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.
The second day of the Professional Abatement Contractors of New York's (PACNY's) 23rd Annual Environmental Conference at Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York, started in the Vendor Exhibit Hall with the realization that there were quite a few new vendors on display. To be exact 5 additional vendors added to the usual 23 vendors the conference usually has. To provide access to the presentations PACNY has loaded most of the presentations from the three-day conference at their website, click here.
Video of the Vendor Exhibit Hall at Turning Stone Casino
Opening remarks & conference welcome were done by Chairman Deb Sanscrainte of Aramsco, and PACNY President Joseph Cantone, of Colden Corporation. The first presenter for the second day was Sue Rossi, CHMM the Sr. Industrial Account Manager of Waste Management, her topic was "Asbestos and other special wastes". Her presentation informed us that New York State in 1988 had 227 landfills and now there are only 26 active landfills, many closed due to tougher environmental regulations. Her presentation also informed us that NYS requires landfills to treat non-friable asbestos-containing materials (ACM) that are placed into an asbestos labeled waste bag (class 9 bags) as friable. Even if they are put into class 9 bags that were turned inside out. If the bag rips open at the landfill, the landfill will back charge the contractor for the additional fee for disposal as a friable instead of the nonfriable charge. Ms. Rossi also discussed that Waste Management's High Acres Landfill can accept polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) bulk product (e.g., caulk, paint, mastics, sealants) waste. The approval checklist and backup information for the handling of PCB bulk product wastes and a copy of her presentation can be found here.
Sue Rossi, CHMM of Waste Management speaking about Friable ACM waste
Our next presenter was Timothy W. Pullis, ARM, Construction Practice Leader of Brown & Brown of NY, Inc., discussing "Workers' Compensation EMR Fundamentals". Mr. Pullis discussed a drugfree workplace credit of 5% (worth 5 points); experience mod was explained as a formula that calculates the ratio of "expected" losses compared to "actual" losses, the experience mod is a statistical comparison of risks using the same job class codes and similar payroll, and the result adjusts the annual workers compensation premium based on the prior loss experience by "modifying" the manual premium; and EMRs over one (1) could exempt people from certain contracts. Our presenter before coffee break was Adam Schrader, President of Ecospect and George Schambach, President of NYS American Association of Radon Scientist and Technologist (AARST) Professional Home Inspection Service discussing "Current Radon Legislation in NYS, and current national American National Standards Institute (ANSI)/AARST Standards for testing and mitigation in all building types". Mr. Schambach discussed pending NYS legislation Assembly Bill #A8605 and Senate Bill #S6851 to amend the real property law, in relation to radon service professional licensing. Radon service professionals would include - radon measurement professional defined as radon service professional who deploys and retrieves radon detectors and provides a report of the associated measurement results that are generated by a radon analytical laboratory and radon mitigation professional defined as a radon service professional who interprets radon test results and determines the most effective way to manage radon concentrations within buildings.
Corey Briggs of Colden Corporation - Freeze Framed!
After taking our break in the Vendor Exhibit Hall, Kevin Canaan, of AAC Contracting, started the presentations by awarding Joseph D. Lane, President of Environmental Protection Services, PACNY's Lifetime Achievement Award for his many years of service above and beyond normal PACNY duties. Corey W. Briggs, MSPH, CIH, CET, FAIHA, Senior Consultant of Colden Corporation, led a presentation titled "Freeze Frame - Focus on H&S" that was entertaining for the many pictures of unsafe acts. Next up was Brian Sampson, of the Associated Builders and Contractors Association, discussing "Trends and Issues of Concern for the Construction Community". His discussion touched on the legalization of recreational marijuana and the extension of prevailing wage to private work.
Mike Rubin of Goldberg Segalla - Proactively Establish Your Defenses
After lunch and the Vendor Exhibit Hall Mike Rubin Esq., Partner at Goldberg Segalla, discussed "Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Top Ten Tips - Minimize and Eliminate Exposure". Mr. Rubin's presentation touched on the employer's rights during an OSHA inspection, creating an OSHA response plan, asserting your rights during an inspection, and points necessary for a proactive defense. After another visit to the Vendor Exhibit Hall, Mike Waller, PhD, of Rochester Regional Health, spoke on "Sustainability/Solutions and How to Balance". Dr. Waller started his presentation with "how do you define sustainability." His definition was thought-provoking "development that meets the needs of the current generation without compromising the needs of future generations" or in other words "Solving today's challenges without creating future problems". The presentations ended with Rob DeMalo, Member of the Board of Directors of the Environmental Information Association (EIA) and Senior Vice President of EMSL Analytical, Inc, presentation on "Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) Regulatory Update". Discussing the Significant New Use Rule (SNUR) proposal from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Vendor Reception - Food and an Open Bar
After the presentations, the Vendor Reception was held in Vendor Exhibit Hall including food and an open bar. The vendor reception included the usual suspects Aramsco, DiVal, Frederico Demolition,Healthy Indoors, and Future Environment Designs, click here for a full list of Sponsors/Vendors. One of the interesting new vendors was Sundstrom displaying new respirators for asbestos and silica and Red Roof Inn with a special discount for conference attendees. The second day is called Professional Day and all the presentations definitely met the definition of professional with a lot of valuable information provided and may takeaways. Stay tuned for the final day Regulatory Day!
This year's Proficiency Day of the Professional Abatement Contractors of New York's (PACNY's) 23rd Annual Environmental Conference was approved to award three (3) professional development hours (PDH) for architects and engineers. This was the first time the first day of the conference was recognized for this purpose. The first day is typically short with two or three presenters allowing us to get the presentations to the Practicing Institute of Engineers for their review. Attendees had to sign the attendance sheet and attend the presentations to receive the 3 PDHs. Ms. Lisa Brown, Executive Secretary of PACNY sent out the certificates to those that attended the presentations.
Karen Cummings, MPH presenting on the Asbestos Safety Training Program
Starting the conference and the proficiency day was Ms. Karen Cummings, MPH presenting on the Asbestos Safety Training Program "Overview and Updates". Her presentation gave us insights into the asbestos training industry. For a copy of her presentation visit our Dropbox folder on the Resources page of our website. Ms. Cummings has been the Director of the New York State Department of Health's Asbestos Safety Training Program for just over a year and has been getting to know the program. Her presentation gave asbestos training providers, an important opportunity to meet with her and her staff (Ms. Jessica Pierce, reviewer of training submittals, and Ms. Ida Berry, many of us have met her when she has audited our training courses, were both in attendance). Her department in 2018 regulated 62 training providers that provided 26,251 training certificates. Her presentation included several graphics providing us with a glimpse of the NYS asbestos training industry. The high water mark for training was 2000 when approximately 3,838 training classes (refreshers and initials total) were held (in 2018, 3,401 training classes were held). Ms. Cummings also informed us that the high water mark for training certificates was 2013 with 29,130 certificates issued. We learned that the busy season for training providers runs from January to April with over a third of all classes being held in that time period. Some other interesting points from Ms. Cumming's presentation: 15% of providers (training providers holding 100+ classes per year) taught over half the classes and issued two-thirds of the certificates; average exam scores by discipline were typically higher for refresher classes than initial classes (not surprising) except for the air sample technician discipline (surprising).
Angelo Garcia, III, CIEC, CEOP, presenting on Asbestos Inspections & NYCDEP Changes
The next presentation was a "Review of Asbestos Inspection Requirements" presented by Mr. Angelo Garcia, III, CIEC, CEOP, of Future Environment Designs with significant assistance from Mr. Peter Delucia and Mr. Greg Mance, both from AAC Contracting. Mr. Delucia worked on the content and did the polling of the audience, while Mr. Mance assisted with the content and questions to the audience. Our group effort paid off with a well-received presentation that provided the audience with interactivity and information on the various requirements for performing asbestos inspections. This presentation can also be found in the Dropbox folder.
The final presentation was "New York City Title 15 Amendments" also presented by Mr. Angelo Garcia, III, CIEC, CEOP, and again this presentation can be found in the Dropbox folder. This presentation was on the recent changes to the New York City Department of Environmental Protection's (NYC DEP's) Title 15 Asbestos Regulation (formerly known as Local Law 76). These changes were made because of the arrest of 17 NYC asbestos investigators (see the above video on the press conference on the arrests) and the recommendations of the New York City Department of Investigations (NYC DOI). These changes included additional requirements for NYC Asbestos Investigators and some changes to other parts of the asbestos regulations. See our previous blog post on these new requirements.
Overall it was a good start to the three-day conference. Of course, what is a PACNY conference without snow? It was snowing by the end of the presentations. Though it did not seem to deter people from attending the President's Reception that evening or prevent us from getting the Gotham at the TS Steakhouse. Stay tuned for Days Two & Three!
It's that time again! If you haven't registered to attend the Professional Abatement Contractors of New York's (PACNY's) 23rd Annual Environmental Conference, its time to do so (It is only 21 days away, from this posting). The Conference will be held on February 27, 28, and March 1, 2019, at the Turning Stone Casino & Resort in Verona, NY. This three-day conference, as usual, will include the Wednesday Proficiency Day with the PACNY President's Reception, the Thursday Technical Sessions with the Vendor Hall, and the Vendor Cocktail Party, and completing Friday with the Regulatory Session including a panel from New York State Department of Labor and lunch. Registration and sponsorship information can be found here.
It all begins on Wednesday, February 27, 2019, at 12:30 PM with a presentation from Ms. Karen Cummings, M.P.H., New York State Department of Health's (NYSDOH's) Director of the Asbestos Safety Training Program. Her presentation will update us on the status of asbestos training in NYS. Along with some failings of training providers. It will continue with presentations from Pete Delucia & Gregg Mance, both of AAC Contracting and myself, Angelo Garcia, III, of Future Environment Designs (#FEDTC), discussing asbestos inspection requirements, and polling of the audience to make this presentation interactive. Finishing the session will be a presentation of the amendments to the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYDEP's) Title 15 Asbestos Regulations (NYCDEP has been invited to present by teleconference). We have also submitted the information regarding this day of the conference to the Practicing Institute of Engineering (PIE) for the purpose of being able to award three (3) Professional Development Hours (PDH) to the attendees. The President's Reception is later that evening.
The second day will include presentations by Ms. Sue Rossi, of Waste Management, discussing "Waste Management NY Landfills with acceptance of waste streams"; Adam Schrader of Ecospect with George Schanbach, of NYS AARST, discussing Radon and DOH Regulations Update"; Brian Sampson, of Unshackle Upstate, discussing Albany 2019 What You Need to Know and How it Will Impact Your Business"; Mike Rubin Esq., Partner at Goldberg Segalla, discussing "Best Practices for Abatement Contractors"; Mike Waller, of Rochester Regional Health, discussing "Sustainability?solutions and How to Balance"; and a representative of EIA discussing the "TSCA Update". The vendor reception/networking will follow the presentations on Thursday.
NYSDOL Panel 2018
The final day will be Friday morning with a Lead (Pb) panel discussion followed by the NYSDOL panel discussion. Friday ends with lunch and few stragglers discussing the week in review.
Sheryl Esposito Will Be Back at the FEDTC booth this year!
#FEDTC will have a booth, again, this year and Ms. Sheryl Esposito will be womaning the booth. We will also have the book I wrote "Do As I Say, Not As I Did! What I've Learned After 30-Years of Being in Business." available at the booth. You can follow the conference on Twitter, Facebook, & Linked-In by searching for the #FEDTCPACNY. We are looking forward to teaming with Peter and Greg to do our presentation on Wednesday and hope all of you will join us!
New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP) is requesting public comments on a Notice of Mold Remediation Work. A public hearing is being held on Wednesday, February 6, 2019, at 11:00 AM in the NYCDEP's 8th-floor conference room at 59-17 Junction Boulevard, Flushing, New York 11373. The public comment period closes Wednesday, February 6, 2019.
Mold Growth in Corridor
Local Law Number 61 of 2018 (also known as Intro 978-D) amended the Administrative Code by adding a new Section 24-154, which provides that, before the performance of mold remediation work in certain buildings, the New York State-licensed mold remediation contractor must file a notice of mold remediation with NYCDEP no later than two business days before the project start date. Section 24-154(c)(3)(b) further provides that notice may be filed within 24 hours after the project starts, instead of at least two days before, if the mold condition to be remediated poses an immediate risk of harm to any person or damage to property. The purpose of the above public comment period is to establish a rule when such risk of harm exists. In other words what the exception for two-day notification would be. NYCDEP is proposing that projects that have at least 30 square feet or more of visible mold within one room or excessive water accumulation or flooding exists could notify NYCDEP 24 hours after the project starts with appropriate documentation that the condition exists.
Mold Abatement/Remediation/Assessment Course for Article 32 Licensing
Local Law 61 of 2018 went into effect on January 1, 2019. The law requires licensing pursuant with New York State Department of Labor's Article 32 "Licensing of Mold Inspection, Assessment, and Remediations Specialists and Minimum Work Standards Law" to assess, remediate, and abate for mold incidents larger than 10 square feet. The bill applies to residential buildings containing 10 or more units or commercial buildings larger than 25,000 square feet. This law prohibits the owners or their direct employees from performing mold remediation or assessment work, which Article 32 allows. Under this law, the person holding a mold assessment license must file with the NYCDEP a mold remediation form and work plan as well as a mold post assessment form and a mold certification form. These forms are located at NYCDEP's Air Pollution website under Mold Remediation and Assessment. It appears it will be an electronic submission and consists of a 6-page form for the mold remediation plan and a 4-page form for the mold post-assessment.
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.
We wish all of you who read our blog and attend our classes a Merry Holidays and a Happy New Year! We hope your 2019 is better than your 2018 and may it be healthy, prosperous, and joyful!
Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree
2019 will bring some changes to Future Environment Designs Training Center (#FEDTC). The first change is to continue to grow our online training by providing training tokens to our clients who attend our asbestos & mold courses. This added value to our current courses continues to distinguish us from our competitors. So we can add training courses our clients/students would be interested in, we are asking our attendees for suggestions for classes we can develop into online training courses. In addition, we are strongly considering becoming a New York State Education facility (we hope to have the financing for this undertaking within 2-3 weeks of the New Year). This would allow us to offer the New York City training courses and provide the Site Safety Training cards. It would also require us to expand the number of training instructors we use. This will be a major undertaking and as many of you who know me, will take tremendous courage on my part to overcome my fears related to trusting others with my business. 2019 is already starting on a good beginning with several courses almost fully booked in the first quarter.
Bergdorf Goodman Window
No sooner than the New Year of 2019 rings in, New York City will be going through several changes. The asbestos amendments to Title 15 will go into effect January 6, 2019, and the Indoor Allergen Rule goes into effect on January 16, 2019. In New York State before the New Year hits (December 31) the minimum wage will go up. In addition, don't forget to save the date for the Professional Abatement Contractors of New York's (PACNY) 23rd Annual Environmental Conference on February 27-28 & March 1, 2019, at Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York. We will be your host for the February 27th, the proficiency day, where we will be discussing asbestos inspections/survey among other things. We hope to see you there! Again, we wish you a Merry Holidays & a Happy New Year!
On November 8, 2018, New York City Department of Buildings tweeted about extending the deadlines for construction training under Local Law 196 of 2017. Click here to see the tweet. This pushes back the training requirements deadline from December 1, 2018, to June 1, 2019. Currently, to work on most construction projects all that is required is an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 10-hour construction safety course card. This requirement will continue to be required until June 1, 2019.
After June 1, 2019, construction workers will be required to have 30-hours of training either by taking an OSHA 30-hour construction safety course or by getting 20 additional training hours over the OSHA 10-hour construction safety course. Those 20 additional training hours must consist of an 8-hour fall protection course, a 4-hour scaffold user course, and an 8-hour site safety manager refresher course.
The next deadline has also been extended to September 1, 2020. That deadline will require individuals taking the OSHA 10-hour construction safety course to take 30 additional hours of training or those individuals taking the OSHA 30-hour construction safety course to take 10 additional training hours. For more information click here for the NYC Buildings Department November 2018 Service Update explaining these changes and requirements.
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.
What has now become the annual trek to Edinburgh, Scotland to attend the Leadership Innovation Technology Evolution (LITE) conference was on September 20 and 21, 2018. Just like the previous conferences, we came away from this conference inspired to continue to improve on our course offerings and increase the information we provide you. We will continue to transition to online course evaluations, by using Surfaces connected to the course evaluation system we will go electronic for course evaluations. We are also in the process of converting the asbestos refresher exams to be online. That will probably take a while to accomplish, hoping to complete it within the next year.
Vicky Kavanagh of Administrate Discussing the Advantages of Blended Learning
Presentations by Vicky Kavanagh of Administrate, Sandy Rushton of Bright Carbon, and Graham David of Blue Bettle Productions taught us how to improve our presentations and make them more informative and entertaining. Vicky Kavanagh's presentation helped us to determine what else we can we do with the blended learning environment we created. Sandy Rushton's presentation taught us how animations in powerpoint presentations can help keep learners focused on the message. Graham David's presentation encouraged us to ask more questions in our presentations to make it more interactive. These improvements you will see in the next courses and over the next year.
Sandy Rushton of Bright Carbon Discussing How to Improve Stories
We will be expanding our token program for providing access to additional online training courses, and increasing the topics we cover on these programs. Starting January 2019, to add value to our training courses every registration will include a Silver Token that will be good for taking one online course and will be good for a year. Our current online courses include courses on respirators, crystalline silica, asbestos awareness, and New York City asbestos handler/supervisor exam review course. The next courses we are working on is a New York City asbestos investigator exam review course and a Hazard Communication/Right-to-Know Course. We hope to have these courses available before the New Year.
#LITE2018 was Inspiring and Informative as Previous LITEs
The #LITE2018 conference helped us learn more about the Administrate program and a new feature coming out down road called Learning Paths may help us develop even more courses. The end of the first day was the annual Historic Pub Crawl which we enjoyed and included visiting three pubs the BeeHive Inn, Biddy Mulligans, and the Jolly Judge. All three had old wooden bars that were quite impressive. More interesting was the ability to drink outside the pubs in the UK, not just in a patio or a beer garden. The Jolly Judge was in a courtyard where you were allowed to stand outside with your drink and while discussing the day's events. LITE 2018 was another successful conference and we will be able to continue to expand our offerings because of the Administrate product.
On October 5, 1988, Future Environment Designs Inc. was founded by Angelo Garcia, III. When we started the company, our only thought was, considering the companies we worked for, how hard could this be. Well 30 years later here we are a slightly different focus from when we started, but the same drive of trying to provide the best service we can for our clients. Since the official date of our anniversary falls when we are in the Plattsburgh area, we are starting the celebration at 4:30 PM on October 5, 2018, at the Valcour Brewing Company, 49 Ohio Avenue, Plattsburgh, NY 12903. The second date of our celebration will be held at 5:00 PM on October 9, 2018, at Sapsuckers Hops & Grub, 287 Main Street, Huntington, NY 11743. We hope to see you at one of the events to help us celebrate our 30 Years!
In honor of making it to 30 years, we have written a book called "Do As I Say, Not As I Did - Thinking Of Opening a Business, Some of the Things You Should Consider". The book is available through Blurb as a hardcover or a pdf. If you bring the book to one of our classes or one of our Anniversary events, we would be honored to sign it for you. We wrote this book to discuss our experiences over the 30 years and to provide you with a resource if you ever consider opening your own business.
Over the 30 years, we have seen lots of changes in the industry and outside of the industry. It is interesting to remember when we started we used beepers and phone cards to stay in communication between the field staff and the office. Now, most people have cell phones. We used typewriters to fill out ACP5 forms. Now, they are done online. We used to provide students course manuals that were hundreds of pages and took forever to find what you were looking for. Now the manuals are electronic/digital and you can do a keyword search to find what you are looking for in minutes or even seconds. But with all this advancement the work still stays the same. Workers still need to wear respirators to protect themselves, still need to take showers to leave the contamination at the work site, still need to use water to keep dust levels below exposure levels, and create a negative pressure inside the work area to prevent the escape of asbestos fibers from the work area. So while a lot has changed and a lot has still stayed the same!
When we opened our business doing consulting work in the asbestos industry, we were asked by our mentors and friends why. Many of them thought or felt all the asbestos will be removed in 5-10 years. It is interesting that not only is all of the asbestos not removed but, after 30 plus years of wanting to ban asbestos, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) instead of an outright ban of asbestos has actually proposed a rule that could allow asbestos to be used in products that they have determined are no longer available. This proposed rule is called SNUR (Significant New Use Rule). The rule would require manufacturers and importers to receive EPA approval before starting or resuming manufacturing and importing or processing of asbestos. Currently, new uses of asbestos were banned under the original Toxic Substance Control Act - Asbestos Ban and Phase Out Rule issued in 1989, though portions were overturned the ban on new commercial uses after August 25, 1989, remains. Materials not subject to the Asbestos Ban and Phase Out Rule and hence are the subject of this SNUR are:
Asbestos arc chutes
Asbestos pipeline wrap
Asbestos separators in fuel cells and batteries
Asbestos-reinforced plastics
Beater-add gaskets
Extruded sealant tape
Filler for acetylene cylinders
High-grade electrical paper
Millboard
Missile liner
Roofing felt
Vinyl-asbestos floor tile
Adhesives and Sealants
Roof and Non-Roof Coatings
Other Building Products (other than cement product)
As you may wonder and as many others have, why a SNUR? Why not a flat out ban? Why else but to allow asbestos to be used by certain industries, for example, the chlor-alkali industry which currently is the primary importer of asbestos still today! In 2016, EPA noted that 340 metric tons of asbestos were imported into the United States all of it used by the chlor-alkali industry. We think the list of materials that are affected by the SNUR is interesting, imagine if they allowed the return of asbestos use in floor tiles, roofing felts, electrical paper, adhesives and sealants and roof and non-roof coatings. All of these are building materials that would be required to be inspected and determined if they contain asbestos. If they contain asbestos, they will have to be removed as asbestos-containing materials. The asbestos abatement industry may never go out of business if that was the case. So maybe, we'll still be here for another 30 years. Imagine that!
As we posted in our last blog post, this summer was going to be busy. Well, the annual salmon fishing trip was a success, again! We took the 5th Annual journey to Point Breeze to participate in the Professional Abatement Contractors of New York (#PACNY) Salmon Fishing Pro-Am Derby. This year 14 boats participated in the derby. We left from Orchard Creek to fish the Great Lake of Ontario at 6 AM. As the same as last year, Future Environment Design's (#FEDTC) had the same boat as last year "Catchin Hell" piloted by Captain Tom and First Mate Mike.
Sunrise on Lake Ontario
As always, a great big "THANK YOU" to Darren Yehl of Cornerstone Training (CTI) and PACNY for organizing this event. This event allows us to catch up with many of the PACNY members and see how the year is doing. Here was this year's line-up of PACNY members and boats:
It was a beautiful day, the Lake was a little rough and because of it, we bounced around a bit on the way out to our fishing spot. Captain Tom & First Mate Mike did a great job handing us the poles and giving us encouragement as we reeled in our catches. We stayed on the lake until about noon and then came ashore to weigh our catches and see who won the derby. After the weigh-in, a catered buffet lunch was provided by the Black North Inn and awarding the trophies/prizes. This year's winners were:
Dival/Reel Excitement for the Big Fish and the Box
We had a great time, we caught 3 King Salmon and 3 Steelhead Trout. We are looking forward to some good eating over the year as we usually bring all the fish home to have some over next few days and then freeze the rest to have until next year's catch. Thank you to Darren Yehl for adding to what we brought home. We did our special recipe of brown sugar, kosher salt, and scotch whiskey on the fish to have our version of lox and it is delicious! See below for links to our fishing stories, see you next year!
The past few months have been a crazy ride and the rest of the year looks like it will continue! So what's been going on at Future Environment Designs, Inc.? At the time of this writing, we are getting ready to head to New York City for a presentation sponsored by the Metro-New York American Industrial Hygiene Association (Metro-NY AIHA). Mr. Mark Drozdov will be presenting on new New York City regulations regarding construction training and mold requirements. Later in the week, we will be heading to Plattsburgh for the annual Safety Expo and training for a mold remediation contractor in the area. The Safety Expo held by the Northern Adirondack Safety and Health Council (NASHC) is usually an excellent place to meet the safety and health professionals in the Plattsburgh area. We are looking forward to hearing the OSHA Compliance Assistance Specialist Ron Williams speak about what's new at OSHA. For more information regarding the Safety Expo click here.
Then finally we are looking forward to our annual participation in the 5th Annual Professional Abatement Contractors of New York (PACNY) Salmon Fishing Pro-AM on July 11, 2018. We will be again on "Catchin Hell" boat hoping to bring home some big fish or just a lot of fish like last year! We still have some trout and salmon in the freezer from last year! Well, that's what's been going on at FEDTC hope to see you at one the events!
On January 2, 2018, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has increased the maximum civil penalties (fines) for serious, other-than-serious, and posting requirements to $12,934, from $12,471. Failure to Abate violations have increased to $12,934 per day beyond the abatement date from $12,471 and Willful/Repeat violations have increased to $129,336 from $124,709. These civil penalty increases were mandated by Congress, on November 2, 2015, through legislation that required all federal agencies to adjust their civil penalties to account for inflation. OSHA increased their penalties on August 1, 2016, the link to our previous blog post discussing that increase is below. Moving forward, as the legislation requires, the penalties will be adjusted each year based on the Consumer Price index. OSHA will continue to do penalty reductions based on the size of the employer and other factors.
Properly Using Table 1 Will Avoid a Violation
According to April 24, 2018, article by Bloomberg Environment, OSHA and state programs have cited the silica rule 116 times since September 23, 2017. With OSHA ramping up enforcement of the respirable crystalline silica rule (1926.1153) incorrectly following Table 1 procedures (cited 27% of the time), and not measuring worker exposures (cited 30% of the time), can result in a serious violation at the cost of $12,934 each. Not training workers about silica or not having a silica exposure plan may result in other-than-serious violations that could cost $12,934 each.
Using this Equipment, we can Measure Silica Exposures
OSHA's website discussing the increase in civil penalties can be found here. While the OSHA website discussing the silica rule requirements can be found here.
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.
OSHA Fines Increase By 78%, Will That Lead To An Increase in Safety Consulting & Training?(futureenv.blogspot.com)
OSHA's Silica Standard - What's All The Fuss About? Part One(futureenv.blogspot.com)
New NIOSH Study Supports the OSHA Annual Fit Testing Requirements for Filtering Facepiece Respirators(blogs.cdc.gov)
A dangerous 'bomb cyclone' is hitting the East Coast - this satellite image captures its monstrous scale(businessinsider.com)
Winter Storm Impacts PACNY Conference, Part One.(futureenv.blogspot.com)
PACNY's Second Day, Part Two - A Storm is Coming!(futureenv.blogspot.com)
