Tenant Notification Law Goes Into Effect.

Governor David Patterson on September 4, 2008 signed into law Chapter 521 of 2008 going into effect on December 3, 2008. This act amended the environmental conservation law, in relation to the notification of test results. The law defines test results to include results of tests on indoor air, sublab air, ambient air, subslab groundwater samples, and subslab soil samples.
The law requires if test results exceed New York State Department of Health (NYS DOH) indoor air guidelines, or Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) guidelines for indoor air quality the owner of the real property or the owner’s agent shall provide a fact sheet to all tenants and occupants. In addition, the owner shall provide timely notice of any public meetings required to be held to discuss such results to all tenants and occupants. If tenants and occupants request, the owner shall provide test results and any closure letter, within 15 daysof receipt of such results. Should the property have an engineering control in place or is subject to ongoing monitoring the law requires the owner or the agent, upon request, to provide fact sheets, test results or closure letters prior to the signing of a binding lease or rental agreeement with any prospective tenant. In addition, notice shall be included in the rental or lease agreement stating "NOTIFICATION OF TEST RESULTS The property has been tested for contamination of indoor air: test results and additional information are available upon request."

This law was put into place to provide rights to tenants and occupants to access test results and information regarding the contamination of the property they lease, rent, or occupy.

Angelo Garcia, III joins Voice America's New Green Talk Network

Future Environment Designs is proud to announce that Angelo Garcia, III has joined Voice America's new Green Talk Network hosting the internet radio talk show "Keeping Your Family Safe," click on the title to go to the network's website. The "Keeping Your Family Safe" internet radio program will provide the homeowner with the knowledge they need to help them protect their family from the various environmental and safety hazards encountered doing home improvements or other work around the home. "Keeping Your Family Safe" will discuss, with various guests, typical home improvement hazards such as asbestos, lead, PCBs, mold, formaldehyde, and pesticides. Our radio program will also discuss proper use of safety equipment, recognizing a good environmental contractor/consultant, green cleaning, and water testing. Our first show is scheduled for Monday, January 5, 2008 at 2 PM Eastern Time. In our first show we will interview Dr. Eileen Franko of the New York State Department of Health regarding statistics showing lead poisoning of children from home improvements done by the parents unaware of lead paint in the home. Join us on Mondays starting on January 5, 2008 at 2 PM Eastern Time to learn more.

NYC Building Department Changes Go Into Effect in 2009

New York City Building Department (NYC DOB) is making many changes in the way building sites are run in 2009. The changes are designed to increase safety and affect how business is done with the NYC DOB. Examples of these changes include:

• A concrete safety manager must be designated on all "major buildings" during the concrete portion of the project to promote safer concrete operations.


• All high-rise construction sites, will require a licensed site safety manager to peform inspections to ensure construction sites are properly maintained. The site safey manager shall maintain two new site safety logs (maintenance and permit logs) documenting the inspections.


• The new training requirements under Local Law 41 of 2008 requiring all workers, at "major buildings," to complete a 10 Hour course in construction safety approved by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was extended to July 1, 2009. (The class must have been taken within the past 5 years).

Click on the title for the link to the NYC DOB website for more information.

NYC Department of Health Revises Mold Guidelines

New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH) has updated their "Guidelines on Assessment and Remediation of Fungi in Indoor Environments". This document supersedes all prior editions of the guidelines. The document was prepared by the Environmental and Occupational Disease Epidemiology Unit of NYC DOHMH. This update includes discussions on visual inspections, environmental sampling, moisture control & building repair, worker training, cleaning methods, quality assurance indicators, restoring treated spaces and the usual remediation procedures. In addition, the update includes a fact sheet for Building Owners & Managers. Click on the title to link up with the NYC website that has this document.

Senator Obama vs Senator McCain

With the Presidential election only days away, it is interesting to review what the candidates have said in regards to the environmental, occupational safety and health industry. The link above follows comments made by both candidates regarding Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Below are highlights from Indoor Environment Connection's (http://www.ieconnections.com/) article regarding Indoor Air Quality "Obama and McCain - How Do They Differ on IAQ Issues?"

Senator Barack Obama has said he will conduct "a thorough overhaul" of the policies of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and direct the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to increase resources to the problems of mold and radon abatement.

• establish a program to educate building owners & homeowners on indoor air treatment and source abatement options.
• a central part of Obama's proposed environmental policy is his promise to "create millions of new green jobs."
• ensure 10% of our electricity comes from renewable sources by 2012, & 25% by 2025.
• setting aggressive energy efficiency goal to reduce electricity demand 15% from projected levels by 2020.
• a national commitment to weatherize at least one million low-income homes each year for the next decade.
• implement an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce grenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2050.
• national health tracking system that would enable the government to determine links between environmental conditions and health problems.

Senator John McCain has been quoted as saying "air quality standards need to be more stringent."

• McCain has focused on dealing with climate changes.
• will use a portion of environmental credit auction proceeds to reduce impacts on low-income families.
• will incorporate measures to mitigate any economic cost of meeting emission targets, including trading emission permits to find the lowest-cost source of emission reductions.
• McCain envisions permitting America to lead in innovation, capture the market on low-carbon energy production and export to developing countries.
• McCain's plan "will address the full range of issues: infrastructure, ecosystems, resource planning and emergency preparation."
• In addition, McCain wnats to continue the "Clear Skies" initiative that was begun under President Bush, which concentrates on reducing mercury, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides.

Senator Obama has said he supports the "Green" building construction bill while Senator McCain supports the principles behind the bill but is "not convinced that a new federal spending program is the best way to achieve this goal." The "Green" building construction bill would spend more than $20 billion over the next 5 years to help states build and renovate schools to make them more energy-efficient and environment-friendly, including efforts to improve the school's indoor air quality. The measure is intended to save school districts billions in energy costs while reducing asthma and other environmentally linked health problems.

On Tuesday, November 4, 2008 the United States of America goes to the polls to vote in one of the most historic presidential races of our times. It has been said a number of times already but this is easily the most important election we have had in a long time. So I would encourage all of you to go and vote. If you don't you will only have yourself to blame!

How many clearance samples should be taken for mold remediation?

In a recent article written by Dr. Harriet Burge, in The Environmental Reporter for EMLAB P&K, she discussed this question and came up with an interesting answer. As we discuss in our mold remediation classes, clearance sampling is used to document that the mold contamination was successfully removed as part of a well designed written protocol (scope of work).

In preparing the scope of work for the project, the consultant should take pre-abatement air samples to have a picture of the air before the remediation. Air samples should be taken inside the area being remediated, outside the area being remediated, and outside the building. This sampling must be representative of the air in the areas sampled. Using these results and the data created, the consultant (writing the remediation protocols) can pre-determine the percentage change they want to see in the clearance samples and add that information to the protocols.

Based on Dr. Burge's article she suggests that the number of air samples should represent 5% of the air in the room or 2% of the air in the room if the air is thoroughly mixed. (when mixing air the method used should not send so much dust in the air that it will require you to sample for less than 10 minutes). Assuming a 10 minute air-o-cell sample represents slightly more than five (5) cubic feet of air, a 1000 cubic foot room would require four (4) samples to achieve 2% with proper mixing and ten (10) samples without mixing.

It is important to remember no single sample is representative of any environment (as discussed in Dr.Burge's article and supported by various publications by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH), the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA), and others). As consultants, we must ensure the remediations we recommend are complete and this can only be accomplished if the interpetations are supported by quality data that is representative of the environment we are sampling. Multiple samples are the only way to ensure the environment is accurately evaluated.

OSHA Violations Indicate Enforcement of Asbestos Standard

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently cited two hospital construction sites for violations related to the asbestos construction standard. The closest site in Rochester, New York involved Gordon-Smith Contracting that was cited for 3 alleged willful and 7 serious violations of the asbestos and respiratory standards and faces a total of $99,925 in proposed fines.

Gordon-Smith employees were required to remove ceiling tiles and other materials that were embedded in or adjacent to asbestos containing fireproofing without proper safeguards. The willful citations, accounting for $87,000, were for not using wet methods or wetting agents to control asbestos exposures, employees not supplied with approved respirators,and the workers had not been trained in asbestos removal. The seven serious citations were issued to Gordon-Smith for not ensuring each employee wore the appropriate respiratory, hand, and head protection; not immediately mending or replacing ripped or torn protective work suits; no written respirator program, and not informing employees of the results of asbestos monitoring.

The second hospital site was in Mescalero, New Mexico involving Maloy Construction, a general construction company, and Deerfield Corp., a plumbing and construction company. OSHA cited Maloy Construction with one alleged willful and 4 alleged serious violations totalling $75,600 in proposed fines. The willful violation was for failing to assure that Deerfield, the subcontractor, was in compliance with OSHA's asbestos standard. The serious violations include failing to inform other employees in the area of the asbestos work, assessing the exposure, and designating and containing the asbestos materials.

OSHA cited Deerfield with 3 alleged willful and nine alleged serious violations accounting for $81,900 in proposed fines. The willful violations were failing to regulate the asbestos area, assess the initial exposure, and provide protective equipment. The serious violations included failing to launder contaminated clothing, train employees on asbestos removal, label containers for waste, and provide a competent person to properly supervise the work area.

These citations show what OSHA focuses on when coming to an asbestos abatement project. Asbestos contractors and consultants should make sure they have a written respiratory protection program with an appropriately trained administrator; an initial exposure assessment; and a means for ensuring employees are informed of the asbestos monitoring results. While general contractors or construction managers must ensure that their subcontractors are in compliance with the OSHA asbestos standard.