HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Future Environment Designs (FED) want to take this time to wish you all a Happy New Year!  We hope 2015 is as good as you wish it to be and it is a safe and healthy one.  At Future Environment Designs, its another year of staying the course.  Our prices for asbestos refresher courses have not changed since 2007 and that will continue in 2015.  Over the years we started several initiatives which will also continue in 2015.  Our Safety Suzy Newsletter, which provides you with information regarding changes in Indoor Air Quality (asbestos, mold, lead, etc.) requirements, construction safety requirements, respirator use and fit testing, OSHA regulations, and NYS indoor air quality and construction safety regulations will continue.  We provide a loyalty discount to our clients who do their training with us every year and provide a referral discount to those who refer work to us (these discounts can be added together, see your monthly Safety Suzy Newsletter for details).  

In 2015 we will continue the following improvements:

• Future Environment Design's mobile site, will allow you to view upcoming courses and download safety resources in phone-friendly formats.  Your suggestions and feedback can help shape the experience.  Visit our website with your mobile device through this link:    http://www.futureenvironmentdesigns.com/index.html.  
• Future Environment Designs used to provide students in our classes with a course CD called the FED Training CD.  This CD had all the regulations and other helpful information.  With modern technology and advent of the cloud technology, we now provide a link to our dropbox folder that contains all this information.  You can find that link at: http://futureenvironmentdesigns.com/resources.html.
• Future Environment Designs is working on an app that we hope will be ready in time for the Professional Abatement Contractors of New York's (PACNY's) 19th Annual Environmental Conference at Turning Stone Casino.  
• Gloveguard (see below) is a product designed to help workers keep their work gloves close to them and increase their use.  Future Environment Designs is providing these to our students to help them keep their gloves with them and increase their use.

We look forward to seeing all of you in 2015, Happy New Year!

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Merry Christmas, One and All!

We wish you all a Merry and Joyous Christmas!

Thank you to all of you who attended training with us or who we consulted with in 2014.

We look forward to serving you in 2015!

From all us at Future Environment Designs, Inc

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NYSDOH Announces The Imminent Availability of Vermiculite Analysis

On July 22, 2014, the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) sent out a follow up communication to the July 9, 2013 interim guidance letter.  This communication is regarding the imminent availability of two new NYSDOH Environmental Laboratory Approval Program (ELAP)-approved methods for the detection and quantitation of asbestos content in spray-on fireproofing that contains vermiculite.  The communication indicates that these new methods will be available by October 31, 2014.  Click here for the July 9 2013 letter and click here for the new communication.  Otherwise you can find both communications at our website http://futureenvironmentdesigns.com/resources.html  click on the FED Training CD in the Helpful Links and Info folder.

Vermiculite-containing Sprayed-on Fireproofing is the focus of the communication

After October 31, 2014, one of the two methods must be used to test sprayed-on fireproofing regardless of the percent of vermiculite.  This document does not indicate any information about the methods other than the asbestos inspector must collect a minimum of 10 grams of the sprayed-on fireproofing (versus the 100-500 milligrams for 198.1 and 198.6).  Nor does it indicate what labs will be doing this analysis.  In addition, the two methods are only for vermiculite-containing sprayed-on fireproofing.  Other materials still must use the 2013 interim communication with the disclaimer and bulk vermiculite is still asbestos containing material (ACM).

日本語: バーミキュライト (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The new communication is interesting for its lack of information.  First it does not indicate anything about the new methods other than the need for a larger quantity of material.  It gives no indication of what it will take to analyze the material, what the turnaround will be, who the laboratories will be, costs, etc.  It is specifically only for vermiculite containing sprayed-on fireproofing.  In addition, it means an asbestos inspector will need to add a new tool to the sampling kit, a scale.  Taking a sufficient sample that ensures the laboratory gets a minimum of 10 grams.  Maybe not that difficult, but could be annoying if you make a mistake.  Don't forget you are still required to take either 3-5-7 or 9 samples of the sprayed-on fireproofing and it only takes one sample for the homogeneous material to be positive for asbestos.  Even more interesting was industry implications on the last page of the communication.  That stated after October 31, 2014 you are required to use one of the two methods to analyze vermiculite containing sprayed-on fireproofing, not surprising.  Though it is based on what stage your project is in.  Needless to say we look forward to hearing more about the new methods and the real implications they will have on the asbestos industry.      

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Rates Of New Lung Cancer Cases Drops In The United States

Back in January, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued a press release discussing the lung cancer rates in the United States.  The good news is that tobacco control efforts are making a major impact on American's health.  According to a report in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the rate of new lung cancer cases decreased among men and women from 2005 to 2009.

The study found that lung cancer incidence rates went down 2.6 percent per year among men and 1.1 percent per year among women.  The fastest drop was among adults aged 35-44 years, decreasing 6.5 percent per year among men and 5.8 percent per year among women.  Lung cancer incidence rates decreased more rapidly among men than among women in all age groups.

Lung Cancer is the leading cause of cancer death and second most commonly diagnosed cancer among both men and women in the United States.  Most lung cancers are attributable to cigarette smoking & secondhand smoke.

Beschreibung: Konventionelles Röntgenbild des Thorax (der Lunge) mit rundlicher Verdichtung in der linken Lunge Quelle: selbst erstellt --Benutzer:Lange123 17:18, 11. Nov. 2004 (CEST) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Regarding asbestos exposure and lung cancer, 50% of asbestos related deaths are due to lung cancer.  Most cases of lung cancer occur 15 or more years after the initial asbestos exposure.  Tobacco smokers who have been exposed to asbestos have a "far greater-than additive" risk (50-90 times greater risk) for lung cancer than do nonsmokers who have been exposed (5 times greater risk), meaning the risk is greater than the individual risks from asbestos and smoking (10 times greater risk) added together.

 

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Changes to Asbestos Project Notification Fees Gets Closer

New York State Senator Catherine Young has sponsored S5917-2013.  This bill matches New York State Assembly Bill A3675A-2013 which is sponsored by Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo.  Both bills make changes to the Asbestos Project Notification Fee schedule.  The following are the reasons these bills should be supported:

• Original notification fees were arbitrarily set.

• In 2009 notification fees were arbitrarily doubled to raise income.

• From 2009 to 2010 income from fees rose from $6,606,700 to $12, 223,750.

• From 2009 to 2010 the Asbestos Control Bureau  (ACB) budget remained flat at $3,315,044 to $3,462, 574.

• The largest amount of asbestos in residential homes is non-friable

• A very small percentage of asbestos notifications are from residential homes

• Homes condemned  from disasters and, thus, not surveyed are being required to pay fees of $2,000 each for friable and non-friable material whether existing or not

• Most commercial projects of 1,500 square feet (SF) or less of non-friable material are not notified because of cost for a few hours of work.

• A home owner with 1,000 SF of floor tile pays the same fee as a commercial project of 100,000 SF.

• The bill refers to the footprint of a building as the ACB has taken the SF on some projects to include walls, floors, and ceilings.

• The proposed bill would be not be revenue neutral, however, the recent NYS Comptroller’s audit of the NYS Department of Labor (DOL) determined the DOL is not assessing and collecting all required fees and penalties in the ACB.  The audit recommended for the DOL to “Review the asbestos fee structure to determine whether a more equitable fee structure could be created based on the size of a project to possibly increase revenue.” Note: this can only be done through legislative action.

• This does not take into account the increase in residential, commercial, and industrial notifications because of the lower fees.

• Higher fees for larger projects above 5,000 SF will max out at the current $2,000 fee at 1,000 SF.

• Memos of support have come from Unshackle Upstate, NFIB, Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, Broome County Chamber of Commerce, Southern Tier Builders Association, Rochester Builders Exchange, Associated Building Contractors of the Triple Cities, Syracuse Builders Exchange, Northern New York Builders Exchange, Building Industry Employers and the Broome County Realtors Association.

Tom Meade, the Executive Director of the Professional Abatement Contractors of New York (PACNY), has been working on these bills for sometime now.  To support these bills contact us at angelo3@futureenv.com or Mr Meade at tmeade@stny.rr.com and we will provide you with the information needed including a sample letter created by Mr. Meade.  The sooner these letters of support can be sent to the sponsors the better as we would like this to become a part of the Governor's budget.  If you have any questions feel free to contact Mr. Meade at tmeade@stny.rr.com.

Metro-NY AIHA Meeting on Vermiculite, Part 2.

As we discussed in our previous post we attended the Metro New York (Metro-NY) American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) chapter meeting on September 9, 2013.  This meeting was on the "New York State Asbestos & Vermiculite Analysis Guidance Update" it was presented in two parts, part one by Robert J. DeMalo, Senior Vice President of Lab. Services & Business Development and part two by Edward Cahill, Vice President of Asbesto, both from EMSL Analytical, Inc.  For pictures from the event visit Metro NY AIHA web album and for copies of EMSL's powerpoint presentation visit Metro-NY AIHA Meetings website for the Part 1 Handout and the Part 2 Handout.  Our previous post discussed part one of the presentation.  This post we will discuss part two, which was on the "Analytical Challenges of Vermiculite Containing Materials".

The second part of the presentation was significantly more complicated than the first part.  This does not mean the first part was not valuable, we are trying to indicate the second part really got into some of the details of analyzing the minerals utilizing polarized light microscopes, the quantitation of the samples, and additional methods of analysis including advantages and disadvantages (enough big words for everyone).

The second presentation started with a discussion of the new NYS DOH Guidance letter regarding the analysis of vermiculite containing materials (VCM).  We discussed this issue in our Blog on 7/21/13.  The big issue is the disclaimer being placed on the results and what is the best course of action for results that indicate greater than 10% vermiculite and less than or equal to 1% asbestos with the disclaimer.  

To understand the problems with analysis Mr. Cahill’s presentation showed us that vermiculite comes in three types – large (light), medium, & fine (dark).  See figure below:

As you can see the material is varying levels of “chunkiness”.  According to EMSL, when picking through the sample rice grain sized asbestos chunks can sometimes be detected visually.  However, the absence of these chunks does not mean the sample is asbestos free.  The polarized light microscope (PLM) methodology is strong for identification, while quantification is weak.  The PLM analysis is only as good as the prep (especially for point counting).  The sample must be uniform, random, & a monolayer (the height of a particle size prevents a nice monolayer).   Based on this information the problems regarding vermiculite analysis are:

• Particle size prohibits making a proper slide mount.
• Asbestos not always homogeneous within the sample
• Asbestos can be locked between plates & therefore not easily detected
• Non-regulated Libby Amphiboles are present.

The discussion then turned to other methods of analysis, noting that monokote fireproofing has removable matrix.  Methods with matrix removal include:

·         EPA (600) PLM NOB

·         EPA (600) TEM NOB

·         NYS ELAP 198.6 (PLM)

·         NYS ELAP 198.4 (TEM)

·         Chatfield SOP (TEM)

At this point, the preferred NYS ELAP method is 198.6, but that means you get the disclaimer on your results.  EMSL’s presentation discussed 4 different approaches of what to do regarding VCM, these approaches are:

1. Cancel or delay asbestos surveys if possible until final regulations are in place.
2. If initial analysis determines vermiculite content >10% they are stopping.  The material is treated as ACM.
3. If 198.1 analysis determines vermiculite content >10% proceed to 198.6 to determine the asbestos percentage.  Materials are classified as ACM or non-ACM accordingly, disclaimer is tolerated.
4. Approach 2 or 3 are followed for regulatory compliance and then various additional prep and analysis steps are requested.  Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) analysis is typically a part of this process to demonstrate “Best Available Technology”.

Options available for Approach 4 are:

• Cincinnati Method – vermiculite separated into fractions, floating, sinks, & suspended fractions.  Analysis is by a combination PLM/TEM
• CARB (CA Air Resource Board) 435 Method – Sample is milled, followed by a PLM point count
• EPA 600 Milling followed by PLM/EPA 600 Milling followed by TEM analysis – Can break out of mass percent with & without the contribution of Libby amphiboles
• ASTM TEM Qualitative Method – excellent fiber ID but no quantification
• Addison Davies Method – remove vermiculite prior analysis

We learned a lot in this seminar regarding different methodologies and the problems involved with analyzing vermiculite and VCM.  It will be interesting moving forward to see which direction the analysis of these materials goes.   Based on the presentation, the EPA 600 milling followed by TEM analysis sounds interesting and promising.  However, NYS ELAP or EPA will be making that decision and only time will tell.

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Metro-NY AIHA Meeting on Vermiculite, Part 1

We attended the Metro New York (Metro-NY) American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) chapter meeting on September 9, 2013.  This meeting was on the "New York State Asbestos & Vermiculite Analysis Guidance Update" it was presented in two parts, part one by Robert J. DeMalo, Senior Vice President of Lab. Services & Business Development and part two by Edward Cahill, Vice President of Asbesto, both from EMSL Analytical, Inc.  For pictures from the event visit Metro NY AIHA web album and for copies of EMSL's powerpoint presentation visit Metro-NY AIHA Meetings website for the Part 1 Handout and the Part 2 Handout.

Sample Passed Around the During the Meeting

Some very interesting facts from the first part of the presentation included:

• The Libby mine was the source of an estimated 70-90% of all vermiculite sold in the US from 1919 to 1990.
• Veins of asbestos contaminated most, if not all of the material taken from the mine; Libby Amphibole was an accessory mineral."
• The Libby mine in 1926 opened up a vein of asbestos that is considered one of the largest deposits of asbestos ever uncovered.
• Regardless of the method used to analyze the material a mixture of regulated asbestos as well as non-regulated asbestos is likely to be encountered.
• "Libby Amphiboles" is a collective term for the complex mixture of amphiboles that are known to exist at the Libby mine site.  That mixture is Winchite (nonregulated amphibole); Richterite (nonregulated amphibole); and Tremolite (regulated amphibole).
• Increased mortality rates are observed not only among the miners and their families, even in citizens with no direct connection to the mine.  Mortality rates are 40 times higher than the rest of Montana and 60 times higher than the rest of the US.

Based on the above information it is clear that Libby Amphiboles are the problem and that the nonregulated amphibole portions of the vermiculite is also a problem.  According to the US Geological Survey, the amount of asbestiform amphiboles contaminating the Libby vermiculite as approximately 84% winchite, 11% richterite, and 6% tremolite (American Mineralogist; November 2003; v. 88; no. 11-12; p. 1955-1969).  The mortality rate indicates a need to regulate these amphiboles plus others minerals that we now typically call elongated mineral particles (see NIOSH website for more information regarding asbestos fibers and other elongated mineral particles).  In our next blog post we will discuss part two of the vermiculite meeting.

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NYSDOL Clarifies New Enforcement Tactics

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli in an audit of New York State Department of Labor's (NYSDOL) Asbestos Control Program revealed several issues which we discussed in our July 2, 2013 blogpost.  NYSDOL's response to the DiNapoli audit revealed several tactics that NYSDOL was currently using to ensure compliance and enforcement of the regulations.  The Professional Abatement Contractors of New York (PACNY) requested additional clarification of these tactics.  NYSDOL's response can be found at our Resources webpage on our website.  To sum up NYSDOL's response, they are cross-referencing all the information they get from notifications, survey reports, air sampling results, waste manifests, etc. to make sure they are being notified & the quantities are accurate.

Waste manifests are on of the tactics being used by NYSDOL

Based on NYSDOL response this cross-referencing tactic has led to several enforcement actions.  These include:  

• Air Monitoring Data has led to catching 2 contractors not notifying their project, 136 notices of violations for 18 contractors.
• Demolition Permit Data has led to catching 4 contractors not notifying their project, 28 notices of violations for 10 contractors.
• Site Specific Variances Data has led to catching 1 contractor not notifying their project, 2 notices of violations for 1 contractor.
• Two other lines of data Surveys & Waste Manifests have not found any violations.

We are glad to see NYSDOL at least checking the data they receive to ensure everything is being done correctly.  However, we still don't see how NYSDOL is going after those that do things totally illegally.  Still no sign of how they are attempting to catch those companies doing illegal abatements during emergencies, floor tiles, siding, & roofing projects.  Our suggestion would be to track the waste entering construction & demolition landfills to see if this will get you those that should be notifying.  In addition, accessing tax records may also indicate roofing, siding, floor, & emergency contractor's projects that would allow a targeting of records to determine illegal abatement activities.

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PACNY Fishing Derby Was An Adventure

On July 17, 2013 we attended the Professional Abatement Contractors of New York (PACNY) fishing derby.  We decided to attend the fishing derby because we've never fished for salmon before and going on a fishing trip with the PACNY group sounded like a lot fun!

 Well the day started with a great sunrise (photo above), as we learned which boats we were on.  We were placed on one of the two Cornerstone Training Institute (CTI) boats.  Our boat was named the Irish Thunder with Captain Joe T. & First Mate Charlie. Our team consisted of Heather King of KBH, Chris Miller of LeChase, Kevin Hutton of CTI, and ourselves.

Once we were all on-board our respective boats , we headed out to the shotgun start (see video above).  Which means all the boats line up straight across & when the bell is rung the boats speed out to the fishing areas.  It was a very hot day and sun shone brightly, meaning we were thankful for air movement.  Captain Joe T. & First Mate Charlie, were very experienced in finding fish and it wasn't long before we had our first catch of the day.  Ms. Heather King reeled in the first fish.  All of us took turns reeling in fish, however, Mr. Chris Miller reeled in the first over 20 pound salmon.  Which we all teased him in how long it was taking him to bring the fish in (we would regret that later).  We were thankful to Mr. Kevin Hutton for stocking his cooler with some really good local craft beers (thank you!).

As you can see above, we caught ourselves an over 20 pound king salmon.  Catching a salmon is not an accurate description of what actually took place.  A better description would be is having a tug-of-war with an unknown opponent.  Once you grab a hold of the rod & reel you spend what feels like an eternity (actually 10-20 minutes) of doing forearm curls.  Pull the rod up, then reel in excess line; pull the rod up, reel in the excess line; repeat, repeat, repeat (now regretting teasing Chris about how long it took him to bring the fish in).  Just about the time our arms were saying "we give up", the salmon appeared several yards away from the boat.  Giving us a second wind to bringing the fish on board.  When we were a kid we remember a cartoon that likened fishing to pulling a drain plug from the lake, we now get that cartoon.

Once the derby was over we gathered at the Black North Inn for lunch, weigh-in, & the awarding of the prizes.  The scoreboard above details the scores. Congratulations to team Aramsco for the biggest basket (three largest fish) and the $500 award.  Congratulations to Brian Warren from the Aramsco/Envoy boat for the big fish.  His 30.5 lb king salmon won him $150 cash.

We had a great time and hope to do this again.  Our team was fantastic and entertaining.  Our team won one of the prizes.  We also got to bring some salmon home for smoking & grilling (as you see above).  It was the best salmon we ever ate.

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