NYS Education Department Issues Clarification on Asbestos Material Testing

New York State Education Department's Office of Facilities Planning newsletter #107 (July 2011) issued clarifications regarding asbestos material testing that were brought up by the New York State Department of Health' Environmental Laboratory Approval Program's (ELAP) FAQ.  Major points from the newsletter:

• Review your management plans and data, and determine if the ceiling tile results were obtained through an appropriate test, ELAP items 198.6 or 198.4.  If the tiles were correctly tested in accordance with the current protocols and the data are available, no additional testing is required. If that information is not available, or if the results were not obtained in accordance with ELAP items 198.6 or 198.4, school districts should consider testing as either part of an existing or planned capital improvement or as an independent analysis prior to disturbance.
• Be aware that ceiling tiles and other products purchased today can still contain asbestos, but many manufacturers offer documentation as to the asbestos free nature of their products.  Some manufacturers date stamp ceiling tiles.  If you can provide documentation of when and where the tiles were purchased and installed, the manufacturer should be able to provide documentation or certification that they do not contain ACM, and your management plan should be updated accordingly.
• If you have documentation that your ceiling tiles or other materials are non-ACM, additional testing is not required, however, as in any investigation, actual bulk sample results would supersede documentation in an analysis of the situation.
• Check the ELAP list, contained in the web links above, to see if any other materials in your school that may be disturbed such as vinyl tile, mastic, caulking, etc, were tested under the correct protocol, and the results are available.  If these items were not tested properly under the current protocol with negative results they should be considered for additional sampling prior to any disturbance.
• If ceiling tiles and other materials are found to be asbestos containing under the current analysis method, the schools asbestos management plan must be updated in accordance with AHERA regulations.  Areas with significantly damaged ceiling tiles must be isolated and the damaged areas removed in accordance with AHERA and code rule 56.  Districts should consider whether to undertake capital projects if certain ceilings must be accessed on a regular basis.

Considering my reccent article in Future Focus, it seems like someone else is thinking along the same lines as myself.

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Asbestos Worries Close Saint Louis Park Schools

Image by angelogarciaiii via FlickrThose of us in the asbestos industry will find the above news story very interesting (find the original news story at StarTribune.com).  The officials of St. Louis Park schools in Minnesota were worried that asbestos floor tiles (approximately 10% asbestos) were being worn down, by tracked-in salt and sand, and could be releasing dangerous asbestos.  The officials decided to close the city's junior and senior high schools on Monday, February 14, 2011.  The schools will remain closed Tuesday as state and school officials work to assess the hazard and determine if other schools face similar problems.  Asbestos floor tile was commonly installed in hundreds of 1960s-era schools across the metro area, but it remains unclear how many could still have the asbestos tile or how much risk St. Louis Park students faced, said one expert at the Minnesota Department of Health.
Quoted in the article was Diedra Hudgens, senior project manager at Brooklyn Park-based Institute for Environmental Assessment, or IEA.  Her company tested the two St. Louis Park schools for asbestos Monday and Tuesday and will be "taking a closer eye" on the 60 other Minnesota schools it works with.  "We're definitely going to be informing our clients -- other school districts -- about what we found, and we'll definitely be taking steps to monitor it," said Diedra Hudgens.  "Every district has an elementary school or something this vintage."
So what started this concern of salt and sand releasing asbestos?  St. Louis Park school staffers complained late last week about dust outside a school nurse's office, prompting IEA tests on Saturday.  A protective wax layer had been worn down by salt and sand tracked in from roads and sidewalks, dulling the floor.  As a precautionary measure on Monday, school was dismissed for additional testing at both the high school and the nearby junior high -- which has similar flooring.  These tiles were removed from the high school and Monday the school was tested by IEA crews in full protective gear.
What makes this interesting is that the article does not discuss the results of any of the testing done nor does it discuss what type of testing was done?  We can only assume that the results must of indicated a need to do something because the schools were closed and the tiles were removed.  Since Long Island had alot of snowfall this year, and I'm sure we used more salt and sand this year then in the past, this news story implies that there is an increase potential for the release of asbestos from floor tiles that are subjected to tracked-in salt and sand.  It will be interesting to see if and how this story plays out or if it just dies on the vine.

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