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Showing posts with label asbestos abatement. Show all posts
Showing posts with label asbestos abatement. Show all posts
On Thursday, February 27, 2020, Ms. Deb Sanscrainte, of ARAMSCO and the conference chairwoman, and Timothy Thomas of Tetra Tech and President of PACNY, opened the second day, known as the Professional Day, of the Professional Abatement Contractors of New York's (PACNY's) 24th annual Environmental Conference, being held at the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, New York. Attendees expected a full day of presentations ending with the Conference Sponsors Reception. Presentations from the conference can be found on PACNY's website. The Professional Day of the conference includes the opening of the Vendor Exhibit Hall with a continental breakfast and 30 vendors attending the conference, an increase from last year! See the reception video to see the various vendors!
The keynote speaker for the conference was Ms. Luann Meyer, Solid Waste Administrator for Monroe County Department of Environmental Services, speaking on "Recycling-The Long and Winding Road". She discussed that most counties have fact sheets to know what is or aren't recyclable or you can tell by the shape of the container. She also discussed the New York State's plastic bag ban that went into effect March 1, 2020, all single-use plastic bags have been banned. Paper bags are not part of the ban and all stores that collect sales tax are impacted. Our next speaker was Jack Snider III, President & Sr. Consultant of AMRC Environmental Services, speaking on "Take Home Asbestos Exposure". Mr. Snider discussed the asbestos abatement illusion regarding the decontamination of the workers. He stated that workers, in Florida, during the removal of the floor tile, mastic, and other non-friable asbestos-containing materials (ACM) typically wore street clothes into the work area, and they are not showering nor vacuuming themselves/their clothing upon exiting the containment. If showers and vacuums are provided the showers are not connected nor attached to the work areas. When questioned why the workers did not decontaminate or wear proper personal protective (PPE) common responses included "the air samples did not show elevated fibers"; "It's floor tile"; and "I have been doing this longer than you!". The presentation then went into how he collected his samples using the American Society of Testing and Material (ASTM) standard D5755-09 microvacuum sampling method to collect several samples from workers, their clothing, vehicles, and surface areas after clearance of the work area was conducted. Findings from his study suggest asbestos abatement workers are bringing home significant amounts of asbestos fibers from these types of projects. The presentation was eye-opening!
Ms. Luann Meyer Discusses Recycling
After a break in the Vendor Exhibit Hall, the presentations continued. Similar to the first day of the conference, the next two presentations and the last presentation of the day awarded continuing education points for architects and engineers attending the conference. These points were awarded by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and were coordinated by Kevin Hutton, of the Rochester Colonial Manufacturing Corp. The presentations awarding these points were Martin S. Rutstein, Ph.D. & Marc E. Rutstein, CAI, Presidents of Ecological Consulting & Management Services, Inc., discussing "Regulations - How did we get here and Where are we going?"; Sean Miller's and Mike Mazzara's, of Genesee Environmental, LLC, presentation included information provided by Stephen R. Gheen, PE, of Gheen Engineering (who could not present due to illness), on "Mercury in Sports Floors, Regulatory Guidance, Remediation, and Disposal"; and Joseph Cantone, of Colden Corp., Sean Hart, of Energy & Environment, and Peter Delucia, of AAC Contracting, presentation "Asbestos Surveys: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly".
The Rutstein's presentation talked about the asbestos regulations and some advice for asbestos professionals - plan the job-take a fresh look, hire good staff (exert oversight of site staff), maintain required records, and plan for unexpected contingencies! Mr. Miller's and Mr. Mazzara's presentation on Mercury in Sports Floors was a deep dive into mercury remediation regulations, guidelines, and the disposal process. An important point made in the presentation was how it was different from an asbestos job. In addition, Mr. Mazzara's section on mercury waste handling, transportation, and disposal provided a lot of information on handling hazardous wastes.
Sean Miller Discusses Its Not An Asbestos Job
Mike Mazzara Discusses Mercury Waste Handling, Transportation & Disposal
After a lunch break and time spent in the Vendor Exhibit Hall, the next presenter was Jennifer Kavney Harvey, Esq., Partner of Coach White, LLP, discussing "NYS WBE/MBE Requirements". Ms. Harvey's presentation pointed out that spending in the last nine years for Minority-owned and Women-owned Business Enterprises (MWBEs) has increased by 25 times (in dollars) while the number of MWBEs has increased by 18%. In addition, she discussed the Governor's 2014 press release increasing the statewide composite goal to 30% without a disparity study basis, modifying the Executive Law, or modifying the MWBE regulations. Most goals from 2014 to the present were 30%. After a short break in the Vendor Exhibit Hall, the next presenter was Karlee Bolanos, Partner at Bolanos Lowe PLLC, discussing "Understanding Your NYS Sexual Harassment Prevention Obligations". Ms. Bolanos discussed Sexual Harassment Prevention requirements that were effective October 9, 2018, that included a New York model policy that at a minimum must prohibit sexual harassment; provide examples of prohibited conduct; include information concerning the federal and state laws; include a statement regarding applicable local laws & contacting law enforcement; include a standard complaint form: include a procedure for the timely and confidential investigation of complaints and due process for all parties; include information about rights of redress; clearly state that sexual harassment is considered a form of employee misconduct; and clearly state that retaliation against individuals...is prohibited. She also discussed recent changes that were effective October 11, 2019, regarding behavior beyond a "petty slight" or "trivial inconvenience" that may be illegal.
Jennifer Kavney Harvey, Esq Discusses MWBE Spending & Utilization
Karlee Bolanos discussing Sexual Harassment Law
The final presentation of the day was Joseph Cantone, of Colden Corp., Sean Hart, of Energy & Environment, and Peter Delucia, of AAC Contracting, discussing "Asbestos Surveys: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly". Obviously, their presentation was broken into three sections with Mr. Cantone talking about good asbestos surveys, Mr. Hart talking about bad asbestos surveys, and Mr. Delucia talking about ugly asbestos surveys. The day ended in the Vendor Exhibit Hall with the Conference Sponsors Reception, which included Hors d'oeuvres, food, and an open bar. The after-party at Dival's Safety Equipment's hospitality suite allowed for more time to network and discuss the presentations of the past two days! All the presentations were excellent and provided very useful information for those who attended the conference. Looking forward to day three and the New York State Department of Labor Panel!
The Professional Abatement Contractors of New York (PACNY) have announced the dates for their annual Environmental Conference to be held on February 26th through February 28th, 2020. It will be held at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York. To register for the conference or sponsor the conference click here!
NYSDOL Asbestos & Mold Control Bureau
This year Future Environment Designs is working with PACNY to put together the Wednesday, February 26th, 2020, Proficiency Day. We are working with the regulatory bodies to start the conference with a bang and get the professional development points for professional engineers/architects, which would also apply for the American Council for Accredited Certifications (ACAC) and the American Board of Industrial Hygiene (ABIH). We are focusing on Asbestos Contamination Assessments - what is expected by the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) Engineering Department to approve a Site-Specific Variance and What NYSDOL Enforcement expects in the cleanup process?
Professional Presentations
On Thursday, February 27, 2020, will be the Professional Day this day will include information on Vinyl Asbestos Tile (VAT) removal; exposure updates on talc; mercury flooring; waste management, recycling, and your carbon footprint; New York State (NYS) harassment training; and NYS Women-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE)/Minority-Owned Business Enterprise (MBE) requirements. The Vendor Exhibit Hall will also open on Thursday. As usual Future Environment Designs will have a booth and we will have our book for sale "Do As I Say Not As I Did" and it can be signed by the author Angelo Garcia, III.
Vendor Exhibit Hall
On Friday, February 28, 2020, will be Regulatory Day. The day will open with a round table panel and discussion including survey requirements expert panel discussion. Afterward, the NYSDOL Asbestos Control Bureau will once again be present to update us and answer questions from the attendees. It plans to be another fantastic conference and we look forward to seeing you there!
New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP)announced that they are holding a public hearing on Monday, July 22, 2019, on amending/correcting some of the amendments that went into effect on January 6, 2019. All comments on this new amendment must be made by July 22, 2019. The Asbestos Rule Amendment of January 6, 2019, included quite a few changes to Chapter 1 of Title 15 of the Rules of the City of New York, for a copy of the rule with the changes incorporated, click here. For a copy of the Asbestos Rule Amendments only, click here. In addition, the "Promulgation of Air Asbestos Penalty Schedule" went into effect on January 6, 2019. This penalty schedule has been incorporated into Title 53 of Chapter 1 and includes the revised violation schedule for the changes made to Title 15 by the Amendment. For a copy of this Penalty Schedule, click here.
Asbestos Training Course
As expected most of the changes to Title 15 was in response to the over a year ago indictment and arrest of the 17-18 NYCDEP asbestos investigators, see below for the press conference or click here for Spectrum News NY 1's report. Those indictments included recommendations from the New York City Department of Investigations (NYCDOI) click here to see the press release on the arrests and the summary of recommendations made by NYCDOI.
Some of the changes regarding asbestos investigators:
Subchapter A Section 1-01 subdivision (j) (3) now allows NYCDEP may block an asbestos investigator from filing an ACP5 form along with the previous wording of denying asbestos permits for non-payment of civil penalties by the abatement contractor, building owner or air monitoring company,
A requirement of an electronic recordkeeping system and to protect records from water damage, and a requirement to immediately report if any records are damaged, lost or destroyed,
Non-certified individuals may not collect bulk samples,
New applicants must submit documentation of successful completion of an 8 hour minimum introductory blueprint-reading course or any applicable building design and construction training or certification as established by the department and posted on the NYCDEP website,
Registered design professionals, certified industrial hygienist or certified safety professionals must have documentation of 6 months post-graduate experience in building survey for asbestos,
Associate Degree individuals must have 2 years (instead of one year) post-graduate experience in conducting surveys for asbestos,
Individuals with extensive experience must show 3 years (instead of two years) of experience in conducting surveys for asbestos,
Applicants are allowed three attempts to achieve a passing grade on the exam. After the third attempt results in failure, the applicant must retake the New York State Inspector Training to retake the NYCDEP exam,
Section 1-16 letter (j) gives NYCDEP the authority to deny any application submitted if it is determined the applicant has failed to meet the six standards listed,
Section 1-16 letter (k) gives NYCDEP the authority to immediately suspend an investigator issued a notice of violation alleging unprofessional conduct that demonstrates a willful disregard for public health, safety or welfare,
Section 1-16 letter (l) gives NYCDEP authority for reasonable cause to believe an investigator's surveys have been performed improperly or fraudulently such that work performed poses or may pose a threat to human safety, the Commissioner may invalidate any or all ACP-5s filed by the investigator and may order the building owner to stop all work, have a new survey conducted by a different investigator, and have a new ACP5 submitted.
Section 1-16 letter (m) investigators must disclose prior convictions, etc.
Replacement certificates may only be obtained twice in any two-year validity period.
The addition of the number of samples required based on Surfacing Materials, Thermal System Insulation, and Suspect Miscellaneous Materials.
Skim coat of joint compound included in surfacing materials utilizing 3,5,7 rule.
Bulk Sample results/reports must be submitted within 72 hours of request (used to be 5 calendar days).
What's wrong with this picture?
Some of the changes regarding other parts of Title 15:
Several other definition modifications or changes, including:
Bound Notebook -notebook manufactured so that the pages cannot be removed without being torn out,
Start Date - shall mean the date when a worker decontamination enclosure system is installed and functional,
Approved Variances changes including automatically canceling a written approval of a variance when the building owner changes contractors,
Section added to experience requirement of asbestos handler supervisor,
Sections added to the renewal of restricted asbestos handler certificate,
Work Place Safety Plan's (WPSP) floor plans must now also show the location of the decontamination enclosure systems along with all project work areas,
Failure to comply with the approved WPSP is a violation of these rules was added.
A requirement that a registered design professional must submit a letter to the Asbestos Technical Review Unit affirming that the professional visited the workplace and that additional asbestos abatement, for the additional ACM added to a project, is consistent with the approved WPSP and the proposed changes will not impact egress or fire protection.
Electronic recordkeeping of the project record for abatement projects,
Air Monitoring Company must maintain electronic records for 30 years after the end of the project including:
NYCDEP Certificate number of all individuals (the new amendment would change this to air monitoring technicians) who worked on the project;
location & general description of the project;
start and completion dates for the project;
name, address, & ELAP registration number of the laboratory used for air sample analysis;
a copy of the project air sampling log.
One air sample technician must be present per 3 work areas in one work site (the new amendment would add: except that if there are multiple work areas on the same floor, only one air sampling technician is required for that floor).
A rotometer's calibration sheet must be available at the worksite,
Project air sampling log must be created & maintained in a bound notebook by the air monitoring company. A copy of the log must be submitted within 72 hours of a request, used to be 24 hours.
Sample location sketches must be made within one hour of the beginning of sample collection.
Air sampling results/reports must be submitted within 72 hours of request (used to be 5 calendar days).
OSHA personal sampling must be made available within 72 hours of the request.
Entry and exit log must be submitted within 72 hours of a request, used to be 48 hours.
Glovebag procedures may only be used on horizontal piping.
The addition of on any individual floor for tent procedures.
The new amendment which is open for public comment until July 22, 2019, makes the following revisions:
Clarify section 1-29 by specifying that only air monitoring technicians need to have their license at the workplace, not all individuals (see the note above);
Clarify the requirements of section 1-36(b) as to how many air sampling technicians need to be present during sampling (see the note above);
Clarify that the requirements of section 1-42(a) regarding the placement of air samples apply to all asbestos projects, not only those that are conducted indoors;
Change the requirements for lettering on notices to be posted under sections 1-81(a) and 1-125(a), as contractors advised that the required font sizes were impractical.
Air Asbestos Penalty Schedule, found at Title 53 of Chapter 1 of the Rules of the City of New York (RCNY), which also became effective on January 6, 2019, had failed to carry over certain sections from the penalty schedule which had previously been located in the rules of the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings. Accordingly, DEP proposes to amend the penalty schedule to correct those omissions.
Finally, the proposed rule divides the penalty schedule into three subdivisions (specifically, the RCNY, the New York State Industrial Code, and the New York City Administrative Code). No substantive change is intended with respect to the amendments made by sections six and nine of the proposal other than the addition of a penalty for a violation of Administrative Code § 24-1002.
AHERA TEM method counts for total asbestos structures per cubic centimeter averaged 22 times greater than the PCM fiber counts on the same filters.
Considering this was primarily focused on the indicted asbestos investigators and recommendations from NYCDOI, there seemed to be a lot of things NYCDEP needed to clean-up in other parts of Title 15. It is interesting that third-party analysis recommended by NYCDOI was left out of the amendment, and Future Environment Design's comment about requiring transmission electron microscope (TEM) analysis for asbestos floor tile projects was ignored. So much for the revised purpose of these rules being to protect public health and the environment by minimizing emissions of asbestos fibers. Not including TEM analysis for floor tile projects does exactly the opposite of that purpose. For more information regarding this issue see our Floor Tile Debate blog post.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) annually publishes the top ten most frequently cited OSHA standards violated in the previous fiscal year. OSHA has published the stats for the fiscal year (FY) 2018 (which runs from October 1, 2017, to September 30, 2018). Here is the list of most frequently cited OSHA standards:
Fall Protection, construction (1926.501)
Hazard Communication Standard, general industry (1910.1200)
Scaffolding, general requirements, construction (1926.451)
Respiratory Protection (1910.134)
Control of Hazardous Energy (lockout/tagout), general industry (1910.147)
Ladders, construction (1926.1053)
Powered Industrial Trucks, general industry (1910.178)
Fall Protection - training requirements, construction (1926.503)
Machinery & Machine Guarding, general requirements, general industry (1910.212)
Eye and Face Protection (1926.102)
OSHA performed a total of 32,020 inspections in FY 2018. In 2017, there were 971 fatalities in the construction industry which were 20.7% of total private industry fatalities. The fatal four (falls, struck by, electrocution, & caught-in/between) were responsible for 59.9% of construction worker deaths in 2017.
The top 10 violations in the Remediation Servies Industry (which includes asbestos abatement, lead abatement, crime scene cleanups, oil spill cleanup, mold remediation, and hazardous materials remediation companies) were:
Asbestos (1926.1101)
Respiratory Protection (1910.134)
Lead (1926.62)
Hazard Communication (1910.1200)
Permit-required Confined Spaces (1910.146)
Inorganic arsenic (1910.1018)
Duty to have Fall Protection (1926.501)
Electronic Submission of Injury and Illness Records to OSHA (1904.41)
Scaffolding, general requirements (1926.451)
Ladders (1926.1053)
Interesting how the top four violations in the remediation industry should be the industry's specialty.
Since the silica standard has been in effect since September 23, 2017, we looked to see how many citations were issued in FY 2018. OSHA performed 202 inspections in reference to the silica standard (1926.1153) and issued 556 citations for total penalties of $815,426. The top 10 industries cited were:
Masonry Contractors
Poured Concrete Foundation and Structure Contractors
Commercial & Institutional Building Construction
Water & Sewer Line & Related Structures Construction
Highway, Street, & Bridge Construction
Site Preparation Contractors
Residential Building Contractors
Flooring Contractors
All Other Specialty Trade Contractors
Siding Contractors
As you can see OSHA is still performing inspections and still issuing citations. Though silica standard is fairly new OSHA conducted almost triple the inspections than it did regarding asbestos. However, OSHA's focus is definitely on falls, struck by, electrocutions, and caught-in/between.
On the final day of the Professional Abatement Contractors of New York (PACNY) 22nd Annual Environmental Conference, we awoke in the middle of 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. Some attendees left before the storm hit putting a further dampener on attendance. Because of the storm, there was some concern that New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) would not be able to attend. Because of a good Samaritan who helped NYSDOL representatives who were in the area get to the conference and the technological genius of Bob Krell, of Healthy Indoors Magazine, and Kevin Hutton, of Cornerstone Training, Dr. Eileen Franko was also present.
Peter Delucia, of AAC Contracting, discussing Crystalline Respirable Silica
The last day of the conference started with Peter Delucia, AAC Contracting, discussing "Managing the Many Facets of the Silica in Construction Standard." Mr. Delucia did a great job presenting on topic and provided some excellent references related to preventing exposures, sampling, and complying with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) silica standard 1926.1153. Mr. Delucia's presentation helped us develop our training courses for silica and our blog post "OSHA's Silica Standard - What's All the Fuss About?, Part Two".
NYSDOL's Presentation with Dr. Franco on Screen
The final presentation of the conference was the managers from NYSDOL, the Director Dr. Eileen Franko, present by video conference; Program Manager of Asbestos Control Bureau, Mr. James Meachum PE; Program Manager of Licensing & Certification Unit, Mr. Kirk Fisher; and Program Manager of Engineering Services Unit, Mr. Ed Smith, PE. Some of the major points included:
Mr. Smith, announcing that they are looking into releasing some Fast Track Variances that would speed up the process of filing for a variance. These variances could be used as they are written with no changes and those could be approved faster.
Mr. Smith gave us an update on the changes to Industrial Code Rule 56, including a Senate Bill (S06492) and Assembly Bill (A08254) that would remove the 1974 date from regulation for demolitions. Mr. Smith also discussed some of the changes to New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP) asbestos regulation Title 15.
Mr. Fisher announced a change in filing for a mold license for assessment and remediation companies that will require separate applications for a company license and an individual license for owners.
After being questioned when the removal of social security numbers from asbestos application process would happen. Mr.Fisher informed us that would not happen in the foreseeable future. The system they have is antiquated and there is no funding for updating it. The system uses social security numbers to identify the holders of the various certificates.
Mr. Meachum discussed full-time asbestos project monitoring and the responsibilities of the project monitors being added to asbestos variances.
Mr. Meachum discussed the mold fact sheets that NYSDOL developed and they strongly recommend the fact sheets be provided to mold assessment/remediation clients. In addition, Mr. Meachum announced that the first violations were sent out under Article 32, the Mold Licensing Law. The violations were for not having a license and performing work and/or advertising as a mold professional.
Steve Winograd & me at the PACNY Conference
Attendance on the last day was down but it was still an excellent conference with lots of useful information. We cannot say this enough about the excellent and hard work that Ms. Deborah Sanscrainte, of Aramsco, the conference chairperson and Ms. Lisa Brown, of Summit Environmental, Administrator put in to make the conference as good as it is. Congratulations to the PACNY Board, as they continue to show why they are leaders for the abatement industry in New York State.
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This debate regarding asbestos floor tiles started at the Professional Abatement Contractors of New York's (PACNY's) 2017 Environmental Conference. At the conference, after our presentation, a member of the audience challenged our statement that asbestos floor tile removal should be cleared by the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) method (see the video of our presentation here, the challenge is at the end of the video). In the video Mr. Chris Alonge, of Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY) defends our call for TEM clearance for asbestos floor tiles and we had some additional people approach us after the presentation supporting our side of the debate. As some of you know, we decided it would be neat to see if their are others who feel the same way. We decided to use Survey Monkey to ask three simple questions regarding this issue. These questions were:
When doing asbestos flooring removal, which method was used the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) 7400 Phase Contrast Microscope (PCM) method or AHERA TEM method for clearance? The answers we got was 47.1% used the NIOSH 7400 method; while 29.4% used both methods; and 23.5% only used the TEM method.
When using the AHERA method for clearance, what was the typical size of the fibers found? The answers we got were 58.8% less than 5 micron; 29.4% both sizes were equal amounts; and 11.8% greater than 5 micron.
Have you ever encountered during asbestos flooring removal when utilizing both the NIOSH 7400 (PCM) & the AHERA (TEM) methods of analyses, that the NIOSH 7400 passed while the AHERA method failed? The answers we got were 52.6% yes, 36.8% no, and 10.5 never used both.
Improperly Removed Floor Tiles
We would like to thank all of you who participated in our survey. The results are interesting, the first question is not surprising since the NIOSH 7400 method is the cheapest method and both New York State (NYS) and New York City (NYC) require this method as the minimum method. The second question is also not surprising since this is the reason for our call for clearance for floor tile jobs to be by the AHERA TEM method. The final question proves the point we've been making. If even one project can actually fail by AHERA TEM but pass using the NIOSH 7400, this should be a concern for any person who is concerned for the safety and health of the occupants who would occupy the space after clearance.
Another Improper Floor Tile Removal
As we mentioned in our presentation, we didn't come up with this idea out of the blue. In 2003, Applied Occupational and Environmental Hygiene published a study called "Asbestos Release During Removal of Resilient Floor Covering Materials by Recommended Work Practices of the Resilient Floor Covering Institute" by Marion Glenn Williams, Jr. and Robert N. Crossman, Jr. from the University of Texas Health Center at Tyler, Tyler Texas. You can find the study in our Future Environment Designs website under our Resource Page in the dropbox folder.
Some of the major points from this study were:
Asbestos used in flooring materials is Grade 7 - Shorts and Floats. The dimensions of this material are very small and may not be resolvable by the Polarized Light Microscope (PLM). Which is why in NYS we require floor tiles to be analyzed as a nonfriable organically bound (NOB) material (analysis by PLM and if negative result for asbestos then analysis by TEM).
Since the dimensions of these fibers used in the manufacture of floor tiles are so small, it would explain why we typically see very low personal exposure levels by phase contrast microscope (PCM) during floor tile removals. Many ultrafine fibers are not counted due to resolution (0.2-0.25 um) and the count protocol, which provides that only fibers longer than 5 micron with a 3:1 or greater length-to-width ratio are counted.
Many research studies have found the preponderance of fibers at autopsy left in lung tissue, pleural plaques, and lymph nodes of persons who have occupational exposure to asbestos are shorter them 5 micron in length.
The NIOSH 7402 TEM method is flawed because it underreports the amount of asbestos in the samples because it ignores all fibers less than or equal to 5 micron and all those fibers longer than 5 micron but less than 0.25 micron in diameter.
AHERA TEM method counts for total asbestos structures per cubic centimeter averaged 22 times greater than the PCM fiber counts on the same filters.
AHERA TEM asbestos concentrations obtained during mastic removal with a commercial mastic remover averaged 11 times higher than those measured when removal used amended water.
The study also found that there was considerable amounts of asbestos dust settled on exposed surfaces during tile removal. Indicating a need to thoroughly HEPA vacuum and wet clean surfaces or dust may remain that could be re-entrained by occupant activity.
The study also indicates that workers in these areas, would not have to wear respirators, so anyone in these areas would have inhaled asbestos fibers or structures of respirable dimensions.
The study suggests that for Resilient Flooring Removal clearance sampling should use aggressive methods, require a clearance level of less than 0.005 structures per cubic centimeter for each sample, and all samples analyzed by AHERA TEM protocol. It also suggests a minimum number of samples for clearance should be one sample per 500 square feet, a volume of air of at least 1250 liters, and the use of 0.45 micron mixed cellulose ester filters in a 25 millimeter diameter conducting cassette with a 50 millimeter extension cowl.
As we said, we did not arrive at our decision lightly. After reading this study it became apparent to us that asbestos containing flooring or mastic removal should be cleared using the AHERA TEM method to ensure the work area is actually free of asbestos fibers (we already do this in schools under AHERA for large asbestos projects, some schools require all asbestos projects ave to be cleared by AHERA TEM). In addition, any negative exposure assessment for floor tile removal that does not include AHERA TEM analysis of some of the samples should not be accepted as definitive to allow workers to not use respirators during asbestos flooring removal. As the study showed their could be significant exposure to workers from these respirable fibers/structures that the NIOSH 7400 method is not picking up.
We hope this information explains our position, and we look forward to a continuation of this debate. We intend to press the case for a requirement for AHERA TEM clearance for flooring removal, especially if New York State truly intends to move forward with an update of Industrial Code Rule 56.
The Professional Abatement Contractors of New York's (PACNY's) 19th Annual Environmental Conference started with lots of buzz and the conference did not disappoint. The conference had over 800 total attendees for the three days. The Vendor Exhibit Hall had over 25 exhibitors (an increase from last year) including a bunch of new exhibitors like RJ Lee Group, US Micro, & the Zonolite Attic Insulation Trust added to the old standbys of Aramsco, DiVal, Fiberlock, & Grayling Industries. The conference organizer Deborah (Johnson) Sanscrainte, from Aramsco, did a fantastic job putting together the conference while also bringing a new life into the world. Lisa Brown was her beautiful self greeting everyone and registering the attendees (and commenting on men's hosiery). The conference planning committee went overboard putting this year's conference together. From our understanding the last day of the conference only came together a week or two before the conference.
Panorama View of the Vendor Hall from DiVal's Safety Ladder
The first day of the conference which has become known as Proficiency Day and involved a new audience polling process that involved using the attendees messaging device to poll the audience. As usual it was very informative in learning anonymously what the audience's answers were on particular topics. This year the polling device was used for the entire conference (much better than last year's devices). Presenters included Diana Wolgemuth of Dale Carnegie (great take away was the 6 x 6 rule for slides); Kevin Malone of NYS Department of Health (NYSDOH); Andy Oberta of the Environmental Consultancy & Sean Hart of Energy & Environment, discussing "Visual Inspection: Comparing ASTM E 1368 and NYSDOL Rule 56". Mr. Malone filled us in on the 2014 training statistics - NYSDOH issued 27,790 certificates based on 3,481 courses that were held. In addition, Mr. Malone provided us with this link http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/search/home.action to find electronic copies of the most up-to-date federal regulations.
Linda Reinstein & the author at the Future Environment Designs Booth
The second day of the conference was even better including presentations by Brent Kynoch of the Environmental Information Association (EIA); Linda Reinstein of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) discussing "Asbestos - The Human Cost of Inaction" visit slideshare for her presentation; Christopher Alonge from Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY) and Matthew Darin from Bluepoint Environmental did a joint presentation on "New NYS Mold Bill...SIGNED!" logistically it should be interesting to see how NYSDOL handles the bill; Matt Sanchez from RJ Lee Group discussing "Amphibole type and Morphologies that Occur in Vermiculite from Select Sources Around the
World"; Dr. Marty Rutstein discussing "Asbestos Abatement, how did we get HERE and WHERE are we going?"; Dr. Barry Castleman discussing "Criminality and the Global Asbestos Industry"; Mr. Andy Oberta of the Environmental Consultancy discussing "Exposure Assessments in Asbestos
Abatement: Understanding and Using ASTM D7886" which interesting lead to a disagreement with the audience on whether he had achieved an actual negative exposure assessment; and Mr. Jack Springston of TRC Environmental Corp discussing "Industrial Hygiene Lessons Learned
from the World Trade Center Disaster" whose presentation was perfectly timed to allow for the Cocktail Hour in the Vendor's Hall.
Jack Springston presenting IH Lessons Learned from the WTC
The third day of the conference was the best day especially with NYSDOL bringing all the major players who regulate the asbestos industry and the soon to be regulated mold industry. The third day started with the awarding of the door prizes and an impromptu presentation by Tom Meade, the Executive Director of PACNY. The presentation/rant was discussing the information received from NYSDOL through the FOIL process regarding revenue generated by NYSDOL in 2011, 2012, & 2013 (visit our FED Course CD under Helpful Links and General Information for FL-14-0583) and the process of trying to incorporate A3675 notification bill through the budget process (a very frustrating process with what seems to be unintended consequences). Mr. Ed Cahill from EMSL discussed the "New Vermiculite Method 198.8", it will be interesting if they do decide to expand the 198.8 method and/or the Lab 55 method into other vermiculite containing materials. The final presentation was the NYSDOL round table led by Dr. Eileen Franko, and included Mr. James Meacham, PE, Acting Program Manager, Asbestos Control Bureau; Mr. Edward Smith, PE, Associate Engineer, Engineering Services Unit; Mr. Kirk Fisher, Program Manager, Licensing and Certification Unit; and Senior Attorney Mr. Matthew Robinson-Loffler. One thing you definitely got from this round table is that the asbestos control program is probably the most organized it has ever been. In addition, more changes were announced, NYSDOL has hired Mr. Don Pearce away from NYSDOH. Mr. Pearce was working on the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Grant regarding Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) audits on schools. EPA is now coordinating with NYSDOL to perform the grant. It will be interesting to see how NYSDOL handles these inspections since they have enforcement capabilities where NYSDOH did not. Mr. Alonge must have disappointed to hear that the proposed changes to Industrial Code Rule 56, that he wrote before he left, are now dead and being rewritten again. NYSDOL is getting lots of support (probably more information than they need) in creating the mold regulations but it is obvious that NYSDOL is expecting the new Assembly A4759-2015 & Senate 3674-2015 Bills to help them and give them more time to create the regulations.
NYSDOL Roundtable Panel
Overall this was one of the best PACNY conferences, but we think we say that every time we write about the conference. There are lots of conferences out there fighting for our time. However, very few deliver on the ability to meet people in the remediation industry that are leading the way and trying to make a difference. In addition, the conference provides the ability to meet regulators and ask questions that directly impact the work we do. PACNY's environmental conferences, over the years, has delivered this every year and we suspect will continue to deliver on this type of access into the future. Plus it's a fun place to learn and enjoy a break from the day-to-day grind of work. We look forward to next year!
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."
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.
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.
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