Governor Cuomo Announces Schools Can Open. Can They or Should They?

New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that public schools can decide to open as long as they are in a region where the average rate of positive coronavirus tests is below 5 percent over a two-week period.  To read Governor Cuomo's announcement click here.  It is interesting to note that still means School Districts will have to figure out how to open, handle busing, and all the other parts of the schooling process.  There is plenty of information that indicates that children are very efficient spreaders of viruses.  Forbes magazine recently published an article "New Evidence Suggests Young Children Spread Covid-19 More Efficiently Than Adults", which is about two studies, one published in  The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and the other is a pre-print manuscript awaiting peer-review.  The JAMA study shows young children who have mild to moderate Covid-19 symptoms have 10 to 100 times as much SARS-CoV-2 in the nasopharynx as older children and adults.  The other study showed that children age 14 and younger risk of transmitting Covid-19 was 22.4 percent—more than twice that of adults aged 30 to 49, whose rate of contagiousness was about 11 percent.  As an industrial hygienist and a certified indoor environmental consultant, we believe school administration/boards of education need to use some basic industrial hygiene and indoor air quality principles to open safely.  It will mean that quite a few things need to change to be able to keep students, teachers, and staff safe.  Like any basic industrial hygiene problem, we should use the hierarchy of controls to protect workers by reducing the potential exposure to SARS-CoV-2.

Hierarchy of Control Methods

The first hierarchy of control is the elimination or the substitution of the hazard.  This control is about prevention if we can eliminate the exposure then we eliminate the hazard.  So if we can make sure individuals with Covid-19 do not attend school we can eliminate the exposure.  To accomplish this most facilities are doing a combination of questionnaires and temperature taking to ensure people who are sick stay home and out of the workplace.  However, this does not capture asymptomatic individuals who can also spread SARS-CoV-2.   A recent study discussed in STAT's article "Fever checks are a flawed way to flag Covid-19 cases", indicated that Covid-19 patients were 27 times more likely than others to have lost their sense of smell.  But they were only 2.6 times more likely to have fever or chills, suggesting that anosmia (the loss of sense of smell) produces a clearer signal and may, therefore, be a better Covid-19 catching net than fever.  The idea of using a smell test is supported by a USA Today article "Why do so many COVID-19 patients lose their sense of smell? Scientists now know."  Testing to determine if an individual has lost their sense of smell can be done in several ways (for example, having a person smell a scratch-and-sniff card and pick the correct odor out of four choices) with the gold standard being the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test called UPSIT.  The scents are released by scratching the microencapsulated scents with a pencil.  The test taker has a choice of 4 answers for each and the test takes 10 to 15 minutes.  This would prevent individuals from entering the school and hence eliminate the hazard.  Unfortunately, it doesn't totally eliminate the hazard.  So we must add additional controls to continue to reduce the exposure.   

SARS-CoV-2

The next level of control would be engineering controls.  According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s website "Indoor Air and Coronavirus (COVID-19)" there is growing evidence that the SARS-CoV-2 remains airborne in indoor environments for hours, potentially increasing in concentration over time.  Due to this evidence, we would use the engineering controls ventilation (bringing fresh air from outside) and air filtration (removing the virus from the air inside the building) to reduce the potential exposure to SARS-CoV-2.  The purpose of the heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system of a building is to bring fresh air from outside the building to dilute the contaminants that may build-up in a building.  Humans produce CO2 and body odor plus other contaminants (i.e., moisture, if we're sick viruses & bacteria) and other processes in the building produce other contaminants (i.e., cleaning chemicals, copiers, uncontrolled moisture can produce mold, etc.).  The HVAC system should be designed to reduce these contaminants and provide a certain amount of fresh air per person in the building.  When we are concerned about the indoor air quality (IAQ) of a space we use carbon dioxide (CO2) as an indicator of how well the ventilation system is ventilating a space.  In other words how well the ventilation system, is reducing the contaminants in the space.  The American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) publishes a standard 62.1-2010 "Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality" as a guideline for determining acceptable IAQ (for the purposes of comfort).  This guideline recommends maintaining CO2 levels in a space no greater than 700 parts per million (ppm) above outdoor air levels.  However, a recent article in The Conversation titled "How to use ventilation and air filtration to prevent the spread of coronavirus indoors" discusses research that showed the effects of ventilation on a tuberculosis outbreak at Taipei University.  The study showed when engineers improved air circulation in the rooms and got the CO2 levels in the rooms reduced to under 600 ppm (from above 3,000 ppm) the outbreak stopped.  This shows that if we use CO2 detectors in rooms to ensure the rooms are properly ventilated and we can keep CO2 levels below 600 ppm we have a better chance of reducing transmission of the virus in these rooms.  The same article also discusses using air cleaners for air filtration there are several items to understand when using air cleaners.  First, you want an air cleaner that has a high-efficiency particulate air filter (HEPA) that is capable of filtering the particles at 99.97% of all particles at 5 microns and greater. The next thing to consider is how powerful it is and finally how reliable are its claims.  The Conversation article provides some excellent links for the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) that certifies air cleaners and a Harvard-Colorado University Boulder Air Cleaner Calculator for Schools tool for helping to decide the best air cleaner for a particular classroom.  This too may not completely eliminate the hazard so we will have to go to the next control - Administrative and work practice controls.

According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s website  "How COVID-19 Spreads" the virus is thought to spread mainly from person-to-person:

• Between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet).
• Through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or talks.
• These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly inhaled into the lungs.
• COVID-19 may be spread by people who are not showing symptoms.
• It may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes.  This is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.

Administrative controls to reduce this exposure would include social distancing, surface cleaning and disinfecting, and handwashing (we discussed handwashing in our blog post regarding Future Environment Design's Pandemic Policy).  The CDC website "Strategies for Protecting K-12 School Staff from COVID-19" has a lot of information and resources on handling social distancing, and surface cleaning and disinfecting for schools for everything including sports, music, and busing.  Another idea some schools are considering is holding in-person classes outdoors.  An article in the magazine Fast Company titled "Inside the Quest to Reopen Schools-By Moving Classes Outside" discusses the work of the nonprofit organization called Green Schoolyards America.  Green Schoolyards America with other organizations has created the National COVID-19 Outdoor Learning Initiative which has been working with schools to create outdoor learning spaces.  This is an outgrowth from a webinar held on June 4, 2020, entitled "Outdoor Spaces as Essential Assets for School Districts's COVID-19 Response".

The final level of control would be personal protective equipment (PPE).  Though face coverings are not truly considered PPE but for the purposes of public health and the fact we want the person to wear something, we will take the liberty to consider it this level of control which is the last and least effective control.

Face Covering, not a surgical mask

If you have read our previous blog post "Filtering Facepiece Respirator or a Dust Mask or N95 Respirator versus a Surgical Mask" on the difference between N95 respirators/filtering facepieces/dust masks vs surgical masks.  You know there is a big difference between surgical masks and N95 respirators.  In our blog post, we mentioned face coverings but there still seems to be some confusion.  We blame the media for not using consistent wording or terminology.  They go back and forth utilizing the wording face coverings and masks.  A face covering is not a mask (though they are now making things that look like a surgical mask but specifically say not for medical use (see picture above), which tells you that it is not a surgical mask but just a face covering).  The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has a website devoted to "COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions".  This website has some basic points regarding cloth face coverings:

• May be commercially produced or improvised (i.e., homemade) garments, scarves, bandanas, or items made from t-shirts or other fabrics.
• Are worn in public over the nose and mouth to contain the wearer's potentially infectious respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or talks and to limit the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), to others.
• Are not considered personal protective equipment (PPE).
• Will not protect the wearer against airborne transmissible infectious agents due to loose fit and lack of seal or inadequate filtration.
• Are not appropriate substitutes for PPE such as respirators (e.g., N95 respirators) or medical face masks (e.g., surgical masks) in workplaces where respirators or face masks are recommended or required to protect the wearer.
• May be used by almost any worker, although those who have trouble breathing or are otherwise unable to put on or remove a mask without assistance should not wear one.
• May be disposable or reusable after proper washing.

More and more data continues to come in proving the value of wearing face coverings.  The CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report published a study "Absence of Apparent Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from Two Stylists After Exposure at a Hair Salon with a Universal Face Covering Policy-Springfield, Missouri, May 2020".  The results of that study are pictured above.    Another article that discusses the benefits of face-coverings for protecting people from SARS-CoV2 is at the Fast Company website titled "Countries where everyone wore masks saw COVID death rates 100 times lower than projected".  The CDC has a website called "Use of Cloth Face Coverings to Help Slow the Spread of COVID-19".  This website provides information regarding cloth face coverings; how to wear cloth face coverings, considerations for wearing cloth face coverings, making cloth face coverings, and washing cloth face coverings.

By using the hierarchy of controls we discussed above, schools could open to in-person schooling.  But these are significant changes to the way schools have been run for years.  The question really is does the school have the resources to change and can it adapt to these changes.  Very tough questions for administrators, teachers, and parents, and students.     

NYC's Department of HPD Proposes Rules to Implement Indoor Allergen Hazards Legislation

The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (NYCHPD) is holding a public hearing on November 2, 2018, to accept comments on a proposed rule to implement legislation regarding indoor allergen hazards.  To find out how to comment on the proposed rule visit NYC's rule website at https://rules.cityofnewyork.us/content/proposed-rules-regarding-indoor-allergen-hazards.  The proposed rules implement Local Law 55 of 2018, enacted by the City Council.  The legislation establishes an owner's responsibility to investigate for and remediate indoor allergen hazards like mold, cockroaches, mice, and rats in multiple dwellings.  The rules provide for work practices to be used by owners in performing the work to remediate these conditions.  The Local Law goes into effect on January 2019.

Green algae in condensate pan

The new rules include several definitions that are interesting:

• Indoor allergen hazard - means any indoor infestation of cockroaches, mice, or rats or conditions conducive to such infestation or an indoor mold hazard.
• Indoor mold hazard - means any condition of mold growth on an indoor surface, building structure or ventilation system, including mold that is within wall cavities, that is likely to cause harm to a person or that has been cited as a violation by NYCHPD.
• Pest -means any unwanted member of the Class Insecta, including, but not limited to houseflies, lice, bees, cockroaches, moths, silverfish, beetles, bedbugs, ants, termites, hornets, mosquitoes, and wasps and members of the Order Rodentia, including but not limited to mice, Norway rats, and any other unwanted plant, animal or fungal life that is a pest because it is destructive, annoying or a nuisance.
• Underlying defect means a condition that causes an indoor mold hazard, such as a water leak or water infiltration from plumbing or defective masonry pointing or other moisture condition or causes an infestation of pests, including holes or entryway paths for pests.

Mold on a sheetrock wall

These rules require the owner of the building to make an annual inspection for indoor allergen hazards in apartments and common areas of the building.  It also requires the owner to inspect if the occupant informs them that there is a condition in the apartment that is likely to cause an indoor allergen hazard or the occupant requests an inspection or NYCHPD issues a violation requiring the correction of an indoor allergen hazard in an apartment.  The owner is required to fix an indoor allergen hazard in an apartment using safe work practices specified in these rules.  The owner must provide new tenants with a pamphlet developed by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.  Prior to new tenant occupancy, the owner is required to fix all visible mold and pest infestations in the apartment, as well as underlying defects using the safe work practices.  The assessments or work regarding indoor mold hazards must be performed in compliance with Article 32 of New York State Labor Law (Mold Licensing and Minimum Work Practices).  It seems to us if this rule goes into effect tenants have another weapon they can use to make sure their apartments are healthy living environments.

Related Articles:

New York City Asthma-Free Housing Act by Jack Springston, CIH, CSP, FAIHA

NYS Department of Labor Publishes Two New Mold Fact Sheets

Asthma Control Study Indicates a Home Visit Strategy is Successful.

New York State Mold Licensing & Minimum Standards Law Is Signed By Governor Cuomo

NYS Mold Law Changes, Licensing Requirement Goes Into Effect January 1, 2016.

Mold Legislation Threatens Restoration/Remediation Industries

Electronic Cigarettes & Vaping Catching on With High & Middle Schoolers

A recent YouTube video highlights the issues with electronic cigarettes.  These popular gadgets have become very popular with teens & tweens with their usage doubling from 2011 to 2012.  They are also very controversial with very little research available on there effectiveness.  In addition, there is very little regulation on e-cigarettes and the amount of nicotine in them.  New York City is one of the few governments that treats e-cigarettes as the same as regular cigarettes as part of the amendments of the Smoke-Free Air Act of 2002.    

According to WebMD, "all e-cigarettes work basically the same way.  Inside, there's a battery, a heating element, and a cartridge that holds nicotine and other liquids and flavorings.  Features and costs vary.  Some are disposable.  Others have a rechargeable battery and refillable cartridges.  Using an e-cigarette is called "vaping"."

One of the major concerns with e-cigarettes is the liquid nicotine that is used.  Since nicotine is highly addictive, e-cigarette users will have withdrawal symptoms of irritability, depression, restlessness, & anxiousness.  Nicotine is dangerous to people with heart problems and may damage arteries over time.  Many of these products claim to be nicotine free, however, testing has shown that some may have varying levels of nicotine in the vapor.

The purpose of these e-cigarettes were to help smokers with their smoking cessations programs.  However, these are now being marketed and popularity is bringing them to underage students (primarily because there are no laws limiting their sale to minors - there are some laws regarding nicotine and liquid nicotine, but not enough).  A Centers for Disease Control (CDC) study found that during 2011-2013, the number of youths who had never smoked a cigarette but had used e-cigarettes at least once increased three-fold (from 79,000 in 2011 to 263,000 in 2013).  Never-smokers who had ever used e-cigarettes were nearly twice as likely to have an intention to smoke conventional cigarettes than never smokers who had not used e-cigarettes (43.9% vs 21.5%).

According to Fortune Magazine, e-cigarette sales in the United States, were estimated to be $1.5 billion in 2014, with estimated growth of 24.2% per year through 2018.  With the current state of lack of regulations are we looking at a next generation of smokers hooked on nicotine from e-cigarettes and hence the next health crisis.  It may be time to start regulating this industry specifically the use of nicotine in these products.  Truth in advertising would go a long way to resolving many of the concerns with this potentially useful gadget.  

Related articles

• Questions Grow As E-Cigarette Popularity Grows
• What Lures Teens Into Using E-Cigarettes? Flavors And Smoke Tricks
• Fact Sheet About Third-Hand Smoke, Hookahs, & E Cigarette
  s
• School districts banning e-cigarettes
• Here's What You Need To Know About Vaping Etiquette
• Electronic cigarette flavorings alter lung function at the cellular level
• Tobacco in the Workplace

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!

Related articles

• Happy New Year - 2013

Legionella Found in Windshield Washer Fluid

Interesting research from Arizona State University found that the bacteria Legionella, commonly found in fresh water, was able to survive in certain automobile windshield washer fluids and can grow in washer fluid reservoirs.  This could potentially lead to people being exposed to the bacteria and maybe developing Legionnaire's disease or Pontiac Fever.

Windshield washer fluid (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Arizona State University research was conducted by Otto Schwake, an Arizona State University student pursuing a doctoral degree in Microbiology under the supervision of Morteza Abbaszadegan, a professor in the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment. Although windshield washer fluid was not normally associated with spreading disease, this research was begun after a series of epidemiological studies found motor vehicle use to be associated with increased risk for Legionnaires' disease.  One such study attributed nearly 20% of Legionnaires' disease cases in the United Kingdom not associated with hospitals or outbreaks to automobile windshield washer fluid.

Based on a recent webinar held by EMLab P&K featuring the Dr. Harriet Burge, Legionella is a gram negative bacterium that is a widely distributed natural inhabitants of water and is common in many environments.  It is heat loving and will proliferate in temperatures between 20 degrees Celsius to 45 degrees Celsius.  Growth is promoted by other micro organisms.  Legionella is the causative agent of Legionellosis (Legionnaires' disease and Pontiac fever).

The first recognized outbreak of Legionnaires disease occurred in Philadelphia in 1976.  As many as 221 people were treated and 34 deaths occurred.  The source was identified as the Legionella bacterium and found in the cooling tower of the hotel's air conditioning system.  Over 90% of legionelloses are caused by Legionella pneumophila.

English: A silver stain of Legionella pneumophila , the bacteria that causes Legionellosis. Although I got this image from a commercial website it is clearly labeled as from the CDC. This website routinely uses images from Wikipedia, which is a good thing, so no issue should be taken with using an presumably public domain image from their website. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Legionellosis takes two distinct forms:

• Pontiac Fever: respiratory illness without pneumonia, symptoms resemble acute influenza

• Legionnaires' Disease: symptoms include fever, chills, cough, muscle achees, headache, tiredness, loss of appetite, loss of coordination (ataxia), and occasionally diarrhea & vomiting.

Legionellosis incubates in 2-10 days.  It is one of the top three causes of community-acquired pneumonia. Legionellosis affect 8,000 to 18,000 people in the United States each year. Transmission is not person to person. Legionellosis infection occurs after inhaling droplets that originated from a water source contaminated with Legionella. Environmental sources include freshwater ponds, rivers and creeks.  Typical manmade water sources that can be a source of Legionella include: cooling towers, evaporative coolers, hot water systems, showers, whirlpool spas, architectural fountains, room-air humidifiers, ice-making machines, and misting equipment.  Based on the above research now windshield washer fluid reservoirs, may be added to this list.

Related Articles:

• How To Detect And Identify Legionella
• Portugal: Legionnaires' Disease Alert
• Legionnaires' blamed for chef's death
• Possible Outbreak Of Legionellosis At The Playboy Mansion?

Latest IAQTV Video Discusses Flood Cleanup & Indoor Air Quality

IAQTV on You Tube has produced a number of basic videos discussing various indoor air quality (IAQ) topics.  The most recent one discusses the problems with flood water and the need to dry areas quickly to prevent IAQ problems.  http://youtu.be/3Q1tnHFkPF0

A few things not discussed is to make sure the drying company you choose to help you with flood cleanup has experience and is qualified.  The American Council for Accredited Certifications (ACAC) has two certifications in structural drying.  The Council-certified Structural Drying Remediator (CSDR) and the Council-certified Structural Drying Supervisor (CSDS) these individuals perform water damage restoration services.  For example, a CSDR or CSDS can safely mitigate water losses resulting from floods, fires, hurricanes and other disasters as well as broken pipes and water mains.  These professionals have verified knowledge of the principles, techniques, equipment and regulations relevant to structural drying as described in widely published industry texts and accredited standards.  Visit the ACAC's website to find companies that hire CSDRs or CSDSs.

Rainwater Flooded Basement

In addition, the term usually used for flood waters is black water.  Black water is typically defined as containing or potentially containing harmful contaminants.  It would include floodwaters containing soil and any sewage water.  All raw sewage is contaminated with microbes, including bacteria, protozoa, mold, fungi, and viruses.  Many are pathogenic to humans.  So heed the warnings in the video and get some professional help if you find yourself in this unfortunate position.

Related articles

• Flood Damage Cleanup
• Flood Cleanup for Business - Safety Tips
• Health Department urges spring flood preparedness
• Article Raises Awareness of Growing Problem in Sandy Aftermath
• LI flood insurance rates to rise despite law

Fact Sheet About Third-Hand Smoke, Hookahs, & E Cigarettes

     We recently read a fact sheet on Third-Hand Smoke, Hookahs, and Electronic Cigarettes that will eventually be available on the website:  www.smokefreeapartments.org.

Image via Wikipedia

     We found this fact sheet fascinating because this was the first we heard about "third-hand smoke."  We've previously heard about second-hand smoke (which is the smoke that comes off the end of the cigarette or cigar combined with the smoke exhaled by the person who is smoking) and the dangers.  According to the Surgeon General, there is no safe level of exposure for secondhand tobacco smoke.  Considering that tobacco smoke contains 7,000 chemicals and compounds, and more than 70 of them can cause cancer, it is not surprising.

     Which brings us back to the question what is third-hand smoke?  Third-hand smoke is that smell of smoke you get from places where individuals have smoked.  Third-hand smoke consists of the chemicals which remain in a room after the smoking has stopped.  Many of the chemicals in cigarette smoke can cling to walls, ceilings, & other surfaces or can absorb into carpets, drapes, & other fabrics.  A scientific study in 2002 showed that these chemicals can "offgas" back into the air & even re-combine to form harmful compounds that stay at high levels long after smoking has stopped. 

    The fact sheet is even more interesting when discussing Hookahs which has become because of the false notion that it is safer than smoking cigarettes.  Studies have shown that secondhand hookah smoke contains the same cancer-causing chemicals found in secondhad smoke from cigarettes & cigars, along with delivering three times more carbon monoxide, about the same amount of nicotine as cigarettes, and 40% more smoke by volume than cigarettes.
     While it seems their is not enough information available yet on e-cigarettes.  As a whole the fact sheet was very interesting and the website gives resources on banning smoking in apartments, which based on the fact sheet, we would highly recommend building owners develop procedures and rules on handling secondhand and now third-hand smoke.

Related articles

• Secondhand smoke results in graft rejection (eurekalert.org)
• The "New" Cigarette We're All Smoking (Myself Included) (fancyayancey.wordpress.com)
• What exactly are Electronic- Cigarettes? (boldstate.com)
• Second hand smoke in cars still big risk for kids, study says (parentcentral.ca)
• Cigarettes and Smoking Should Be Illegal (thusspokejon.wordpress.com)

16th Annual PACNY Environmental Conference Being Held March 1 & 2, 2012

6th Annual PACNY Environmental Conference Turning Stone Resort & Casino, Verona, NY Thursday & Friday, March 1st & 2nd, 2012 This years Speakers are: Paul Watson of ATC to speak about PCBs  Bob Krell will address indoor air quality issues Kevin Murphy will discuss the process of accusal and/or claims avoidance Ron Williams from OSHA will give us updates on OSHA as it relates to silica and asbestos Dave Duford will discuss code enforcement in relation to the current code rule Chris Alonge has been invited to speak on Friday  Annual roundtable discussion Vendor Tradeshow Registration Display your products and services in the Vendor Hall, adjacent to PACNY Conference Meeting Hall, to over 250 decision makers in the asbestos/environmental industry. The PACNY conference averages over 250 attendees - the majority of attendees are decision makers/buyers. Last year's conference was very popular with all vendors. Foot traffic in the Vendor Hall was at an all time high. Registration, breakfast, and all coffee breaks will once again be held in the Vendor Hall (adjacent to Conference Meeting Hall) on both days. Also, vendor punch cards will be distributed to all attendees. Attendees that have their punch cards "punched" by all vendors will be eligible for a drawing, held on the second day, for a flat screen TV (winner must be present to claim prize).   The Thursday (March 1st) afternoon Vendor Reception is held in the Vendor Hall.   Sponsor Options Conference and Vendor Sponsors are the hosts (with no additional responsibilities) for the Thursday afternoon Vendor Reception held in the Vendor Hall. This reception is held at 4PM immediately after the last speaker's presentation on Day 1 of the conference. Hot food, drinks, and adult beverages are provided at the reception. This is an outstanding opportunity to network and display your products/services to approximately 250 industry professionals! Last year the Vendor Reception was the highlight of the conference.  Conference Sponsor: $1,000.00 Includes vendor display table, 3 conference passes, 1 page ad in conference program, listing on sponsor board in registration area, logo display on speaker backdrop in conference area, logo on PACNY website as conference sponsor, and logo/firm name on the outside of pre-conference mailings and registration forms (mailed to over 6,000 industry professionals). Vendor Sponsor: $500.00 Includes vendor display table, 2 conference passes, 1/2 page ad in conference program, listing on sponsor board in registration area, and logo display on speaker backdrop in conference area. Meal Sponsor: $250.00 Includes your company name and logo on large tent cards on all lunch tables, on both days of the conference, as well as a 1/2 page ad in the conference program. Meal Sponsors will be announced to attendees prior to both days' lunches. Business Card Sponsor: $50.00 Display your "business card" ad, 1/4 page ad, in the conference program. To secure your sponsorship... Please download the form here as a PDF, complete it and fax /email the form to the info on the form.    Payment is due no later than February 18th. For additional information please call either Deb Johnson @ 716-570-6726/    email djohnson@aramsco.com or Lisa Brown @ (315) 466-3150 / email lbrown33@twcny.rr.com Conference Attendee Registration Form Wednesday Evening's President's Reception, February 29th, 7 - 9PM Registration by February 18th $225 for one reservation, both days $175 per person for two or more persons, both days  $120 per person for one day only Turning Stone - Room Reservations by February 18th $115 per night + tax + gratuity $79 per night + tax + gratuity with government voucher For Room Reservations, call Turning Stone at (800) 771- 7711 Download the registration form here. For additional conference information please call either Deb Johnson @ 716-570-6726/    email djohnson@aramsco.com or Lisa Brown @ (315) 466-3150 / email lbrown33@twcny.rr.com   PACNY, PO Box 3148, Syracuse, NY 13220, Phone (315) 466-3150, Fax (315) 437-1440, www.PACNY.org

About PACNY PACNY addresses the needs and concerns of abatement contractors, and those in related industries. The abatement industry faces many challenges, and this organization allows contractors to band together to face these challenges, rather than alone as individual businesses. PACNY is a powerful, intelligent voice and force in the industry. PACNY's new address is: PO Box 3148 Syracuse, NY 13220 Tel: (315) 466-3150