken and be current/in effect Certifications:

• OSHA Safety Standards for Construction or General Industry - minimum 10 hours
• NYS Asbestos Handler - minimum 32 hours
• EPA Lead Worker - minimum 16 hours.  Lead RRP is NOT sufficient
• Hazardous Waste Operations (HAZWOPER) - minimum 40 hours
• Microbial Remediation - minimum 24 hours
• Water damage restoration - minimum 20 hours or Institute of Inspection, Cleaning Restoration Certification (IICRC) WRT Certification
• Fire damage restoration - minimum 16 hours or IICRC FSRT Certification
• PCB Awareness - minimum 4 hours
• Bloodborne pathogens - minimum 4 hours
• Infection control risk assessment - minimum 4 hours
• Proof of a valid lead and asbestos abatement licenses.

The above list consists of 170 hours of training.  It is interesting to note to get an asbestos abatement license you need to take an NYS asbestos supervisor - minimum 40 hours and to get the EPA Lead Remediation License you must be an EPA lead supervisor - minimum 32 hours.  Nowhere in this list of topics is a supervisor course, considering that the EHRT will be allowed to supervise up to 10 unlicensed employees/contractors that seems very lacking.  In addition, there is no assessment class in this list.  Most of us in the industry would agree that this list should be the minimum training for the remediation workers in the restoration/remediation industry.  This list should not be the training requirements for the principals/supervising employees of an EHRP.  In our opinion, EHRP principals/supervising employees should have a minimum certification from American Council for Accredited Certifications, American Board of Industrial Hygiene, Board of Certified Safety Professionals, or another national, non-profit certifying body which:  

• is accredited by the Council of Engineering and Scientific Specialty Boards (CESB) and/or the American National Standards Institute under ANSI/ISO/IEC 17024, and 
• is wholly independent from training organizations, membership organizations, and industry trade associations.

In addition, the Local Law does not address the conflict of interest issues that arise from these types of projects.  In our opinion, the local law should have this language to address conflicts of interest:

• Individuals or legal entities shall not conduct environmental assessments for a period of one year on projects for which they have conducted environmental remediation services.

• Individuals or legal entities shall not conduct environmental remediations for a period of one year on projects for which they have conducted environmental assessments.

Both laws have their issues unfortunately the worst of the two laws is currently in effect and it needs drastic changes and should be repealed or amended.  

Latest IAQTV Video Discusses Flood Cleanup & Indoor Air Quality

IAQTV on You Tube has produced a number of basic videos discussing various indoor air quality (IAQ) topics.  The most recent one discusses the problems with flood water and the need to dry areas quickly to prevent IAQ problems.  http://youtu.be/3Q1tnHFkPF0

A few things not discussed is to make sure the drying company you choose to help you with flood cleanup has experience and is qualified.  The American Council for Accredited Certifications (ACAC) has two certifications in structural drying.  The Council-certified Structural Drying Remediator (CSDR) and the Council-certified Structural Drying Supervisor (CSDS) these individuals perform water damage restoration services.  For example, a CSDR or CSDS can safely mitigate water losses resulting from floods, fires, hurricanes and other disasters as well as broken pipes and water mains.  These professionals have verified knowledge of the principles, techniques, equipment and regulations relevant to structural drying as described in widely published industry texts and accredited standards.  Visit the ACAC's website to find companies that hire CSDRs or CSDSs.

Rainwater Flooded Basement

In addition, the term usually used for flood waters is black water.  Black water is typically defined as containing or potentially containing harmful contaminants.  It would include floodwaters containing soil and any sewage water.  All raw sewage is contaminated with microbes, including bacteria, protozoa, mold, fungi, and viruses.  Many are pathogenic to humans.  So heed the warnings in the video and get some professional help if you find yourself in this unfortunate position.

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