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.
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.
In 2006 we discussed in our blog Future Environment Designs: "The Pollution Within" from Plattsburgh, NY about an article we read in National Geographic about all the different chemicals we have inside our body. Its interesting that on November 7, 2009 that the New York Times Op-Ed Columnist by Nicolas Kristof (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/08/opinion/08kristof.html) wrote "Chemicals in our Foods and Bodies". Specifically discussing the issues with bisphenol A (BPA), its a synthetic estrogen used in plastics. Some of you might even know that Suffolk County, New York has banned it. BPA has been linked to a number of illnesses from breast cancer to obesity, from attention deficit disorder to genital abnormalities in boys and girls alike (not conclusively). So all of this still begs the question when are we going to do complete research on the chemicals we use to determine whether by themselves or multiple chemicals together cause or can cause illnesses or cancers.
I recently read Mr. Will Spate's article in Indoor Environment Connection's November issue (yes, I know, it takes me a month to catch up on my reading) on "Do You Qualify To Be An Expert Witness". Mr. Spates is the President of Indoor Environmental Technologies, Clearwater, Florida and the article provided several pieces of information that I did not know. Such as the difference between an expert witness and a percipient witness and the need for your reports to comply with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26. I strongly recommend that if you are an environmental consultant that you read this article, because it applies even if you are not an expert witness. You never know when you may end up in court to defend your reports and advice you gave.
On December 4, 2009, we attended the Northeast Regional Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition of the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) sponsored the Philadelphia Section of the AIHA. The title of the conference was "The Business of EHS – A New Team Dynamic" for the list of speakers and their biographies visit http://www.philaaiha.com/Newsletters/2009NEIHCBrochure.pdf. The program was professional and interesting, though the focus of the presenters was on manufacturing and industrial applications. This left very little for someone focused in construction safety or indoor environmental issues. The presentations on the environmental health and safety (EHS) perspectives on the impact of the global supply chain, and business metrics (building EHS value and cost-benefit analysis for EHS) were advanced level presentations. Our favorite presentation was the first one on “Staying Safe While Making Money” by Ms. Maureen Modica, CIH, CSP of the United States Mint.
Mr. Aaron Trippler’s “Washington Buzz” presentation during lunch reinforced what we heard from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) representative at the PDC (see our Wednesday, November 25, 2009 blog). OSHA’s current budget is up 10% leading to hiring of 200 new inspectors for enforcement. Other interesting news was NIOSH’s focus on nanotech, risk management, and aerosol transmissible diseases indicates new research information will be available on these issues in the future.
The vendor exposition hall was very good and we thank 3M for providing us with two pair of safety glasses for our safety classes(one called Lightvision 2-LED Plano Eyewear (debating using this for work around the house) and the other called Nitrous CCS with hearing protection providing a noise reduction rating of 25 decibels, both excellent ideas). We also thank Nilfisk-Advance America Inc. for providing us with a new vacuum cleaner catalog for our asbestos classes.
Though the regional this year was interesting, the lack of a balanced program left individuals with our background in construction safety and indoor air quality with very little to bring back home. Some of you would ask why attend a meeting that had so little to offer, the topics were publicized ahead of time. Well first, Mr. Trippler’s presentation always gives us an idea on the pulse of what is happening in Washington, DC on the environmental safety and health front. Second the vendor exposition hall is always interesting to see what services and products the various companies in the area are offering. Saving the best for last, the most important reason is to network and meet with old friends and acquaintances and meet new people who are in different areas/regions of the industrial hygiene field. It is a lot of fun catching up with people you may only see at this event. It was a pleasure seeing and discussing different issues with Mr. Jack Springsteen, Dr. Jack Caravanos, Ms. Amy Gordon, Mrs. Debra Gul Haffner, and many others. The special treat this year was talking with Mr. Dave Robbins, who was in town from Alaska. Though the regional, this year, did not provide much information for the construction and indoor environment people, the networking opportunities are probably the best reasons to attend the Regional each year.
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