AHERA Bulk Sampling Rules and Other Requirements that Apply to Asbestos Surveys.

In 2008, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) responded to a question by the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) regarding the minimum number of bulk samples required for suspect asbestos-containing miscellaneous materials (see our blog post dated 6/24/08 and rebooted 07/09/22). This clarification determined that the minimum number of samples is two (2) samples for each suspect homogeneous miscellaneous materials.  This clarification was determined based on a review of the EPA's Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) section 763.86 -Sampling. This section of the AHERA regulation is used by asbestos inspectors to determine the number of samples to take for each homogeneous area.  However, it is important to remember when sampling joint compound and add-on material (which are miscellaneous materials) that EPA's "Sampling Bulletin 093094", requires 3 samples per homogeneous area for joint compound and 3 samples per homogeneous area of add-on material.

The core of all asbestos inspections is the determination of the type of material (surfacing material, thermal system insulation, or miscellaneous material) and whether the materials are homogeneous. A homogeneous area is defined as a type of material that is uniform in color and texture (as per 763.83). Once the type of material is determined and the material is classified as a homogeneous area, then the number of samples for each area is determined.

If the suspect asbestos material is a surfacing material, the square feet of the homogeneous area is determined which provides the inspector with the minimum number of samples that shall be taken. If the homogeneous area is less than 1,000 square feet, the inspector shall take 3 samples. If the area is between 1,000 and 5,000 square feet, the inspector shall take 5 samples. When the area is over 5,000 square feet, the inspector shall take 7 samples. This is sometimes known in the industry as the 3-5-7 rule.  In addition, EPA also published "Asbestos in Buildings: Simplified Sampling Scheme for Friable Surfacing Materials," otherwise known as the "Pink Book."  This document not only describes the process for random sampling but also recommends that for surfacing materials the number of samples should be 9 per homogeneous area no matter the number of square feet.

Should the suspect asbestos material be classified as thermal system insulation then the inspector must determine if the material is a homogeneous area, a patch material, or a cement or plaster used on fittings (tees, elbows, or valves). Homogeneous areas of thermal system insulations shall require 3 samples, while each homogeneous area of patch material less than 6 linear feet or 6 square feet shall require only 1 sample. Cement or plaster used on fittings shall be sampled based on each insulated mechanical system (hot water, cold water, steam, chilled water, etc.) and shall require a minimum of 2 samples to  be taken.  In addition, EPA strongly recommends that at least three samples be taken in large homogeneous areas, even when the regulations do not require it.  This recommendation was published in EPA's 700/B-92/001 A Guide To Performing Reinspections Under AHERA.

Some general rules to remember when taking bulk samples is sampling should be taken in a randomly distributed manner, samples cannot be composited, and shall be submitted to laboratories accredited by the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP) and, in New York State, approved New York State Department of Health Environmental Laboratory Approval Program (NYSDOH ELAP).  Asbestos Inspectors determine a homogeneous area contains asbestos when one of the required numbers of samples contains asbestos in the amount greater than 1%. Should all the required samples taken in a homogeneous area result in asbestos amounts less than or equal to 1%, then the area does not contain asbestos as per EPA. However, you must make sure your client is aware that under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulation 1926.1101 these materials are still regulated as asbestos and there are specific requirements under the OSHA regulation on handling these materials, see OSHA's standard interpretation letter dated November 24, 2003.  

As Asbestos Inspectors we should also remember that the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) has a Standard Practice for Comprehensive Asbestos Survey ASTM E2356-18.  This standard practice has also been approved by EPA as the method for performing asbestos surveys for the purposes of complying with the National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPS) regulation.  That regulation requires a "thorough inspection" of the facility for asbestos and EPA expects an owner/operator to follow the steps described in Sections 1 through 5 and section 8 (the pre-construction survey) in the ASTM standard.  Being an Asbestos Inspector and performing an asbestos survey is not an easy task.  There are a lot of different documents that you have to have knowledge about to be able to perform your task and then on top of that you must have knowledge regarding where asbestos was used in building materials.

EPA Clarifies Miscellaneous Materials Sampling - RePublished

Over the past several months in the asbestos refresher classes, we have been talking about the clarification letter that the Professional Abatement Contractors of New York (PACNY) sent to all asbestos contractors and consultants back in November 2007. This letter detailed clarification from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) regulation to a question from Mr. Christopher Alonge of the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) regarding the minimum number of samples that should be taken for miscellaneous materials. According to this clarification (follow the link above for the PACNY letter and clarification), the minimum number of samples that should be taken of miscellaneous materials (i.e., floor tiles, roofing, caulk, ceiling tiles) is two. The original AHERA section covering sampling of miscellaneous materials indicates that the word used in this part of the regulation is "samples" indicating more than one.

Realize this is only an issue if you took one sample of let's say floor tiles, and based on the result (remember floor tiles are analyzed utilizing the nonfriable organically bound material method of analysis, requiring final negative results to be analyzed by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM)) you said the floor tiles did not contain asbestos. The EPA clarification says that you needed another negative sample result to say the floor tiles did not contain asbestos. This issue obviously does not impact those of you who have been following our recommended procedure of taking at least three samples per homogeneous miscellaneous material. If you followed our recommendation you would have three negative results before declaring a miscellaneous material not asbestos-containing and would be in compliance with the clarification and the original regulation.

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.

Professional Day - Day Two of PACNY's 23rd Annual Environmental Conference - Vendors Galore!

The second day of the Professional Abatement Contractors of New York's (PACNY's) 23rd Annual Environmental Conference at Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York, started in the Vendor Exhibit Hall with the realization that there were quite a few new vendors on display.  To be exact 5 additional vendors added to the usual 23 vendors the conference usually has.  To provide access to the presentations PACNY has loaded most of the presentations from the three-day conference at their website, click here.

Video of the Vendor Exhibit Hall at Turning Stone Casino

Opening remarks & conference welcome were done by Chairman Deb Sanscrainte of Aramsco, and PACNY President Joseph Cantone, of Colden Corporation.  The first presenter for the second day was Sue Rossi, CHMM the Sr. Industrial Account Manager of Waste Management, her topic was "Asbestos and other special wastes".  Her presentation informed us that New York State in 1988 had 227 landfills and now there are only 26 active landfills, many closed due to tougher environmental regulations.  Her presentation also informed us that NYS requires landfills to treat non-friable asbestos-containing materials (ACM) that are placed into an asbestos labeled waste bag (class 9 bags) as friable.  Even if they are put into class 9 bags that were turned inside out.  If the bag rips open at the landfill, the landfill will back charge the contractor for the additional fee for disposal as a friable instead of the nonfriable charge.  Ms. Rossi also discussed that Waste Management's High Acres Landfill can accept polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) bulk product (e.g., caulk, paint, mastics, sealants) waste.  The approval checklist and backup information for the handling of PCB bulk product wastes and a copy of her presentation can be found here.

Sue Rossi, CHMM of Waste Management speaking about Friable ACM waste

Our next presenter was Timothy W. Pullis, ARM, Construction Practice Leader of Brown & Brown of NY, Inc., discussing "Workers' Compensation EMR Fundamentals".  Mr. Pullis discussed a drugfree workplace credit of 5% (worth 5 points); experience mod was explained as a formula that calculates the ratio of "expected" losses compared to "actual" losses, the experience mod is a statistical comparison of risks using the same job class codes and similar payroll, and the result adjusts the annual workers compensation premium based on the prior loss experience by "modifying" the manual premium; and EMRs over one (1) could exempt people from certain contracts.  Our presenter before coffee break was Adam Schrader, President of Ecospect and George Schambach, President of NYS American Association of Radon Scientist and Technologist (AARST) Professional Home Inspection Service discussing "Current Radon Legislation in NYS, and current national American National Standards Institute (ANSI)/AARST Standards for testing and mitigation in all building types".  Mr. Schambach discussed pending NYS legislation Assembly Bill #A8605 and Senate Bill #S6851 to amend the real property law, in relation to radon service professional licensing.  Radon service professionals would include - radon measurement professional defined as radon service professional who deploys and retrieves radon detectors and provides a report of the associated measurement results that are generated by a radon analytical laboratory and radon mitigation professional defined as a radon service professional who interprets radon test results and determines the most effective way to manage radon concentrations within buildings.

Corey Briggs of Colden Corporation - Freeze Framed!

After taking our break in the Vendor Exhibit Hall, Kevin Canaan, of AAC Contracting, started the presentations by awarding Joseph D. Lane, President of Environmental Protection Services, PACNY's Lifetime Achievement Award for his many years of service above and beyond normal PACNY duties.  Corey W. Briggs, MSPH, CIH, CET, FAIHA, Senior Consultant of Colden Corporation, led a presentation titled "Freeze Frame - Focus on H&S" that was entertaining for the many pictures of unsafe acts.  Next up was Brian Sampson, of the Associated Builders and Contractors Association, discussing "Trends and Issues of Concern for the Construction Community".  His discussion touched on the legalization of recreational marijuana and the extension of prevailing wage to private work.

Mike Rubin of Goldberg Segalla - Proactively Establish Your Defenses

After lunch and the Vendor Exhibit Hall Mike Rubin Esq., Partner at Goldberg Segalla, discussed "Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Top Ten Tips - Minimize and Eliminate Exposure".  Mr. Rubin's presentation touched on the employer's rights during an OSHA inspection, creating an OSHA response plan, asserting your rights during an inspection, and points necessary for a proactive defense.  After another visit to the Vendor Exhibit Hall, Mike Waller, PhD, of Rochester Regional Health, spoke on "Sustainability/Solutions and How to Balance".  Dr. Waller started his presentation with "how do you define sustainability."  His definition was thought-provoking "development that meets the needs of the current generation without compromising the needs of future generations" or in other words "Solving today's challenges without creating future problems".  The presentations ended with Rob DeMalo, Member of the Board of Directors of the Environmental Information Association (EIA) and Senior Vice President of EMSL Analytical, Inc, presentation on "Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) Regulatory Update".  Discussing the Significant New Use Rule (SNUR) proposal from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Vendor Reception - Food and an Open Bar

After the presentations, the Vendor Reception was held in Vendor Exhibit Hall including food and an open bar.  The vendor reception included the usual suspects Aramsco, DiVal, Frederico Demolition, Healthy Indoors, and Future Environment Designs, click here for a full list of Sponsors/Vendors.  One of the interesting new vendors was Sundstrom displaying new respirators for asbestos and silica and Red Roof Inn with a special discount for conference attendees.  The second day is called Professional Day and all the presentations definitely met the definition of professional with a lot of valuable information provided and may takeaways. Stay tuned for the final day Regulatory Day!

Sundstrom Silica Dust Respirator Kit

Related Articles:

• Proficiency Day Awards Architects & Engineers 3 Professional Development Hours - PACNY's 23rd Annual Environmental Conference - Day One
• Countdown to PACNY's 23rd Annual Environmental Conference Begins!

Proficiency Day Awards Architects & Engineers 3 Professional Development Hours - PACNY's 23rd Annual Environmental Conference - Day One

This year's Proficiency Day of the Professional Abatement Contractors of New York's (PACNY's) 23rd Annual Environmental Conference was approved to award three (3) professional development hours (PDH) for architects and engineers.  This was the first time the first day of the conference was recognized for this purpose.  The first day is typically short with two or three presenters allowing us to get the presentations to the Practicing Institute of Engineers for their review.  Attendees had to sign the attendance sheet and attend the presentations to receive the 3 PDHs.  Ms. Lisa Brown, Executive Secretary of PACNY sent out the certificates to those that attended the presentations.

Karen Cummings, MPH presenting on the Asbestos Safety Training Program

Starting the conference and the proficiency day was Ms. Karen Cummings, MPH presenting on the Asbestos Safety Training Program  "Overview and Updates".  Her presentation gave us insights into the asbestos training industry.  For a copy of her presentation visit our Dropbox folder on the Resources page of our website.  Ms. Cummings has been the Director of the New York State Department of Health's Asbestos Safety Training Program for just over a year and has been getting to know the program.  Her presentation gave asbestos training providers, an important opportunity to meet with her and her staff (Ms. Jessica Pierce, reviewer of training submittals, and Ms. Ida Berry, many of us have met her when she has audited our training courses, were both in attendance).  Her department in 2018 regulated 62 training providers that provided 26,251 training certificates.  Her presentation included several graphics providing us with a glimpse of the NYS asbestos training industry.  The high water mark for training was 2000 when approximately 3,838 training classes (refreshers and initials total) were held (in 2018, 3,401 training classes were held).  Ms. Cummings also informed us that the high water mark for training certificates was 2013 with 29,130 certificates issued.  We learned that the busy season for training providers runs from January to April with over a third of all classes being held in that time period.  Some other interesting points from Ms. Cumming's presentation: 15% of providers (training providers holding 100+ classes per year) taught over half the classes and issued two-thirds of the certificates; average exam scores by discipline were typically higher for refresher classes than initial classes (not surprising) except for the air sample technician discipline (surprising).

Angelo Garcia, III, CIEC, CEOP, presenting on Asbestos Inspections & NYCDEP Changes

The next presentation was a "Review of Asbestos Inspection Requirements" presented by Mr. Angelo Garcia, III, CIEC, CEOP, of Future Environment Designs with significant assistance from Mr. Peter Delucia and Mr. Greg Mance, both from AAC Contracting.  Mr. Delucia worked on the content and did the polling of the audience, while Mr. Mance assisted with the content and questions to the audience.   Our group effort paid off with a well-received presentation that provided the audience with interactivity and information on the various requirements for performing asbestos inspections.  This presentation can also be found in the Dropbox folder.

The final presentation was "New York City Title 15 Amendments" also presented by Mr. Angelo Garcia, III, CIEC, CEOP, and again this presentation can be found in the Dropbox folder.  This presentation was on the recent changes to the New York City Department of Environmental Protection's (NYC DEP's) Title 15 Asbestos Regulation (formerly known as Local Law 76).  These changes were made because of the arrest of 17 NYC asbestos investigators (see the above video on the press conference on the arrests) and the recommendations of the New York City Department of Investigations (NYC DOI).   These changes included additional requirements for NYC Asbestos Investigators and some changes to other parts of the asbestos regulations.  See our previous blog post on these new requirements.

TS Steakhouse Waitress making the "Gotham"

Overall it was a good start to the three-day conference.  Of course, what is a PACNY conference without snow?  It was snowing by the end of the presentations.  Though it did not seem to deter people from attending the President's Reception that evening or prevent us from getting the Gotham at the TS Steakhouse.  Stay tuned for Days Two & Three!

Related Articles:

• NYCDEP Asbestos Rule Amendment Goes Into Effect January 6, 2019
• Countdown to PACNY's 23rd Annual Environmental Conference Begins!

Future Environment Designs Celebrates 30 Years in Business in October. What the heck is SNUR?

On October 5, 1988, Future Environment Designs Inc. was founded by Angelo Garcia, III.  When we started the company, our only thought was, considering the companies we worked for, how hard could this be.  Well 30 years later here we are a slightly different focus from when we started, but the same drive of trying to provide the best service we can for our clients.  Since the official date of our anniversary falls when we are in the Plattsburgh area, we are starting the celebration at 4:30 PM on October 5, 2018, at the Valcour Brewing Company, 49 Ohio Avenue, Plattsburgh, NY 12903.  The second date of our celebration will be held at 5:00 PM on October 9, 2018, at Sapsuckers Hops & Grub, 287 Main Street, Huntington, NY 11743.  We hope to see you at one of the events to help us celebrate our 30 Years!

In honor of making it to 30 years, we have written a book called "Do As I Say, Not As I Did - Thinking Of Opening a Business, Some of the Things You Should Consider".  The book is available through Blurb as a hardcover or a pdf.  If you bring the book to one of our classes or one of our Anniversary events, we would be honored to sign it for you.  We wrote this book to discuss our experiences over the 30 years and to provide you with a resource if you ever consider opening your own business.

Over the 30 years, we have seen lots of changes in the industry and outside of the industry.  It is interesting to remember when we started we used beepers and phone cards to stay in communication between the field staff and the office.  Now, most people have cell phones.  We used typewriters to fill out ACP5 forms.  Now, they are done online.  We used to provide students course manuals that were hundreds of pages and took forever to find what you were looking for.  Now the manuals are electronic/digital and you can do a keyword search to find what you are looking for in minutes or even seconds.  But with all this advancement the work still stays the same.  Workers still need to wear respirators to protect themselves, still need to take showers to leave the contamination at the work site, still need to use water to keep dust levels below exposure levels, and create a negative pressure inside the work area to prevent the escape of asbestos fibers from the work area.  So while a lot has changed and a lot has still stayed the same!

When we opened our business doing consulting work in the asbestos industry, we were asked by our mentors and friends why.  Many of them thought or felt all the asbestos will be removed in 5-10 years.  It is interesting that not only is all of the asbestos not removed but, after 30 plus years of wanting to ban asbestos, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) instead of an outright ban of asbestos has actually proposed a rule that could allow asbestos to be used in products that they have determined are no longer available.  This proposed rule is called SNUR (Significant New Use Rule).  The rule would require manufacturers and importers to receive EPA approval before starting or resuming manufacturing and importing or processing of asbestos.  Currently, new uses of asbestos were banned under the original Toxic Substance Control Act - Asbestos Ban and Phase Out Rule issued in 1989, though portions were overturned the ban on new commercial uses after August 25, 1989, remains.  Materials not subject to the Asbestos Ban and Phase Out Rule and hence are the subject of this SNUR are:

• Asbestos arc chutes
• Asbestos pipeline wrap
• Asbestos separators in fuel cells and batteries
• Asbestos-reinforced plastics
  
• Beater-add gaskets
• Extruded sealant tape
• Filler for acetylene cylinders
• High-grade electrical paper
• Millboard
• Missile liner
• Roofing felt 
• Vinyl-asbestos floor tile 
• Adhesives and Sealants 
• Roof and Non-Roof Coatings 
• Other Building Products (other than cement product)

As you may wonder and as many others have, why a SNUR?  Why not a flat out ban?  Why else but to allow asbestos to be used by certain industries, for example, the chlor-alkali industry which currently is the primary importer of asbestos still today!  In 2016, EPA noted that 340 metric tons of asbestos were imported into the United States all of it used by the chlor-alkali industry.  We think the list of materials that are affected by the SNUR is interesting, imagine if they allowed the return of asbestos use in floor tiles, roofing felts, electrical paper, adhesives and sealants and roof and non-roof coatings.  All of these are building materials that would be required to be inspected and determined if they contain asbestos.  If they contain asbestos, they will have to be removed as asbestos-containing materials.  The asbestos abatement industry may never go out of business if that was the case.  So maybe, we'll still be here for another 30 years.  Imagine that!

Winter Storm Impacts PACNY Conference, Part One.

Turning Stone Lodge before the Storm

This year was the Professional Abatement Contractors of New York (PACNY) 22nd Annual Environmental Conference.  This year's conference was overshadowed by Winter Storm Riley which turned into a Nor'easter and hit Turning Stone Casino between Thursday night & Friday Morning, March 1-2, 2018 with about 7 inches of snow.  Which put a dampener on attendance with only a few Long Islanders making the conference this year.  However, the Vendor Display/Exhibit Hall seemed to have the usual amount of vendors, maybe we even had more than the usual.  This year's schedule was a little different from past years in that presenters were given a little more time for their presentations and more time was given between presentations to spend in the Vendor Display/Exhibit Hall.  As usual the PACNY Board did an excellent job of putting everything together, which special accolades to Ms. Deborah Sanscrainte of Aramsco, the conference chairperson and Ms. Lisa Brown of Summit Environmental, Administrator.

Mr. Meacham discussing the Enforcement Process

The first day, known as Proficiency Workshop day consisted of two presentations the first was Mr. James Meacham, PE, program manager for New York State Department of Labor' (NYSDOL)'s Asbestos Control Bureau (ACB), discussing "Solving the Mysteries of the Asbestos Control Bureau".  Mr. Meacham's presentation went through the process of an inspection, the issuance of a Notice of Violation (NOV), and then continued with the process of resolving the NOV.  His presentation did an excellent job of bringing transparency to the enforcement process.  A key point of Mr. Meacham's presentation, was the response from the contractor (violator) issued the NOV.  Contractors have two opportunities to address a violation, onsite during the inspection and the second time, is when responding to the written violation.  Onsite, if their is no dispute contractors should stop work, fix the discrepancy(ies) and document the actions in the logbook.  If there is a discrepancy, contractors should work towards complying with what can be done, document your position on the deficiency, and document your corrective actions in the logbook.  When a violator receives a violation,  the contractor should review the project with their staff, gather the compliance documentation, and submit a response to the NOV.  This is important part of the process and could go a long way in mitigating violations.

Mr. Meacham discussing the Violation Review Process

The second presenter was Mr. Kevin Hutton, of Cornerstone Training Institute, discussing "Complexities of NYSDOL, OSHA, and EPA".  Mr. Hutton provided a handout called a "Guide to NYS CR56-11.1 In-Plant Operations", this guide provided basic information regarding how Industrial Code Rule 56 handles the requirements for in-plant operations and what Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 1926.1101 work practices would apply under in-plant operations.  In addition, Mr. Hutton's presentation, discussed NYSDOL Engineering Service Unit's addition of full-time project monitoring to many variance applications.  The additions have included wording of what the responsibilities of the project monitor are for these variances (since Industrial Code Rule 56, itself, does not provide much information regarding that).  Which brings up the question whether project monitors realize the scope of their responsibilities on such projects.  We suspect not, since we've already seen some project monitors being issued violations for not following the variance requirements.

Mr. Hutton discussing full-time Project Monitoring added to Variances

That ended the first day of presentations, with later that evening the PACNY President's (Joseph Cantone, of Colden Corporation) reception was held, where many of us gathered and discussed concerns regarding the pending storm.  Stay tuned for Part Two the Technical Sessions and the Vendor Reception!

Our waitress serving "The Gotham" at the TS Steakhouse

Related articles

• Nor'easter hits East Coast, grounds flights and halts trains(bostonherald.com)

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• Bombogenesis turns winter storm Riley into a monster as it batters US coast(telegraph.co.uk)

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• PACNY's Environmental Conference - The NYSDOL Round Table - Day Three and So It Ends!(futureenv.blogspot.com)

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• PACNY's Environmental Conference - Day 1 - And So It Begins!(futureenv.blogspot.com)

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Revisit "Changes Are Coming", Did They? & Save The Dates For PACNY's 2018 Environmental Conference

It has been over six months since we did our presentation "Changes Are Coming" at the Professional Abatement Contractors of New York (PACNY) 2017 Environmental Conference.  We figured it would be a good time to see where we stand with the changes we discussed in our presentation.  Our PACNY presentation can be viewed here if you don't remember it or have not seen it yet:

 We started our presentation with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the appointment of Scott Pruitt as the EPA Administrator.  Mr. Pruitt has been cutting agency staff and aggressive in reducing environmental regulations, all things that were expected once his appointment was announced.  The primary regulation we discussed, under EPA, was the reauthorized Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) and the potential for an asbestos ban.  Asbestos was listed by EPA as a top ten chemical listed for review.  However, in June 2017, the EPA released a series of limitations on TSCA, including how broadly the agency will review potentially hazardous substances.  It will be interesting to see how the Pruitt-led EPA will move this along.  It is also interesting that the US which was reducing imports of asbestos for many years (343 metric tons imported in 2015) all of sudden increased imports last year (705 metric tons).  Was the chloralkali and other asbestos using industries increasing inventories in anticipation of a ban?  Not the changes many people were hoping for. 

Brent Kynoch of EIA Presenting at the PACNY Conference

In our next section, we discussed the changes coming to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).  Well probably the best description for what is going on there is delay and re-evaluate.  OSHA still does not have an Administrator to head the Agency.  The first regulation we talked about was the Respirable Crystalline Silica standard which was to take effect in the construction industry by June 23.  OSHA delayed that enforcement to September 23.  Then delayed that enforcement for employers making a good faith effort to comply for another 30 days (see the OSHA memorandum here).  The next standard, the Beryllium standard has been delayed by a proposed rule-making on June 27, 2017.  This rule-making would eliminate the ancillary provisions (determining whether other sections of the OSHA construction and shipyard standards provide adequate protection) but not the lowered permissible exposure limit (0.2 micrograms per cubic meter) and the short term exposure limit (STEL of 2.0 micrograms per cubic meter, over a 15 minute sampling period).  OSHA has published a fact sheet (click here for the fact sheet) on the proposed rule-making.   The rule requiring companies to electronically submit injury and illness information was delayed from July 1, 2017 to December 1, 2017.  OSHA's Injury Tracking Application is now available and can be accessed here.  Remember establishments with 20-249 employees in certain high-risk industries (i.e., Construction, Services to Buildings & Dwellings, and Remediation & other waste management services) must submit information from its 2016 Form 300A by December 1, 2017.  Probably the most significant change at OSHA has been the elimination on OSHA's website of the ticker that listed the fatalities that have occurred daily across the country and the reduction of publishing employers who have been issued significant violations.

Thursday Night In the Vendor Hall

Our final section was reserved for New York State (NYS) regulations in particular the asbestos and mold state regulations.  Nothing has changed for the asbestos regulation, but our desire for Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) type clearance testing for all floor tile projects opened up a healthy debate (see our blogpost "Asbestos Floor Tile Debate Results" and our article in Healthy Indoors Magazine).  The NYS's Mold Law Article 32 still does not have regulations and so nothing has changed regarding the mold supervisor, how to pass clearance, if the underlying cause is not fixed, etc.  However, NYS Department of Labor did publish a renewal process.  To renew your license you will need to take a 4-hour mold refresher course and resubmit your paperwork with the appropriate fee (see our blogpost "Future Environment Designs Approved to Offer NYSDOL Mold Refresher Courses"). 

Friday's NYSDOL Roundtable

The 2018 PACNY Environmental Conference will be held from February 28 to March 3, 2018 at the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, New York.  Its too early yet for the registration information and speakers, but you can expect Thursday Night in Vendor Hall and NYSDOL will probably be there on Friday, March 3.  We look forward to seeing you there.

Related articles

• EPA official says the agency has shrunk to Reagan-era levels(businessinsider.com)

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• OSHA Fines Increase By 78%, Will That Lead To An Increase in Safety Consulting & Training?(futureenv.blogspot.com)

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• PACNY's Environmental Conference - Day 1 - And So It Begins!(futureenv.blogspot.com)

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PACNY's Environmental Conference - Day 1 - And So It Begins!

This year's Professional Abatement Contractors of New York (PACNY) 21st Annual Environmental Conference was definitely more technical then previous years.  The first day of the PACNY environmental conference started with the Proficiency Workshop for Trainers.  The Proficiency Workshop speakers consisted of Mr. Kevin Malone, Director of New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH); Mr. Don Pierce of New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL); and Mr. Kevin Hutton of Eastcoast Resources; and Mr. Ed Smith of NYSDOL Engineering Services Unit.

It was a modest Day One which started with networking during lunch. Mr. Malone started the presentations by providing us with an update on the statistics of the asbestos training program.  As we have come to expect the number of individuals attending asbestos courses shrinks every year.  The 2016 stats were 26,734 total certs issued broken done 21,642 refresher certs and 5,092 initial certs issued at 3,349 total classes held.  Those numbers are down from the 2015 stats that were 27,731 total certificates issued with 22,074 refresher certs and 5,657 initial certs issued at 3,436 training courses.

 

Mr. Kevin Malone of NYSDOH

The next presenter was Mr. Pierce discussing the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) auditing update.  For those of you who don't know, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been providing New York State (NYS) with a grant to perform audits of public and private school's AHERA required management plans.  The presentation included a discussion on the process of selecting schools to be audited (randomly selected and/or based upon cause {complaint}), how the data is collected and how the information is provided back to EPA.  In addition, Mr. Pierce discussed several issues the audits have found:

• EPA accepts electronic record-keeping, but hard copies of the original survey and asbestos management plan must be maintained at the Local Education Agency (LEA) office.
• The LEA must assign and train a designated person to oversee asbestos activities and ensure compliance with AHERA requirements.  The designated person must be trained but does not require them to be accredited and does not list a specific course or specific number of hours. It does list specific training topics which include - health effects; detection, identification, & assessment of asbestos; options for controlling asbestos; asbestos management plan topics; and relevant Federal, State, and local regulations for asbestos.  As a side note: Future Environment Designs (FEDTC) recommends designated persons take the asbestos inspector (3 day) and management planner (2 day) initial courses to meet the AHERA requirements.
• EPA allows two methods for new additions to existing buildings.  An architect or project engineer responsible for the construction of a new school building after October 12, 1988 or an accredited inspector to:
• to sign a statement that no asbestos containing building materials (ACBM) was specified as a building material in any construction document for the building, or
• to the best of his or her knowledge, no ACBM was used in any building material in the building.
• The LEA must submit a copy of this statement to the EPA Regional Office and shall include the statement in the management plan of the school.
• Deficiencies found by the audit included:
• Periodic surveillances were missing or weren't well documented
• Documentation of notifications not included or well documented
• ACBM removal not updated in the management plan
• Clearance air monitoring records not available per AHERA

Mr. Don Pierce of NYSDOL

After a short break, the Variance Writing Workshop with Mr. Hutton and Mr. Smith was up next.  This nearly two-hour presentation, got into the details of submitting and writing variances that Mr. Smith's Engineering Services Unit (ESU) reviews for approval, disapproval, or modification. Some of the points discussed:

Mr. Kevin Hutton of Eastcoast Resources

• According to the Asbestos School Hazard Abatement Re-authorization Act (ASHARA) an asbestos project designer is required on Public and Commercial Building asbestos projects (including residential buildings with 10 or more dwellings).
• When writing a variance consider your audience: DOL ESU; Abatement Contractor, Project Monitor; Asbestos Control Bureau (ACB) Inspector; Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Inspector (Compliance Safety Officer); and the Courts.
• Mr. Smith discussed that his department handles between 1400-1500 variances a year.  About 25% are then reopened, with another 5% reopened a second time and another 5% reopened a third time.  Mr. Smith also provided us with a list of Pet Peeves regarding variance applications which included:
• Failing to explicitly list what code sections you are requesting relief from
• Don't be lazy and simply submit someone else's variance and state you want to do what is in that variance.  Own your work, your client is paying you to apply for a variance on their behalf.
• "State-Wide" emergencies
• Try to limit your write-up to the hardship and proposed steps to be taken to work around the hardship.

Mr. Ed Smith of NYSDOL Engineering Services Unit

Variance workshop ended the first day of the Conference.  That evening we celebrated & networked at the President's Reception featuring Dan the Magic Man!

John of TS Steakhouse at Turning Stone Casino

Related articles

• Is It Really Here Again! The 21st Annual PACNY Environmental Conference Starts March 1, 2017.(futureenv.blogspot.com)

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• NYSDOL Roundtable Highlight of PACNY Environmental Conference(futureenv.blogspot.com)

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Is It Really Here Again! The 21st Annual PACNY Environmental Conference Starts March 1, 2017.

This year the Professional Abatement Contractors of New York (PACNY) Conference seemed to sneak up on us.  It's only two weeks away.  The first day of the 21st Annual PACNY Environmental Conference is on Wednesday, March 1, 2017 at 11:30 AM.  To register for the conference visit PACNY's website.  The conference will start with lunch from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM, with Kevin Malone of New York State Department of Health (NYS DOH) kicking off the presentations.  Mr. Malone is in charge of the division that regulates asbestos training providers.  Next up will be Don Pierce from NYS Department of Labor (NYS DOL) updating us on the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) auditing (an EPA grant allows NYS DOL to perform the auditing for Environemtal Protection Agency (EPA)).  Then the first day of the conference will end with a Variance Writing Workshop led by Kevin Hutton of Cornerstone Training.

Dival's Booth at PACNY

The second day of the conference has another great lineup of speakers.  Dr. Marty Rutstein returns speaking about "Talc with Tremolite and Other Amphiboles"; and Tom Laubenthal also returns speaking about "Using ASTM E2356 to Meet "Thorough Inspection Requirements" Prior to Renovation and Demolition Activities".  Dival Safety will be doing Fall Protection Demonstration, considering OSHA's emphasis on fall hazards it will be intereasting to see the different equipment avalable.  Ed Stuber of Galson Laboratories will update us on the OSHA Silica standard; Dr. Chris Goulah will discuss "Legionella"; Jim Redmond will update us on OSHA; and Jim Haklar will discuss PCB Case Studies.  Brent Kynoch of the Environmental Information Association (EIA) eill update us on EIA and the Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA).  Then Cole Stanton of Fiberlock Technologies will update us on Mold/Fire/Water.  That will close out the second day bringing us to the Vendor Reception and Happy Hour!

Vendor Reception

Angelo Garcia, III of Future Environment Designs, Inc (FEDTC) will start the last day of the conference.  "Changes Are A Coming" is the title of our presentation and it will be about all the changes occurring in our industry this year.  We will hand off to Jack Springston of TRC who will speak about the "Pitfalls with Doing Mold Clearance Sampling as Part of a Post-Remediation Verification"  We are very much looking forward to Jack's presentation!  Then the culmination of the conference with the NYSDOL panel consisting of Dr. Eileen Franko - Director of Division of Safety and Health; Kirk Fisher - Licensing and Certification; Ed Smith, PE - Engineering Services Unit; and James Meacham, PE - Asbestos Control Bureau.  There is a rumor going around that the release of the new Industrial Code Rule 56 (ICR56) might happen at this meeting.  As usual, we are excited about the event and several people behind the scenes do a significant amount of work to make the conference such a success each year.  Very big thank yous to Lisa Brown and Deborah Sanscrainte for all the work they do to keep everyone focused and moving forward in putting this event together!

Deborah Sanscrainte Welcoming Everyone to PACNY

Future Environment Designs is a sponsor of the event and we will have our booth in the vendor hall.  Kimberly Granmoe and Sheryl Esposito will be ladying booth 19 (next to Dival Safety Supplies) as they have in the past.  So come and visit us.  Our Twitter feed for the conference will be #FEDTCPACNY, we will tweet photos and major speaker points during the conference.  We hope to see you at the conference! 

Kimberly Granmoe, Sheryl Esposito, Veronica and Angelo Garcia, III

Related articles

• Another Great Conference! PACNY Does It Again! - Part One(futureenv.blogspot.com)

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• NYSDOL Roundtable Highlight of PACNY Environmental Conference(futureenv.blogspot.com)

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• Another Great PACNY Conference - Part Two(futureenv.blogspot.com)

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