Asbestos Pipe Insulation in a Crawl Space |
Future Environment Designs Training Center specializes in asbestos, indoor air quality, industrial hygiene, and occupational safety training programs. We offer New York State asbestos and mold certification courses. We design, develop, and maintain the various indoor air quality, asbestos, and safety programs that are Keeping Your Employees Safe.
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Thursday, February 03, 2011
Condo Covered In Asbestos Dust in Virginia Beach, VA
Friday, December 31, 2010
Paul Mancuso of Utica New York Ordered to Pay $17,972 to EPA
HVAC ducts insulated with chrysotile asbestos. |
Related articles
- Colorado Man's Home is a Living Laboratory. (futureenv.blogspot.com)
- The EPA Tracks Down its Asbestos-Abetting Fugitive (sierraclub.typepad.com)
- Environmentalists petition Nitish to stop asbestos factory (thehindu.com)
- Window Company Owner Fined Following Asbestos Exposure (first4lawyers.com)
- Government Refuses to Act on Cancer-Causing Insulation (futureenv.blogspot.com)
- Woman Wanted by E.P.A. Is Arrested (nytimes.com)
- Licensed Lead and Asbestos Inspector Sentenced to 63 Months in Prison (futureenv.blogspot.com)
Wednesday, December 08, 2010
Riverhead is Soliciting Bids for Asbestos Abatement
In New York State and many other states asbestos removal is done ahead of demolition to prevent fibers of the hazardous mineral from becoming airborne and causing a health danger to anyone in the vicinity. Asbestos exposure is linked to lung cancer, malignant mesothelioma and asbestosis and has been the focus of many asbestos settlements and mesothelioma lawsuits. The West Main Street property was purchased by the town last year for $1.2 million, the community website reported.
Related articles
- The Lancet slams Canadian 'hypocrisy' on asbestos (canada.com)
- Medical journal takes Canada to task over asbestos (thestar.com)
- Victims, activists urge Canada to stop asbestos exports (thestar.com)
- International Activists Call on Canada to Stop Asbestos Exports (health.change.org)
Colorado Man's Home is a Living Laboratory.
- Government Refuses to Act on Cancer-Causing Insulation (futureenv.blogspot.com)
- Asbestos-Tainted Zonolite Still Ignored By Feds: Government Refuses To Act (huffingtonpost.com)
- "It's on our website": an insufficient response to asbestos danger lurking in millons of attics (scienceblogs.com)
- Window Company Owner Fined Following Asbestos Exposure (first4lawyers.com)
- The EPA Tracks Down its Asbestos-Abetting Fugitive (sierraclub.typepad.com)
Friday, November 26, 2010
Revival & Expansion of Canadian Asbestos Mines Causes Uproar
Open Pit Asbestos Mine in Asbestos, Quebec |
The Quebec government has announced the offer of C$58 million ($57 million) in loan guarantees to convert the Jeffrey mine in Asbestos, Quebec from an open-pit to an underground operation. The open-pit reserves are almost exhausted but the deeper deposits are among the biggest in the world. Canada is the world’s fifth-biggest asbestos producer after Russia, China, Kazakhstan and Brazil. India is one of the biggest consumers of cancer causing asbestos fibers from Quebec, Canada. Revival and expansion of the mine would boost asbestos production from the 100-year-old mine from an estimated 15,000 tonnes this year to 180,000 tonnes in 2012 and an eventual capacity of 260,000 tonnes, or about 10 per cent of global production.
Ban Asbestos Network of India (BANI) expresses its support and solidarity with the protest from health and environmental groups against an attempt by Indian and other investors to revive a big Canadian asbestos mine. Jeffrey and one other remaining mine in the Quebec province of Canada produce chrysotile, or white asbestos, used mainly to reinforce cement used for water pipes and other building materials. Exposure to asbestos fibers causes incurable and fatal lung diseases. In India there is a ban on asbestos mining but trade, manufacture and use of asbestos products is yet to be banned. There is a ban on trade in asbestos waste as well.
Related articles
- Quebec asbestos mine may have investors: Owner (canada.com)
- India group bids on Quebec asbestos mine (cbc.ca)
- BBC asbestos report slams Canada (cbc.ca)
- Global asbestos trade (bbc.co.uk)
- Canada should get out of asbestos business: Ignatieff (canada.com)
- Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization Responds to Potential Canadian Efforts to Revive Jeffrey Mine (eon.businesswire.com)
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Kings Park Psychiatric Center Cleanup Estimated At $215 Million
The $215 million price is for demolishing all 57 abandoned buildings on the property and returning the 368 acres to open space, said a statement from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, which commissioned the study by Dvirka & Bartilucci. The bulk of the cost, about $186 million, pays for tearing down the buildings and cleaning up asbestos and other hazardous materials. Other costs include $26 million to demolish and remediate five miles of underground steam tunnels and $3.7 million to excavate materials dumped on the property over the years. State Sen. John Flanagan (R-East Northport) had secured $29 million for park cleanup and agreed to spend $3.6 million for the environmental study. He said the actual cost will be determined when the projects are put out for bid.
In February 2009, after community groups clamored for some resolution of the property, then State Parks Commissioner Carol Ash ordered the demolition of 15 buildings deemed unsafe, which will cost $14 million. Requests for bids for that project will go out soon. Once that happens and those bids come in we will get a better idea what it will actually cost.
Related articles
- TRC Exit Strategy Program Facilitates Cleanup and Closure of Two Midwestern Landfills (eon.businesswire.com)
- 'Old GM' to reportedly set aside $773M for environmental cleanup plan (autoblog.com)
- G.M. Estate to Provide Millions for Cleanup of Old Sites (nytimes.com)
- 25 Bone-Chilling Photos of Abandoned Places (mymodernmet.com)
- New dioxin rules might force more cleanups (sfgate.com)
Friday, October 15, 2010
Federal jury finds Syracuse company guilty of mail fraud
We have discussed this asbestos air monitoring and laboratory consultant case in class. Follow the link which describes the guilty verdict against Certified Environmental Services (CES). Remember one of the more interesting points of this case was that two individual asbestos air monitors were indicted on their illegal work. Making them individually responsible for aiding and abetting the illegal work of the contractors. It will be interesting if this has an impact on the industry.
Related articles
Friday, October 08, 2010
EMLab P&K Products Division Blog Features - Proper Maintenance of Sampling Equipment
Anderson N-6 Bioaerosol Sampler. |
Related articles
- Linde Develops 110-Component Specialty Gas Mixture (eon.businesswire.com)
- Sentry Equipment Corp Acquires AquatiPro™ (eon.businesswire.com)
- New Oxygen Sensor Makes Calibration Quick and Easy (prnewswire.com)
Monday, February 22, 2010
PACNY Conference Opens on Thursday, February 25, 2010
This Thursday, February 25, 2010 opens the Professional Abatement Contractors of New York's (PACNY) 14th Annual Environmental Conference at Turning Stone Casino, in Verona, New York. This is the premier event in New York State regarding the abatement field. Between the Vendor Exhibit Hall (recently spoke with Mr John Hill of Grayling Industries, they will be exhibiting) and the industry speakers (including Chris Alonge from New York State Department of Labor (DOL)) this is THE event to attend. This year marks the return of Craig Benedict from the US Attorney's Office, he will be discussing "Recent Criminial Prosecutions: Remediation, Laboratory, and Project Monitoring Fraud." Considering recent press releases this should be an interesting discussion. With new Environmental Protection Agency regulations going to effect on renovators Mr. Andrew McClellen's presentation should be informative. Of course on the last day of the event; will Mr. Chris Alonge be dropping any bombshells on the attendees this year. Based on previous presentations by Mr. Alonge (see our entry on 11/25/09 on the Metro-Section of the AIHA's meeting http://futureenv.blogspot.com/2009/11/results-of-metro-ny-aihas-ehs-global.html) could the long anticipated revision of Industrial Code Rule 56 be available? We shall see. I will be attending as I usually do, remember Turning Stone is a dry casino so BYOB, and I hope to see you there.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Results of the Metro NY AIHA's EHS Global & Local Update Meeting
- Mr. Carlstein Lutchmedial speaking on the revisions to the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYC DEP) asbestos regulations;
- Mr. Chris Alonge speaking on the proposed revisions to the New York State Department of Labor Industrial Code Rule 56 (NYS DOL ICR56);
- Mr. Kevin Malone speaking on the New York State Department of Health’s asbestos training program and their program on performing audits/inspections of schools regarding their compliance with the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA).
- New filing requirement and process for ACP7s (see our Autumn 2009 Newsletter for further information on this process http://futureenvironmentdesigns.com/newsletter.htm );
- The new regulations are aligned with the fire code and specific fire safety requirements;
- There is no grandfathering of the regulation. If you had a project that started before the regulations took effect (November 13, 2009), you must bring your project into compliance with the new regulation;
- Preparation of the work area must be in the order the regulations are written (i.e., occupant notification, posting of floor plan with location of all fire exists, vacate area, shutdown electric, worker decontamination enclosure, erection of barriers);
- Added a section defining unprofessional conduct;
- No longer need a variance for floor tile removals;
- All variances must be designed by a NYS certified Asbestos Project Designer.
- The new regulation will have several references to the current NYS fire and building code. Mr. Alonge views many of changes to ICR56 as already being required by the fire and building code, with a few exceptions (i.e., negative air unit disconnect switch);
- An audience question brought on a discussion regarding the use of dust samples in determining the extent of incidental disturbance. Mr. Alonge’s view was that Asbestos Inspectors should rarely use dust sampling. When dust sampling is necessary then it should follow the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard method D5755 for sampling and the analysis must follow NYS DOH Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (ELAP) methodology (this methodology provides you with qualititative results of positive or negative for asbestos).
- Expected dates: Draft is currently at Counsel. Once Counsel is completed, anticipate submittal to the Governor’s Office of Rules and Regulation (GORR) around Jan/Feb 2010. Publish for comments April 2010. Final version by July 2010.
- NYS DOH issued 26,000 asbestos certificates in New York State through 72 training providers.
- Mr. Malone’s discussion of NYS DOH’s audit/inspection program for EPA highlighted several areas where schools are not complying with the AHERA regulations. These are:
- Recordkeeping
- No warning labels
- Short term worker notification
- Custodial/Maintenance Staff Training
- Not identifying all ACBM
- Project Designer
- Clearance Sampling
- The last two are significant in that once Mr. Malone discussed what was required, most people in the audience realized in regards of the last two not a single school in NYS is probably doing them. Visit our discussion group at http://groups.google.com/group/fed-forum?hl=en for a copy of the spreadsheets that Mr. Malone provided the attendees on this topic.
- AHERA requires project designs developed by a Certified Asbestos Project Designer for all projects greater than a small scale short duration or minor fiber release (less than or equal to 3 linear feet (LF) or 3 square feet (SF)). Meaning in a school, even a NYS minor asbestos project (less than or equal to 10 SF or 25 LF) would require an asbestos project design written by a certified asbestos project designer.
- Clearance testing for projects greater than 3 LF to less than 260 LF or greater than 3 SF to less than 160 SF require 5 inside air , 5 outside air and 3 blank samples analyzed by phase contrast microscopy. As you can see from the spreadsheet, this is a NYS State Education Department requirement. AHERA on the other hand would require only 5 inside and 2 blanks samples analyzed by PCM.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Paragon's Asbestos Superisor Pleads Guilty
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Handling Vermiculite Insulation for Building Inspections and Air Monitoring
Because of these technical issues EPA and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) both recommend that if you find vermiculite insulation that you not test it for asbestos. Instead they recommend you assume the vermiculite insulation is from Libby and assume it contains asbestos. The Libby mine was the source for over 70% of the vermiculite sold in the United States from 1919 to 1990. EPA and ATSDR feel that the technical issues involving vermiculite sampling can complicate testing for the presence of asbestos fibers and interpreting the risk from exposure. This is a significant statement and interesting that it has not been published more.
Based on this, as an asbestos inspector, environmental inspector, home inspector, and/or air quality consultant, you must evaluate vermiculite insulation as containing asbestos (without sampling). In addition, you must inform the owner that sampling the material will not provide a definitive answer. EPA and ATSDR both recommend that professional asbestos abatement contractors handle any disturbance of the vermiculite insulation. The best practice for air monitoring and analysis of these projects, for the protection of the public, is Transmission Electron Microscopy. As these issues are not well known, even in the asbestos industry, it is important for owners to be aware of this potential problem and take the precautions necessary.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Con Edison Steam Explosion exposes Respirator Errors
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Could this happen to you?
- required monitoring of employees' exposure to asbestos was not conducted on several occasions even though monitoring records alleged that it had been done (OSHA issued a willful citation with a proposed fine of $42,000).
- short term (excursion limit) sampling was not done.
- the contractor did not keep accurate exposure monitoring records.
- employees were not notified of sampling results.
- employees were not trained to properly establish an asbestos containment system.
- contractor did not prevent asbestos contaminated water from leaking from an enclosed work area.
For the last five violations, OSHA issued serious citations totaling $15,000. The willful citation is issued when OSHA determines that the employer commits a violation with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health. A serious violation is issued when OSHA determines death or serious physical harm is likely to result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.
Preventing these types of violations requires the development and adherence to a personal air sampling plan. The air sampling plan should properly document all segments of personal air sampling. The plan should include the number of people you will sample, calibration of equipment, documentation of who is sampled and the work tasks performed, documentation of the laboraotry accreditations, procedures for collecting samples and ensuring the samples are individually numbered, ensuring the chain of custody is completed correctly, and maintaining these records for 30 years from date of creation. The information from this plan then assists with documenting the proper respiratory protection used by the workers and assists with the respiratory protection plan and the exposure assessment for the project and future projects.
Chrysotile Asbestos Banned? More Like Certain Conditions of Use Will Be Eventually Banned!
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