Future Environment Designs does an Asbestos Presentation to BOMA's Long Island Chapter



The asbestos mine in Asbestos, Canada

We were invited to do an asbestos presentation to the Long Island Chapter of the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA), last week.  Our presentation discussed a little about asbestos in the past, current issues with asbestos, and a discussion about asbestos in the future.  Visit our website at http://futureenvironmentdesigns.com/news.html to access the presentation.  It was an enjoyable presentation and it was a pleasure discussing asbestos with a group of people who deal with asbestos on a facility/ownership level.   Thank you Mr. Robert Bloom for inviting me.  If you have any comments on my presentation please post them here.

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Asbestos Fears for Port Hedland Tug Workers

Image via WikipediaAustralian Mining's website reported on October 5, 2011, that up to 10 workers at BHP Billiton’s (BHP) Port Hedland site were exposed to asbestos after completing maintenance work on a tug boat.  According to the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) crew from Teekay Shipping, a BHP contractor, were exposed to chrysotile, or white asbestos, while removing gasket material on the Star Voyager last month.  Two weeks earlier Teekay workers at Port Hedland walked off the job after asbestos was found in the gasket joining material on another tug, the PB Fitzroy.  Both the Star Voyager and PB Fitzroy were built by Chinese shipmaker Cheoy Lee Shipyards.
Here is the problem, even though Australia has banned the use of asbestos in their country.  That does not prohibit the use of asbestos in products that Australia buys.  Which is the same problem the United States has.
This incident exposed workers to asbestos for 24 hours, and in one case, exposed the worker's family to asbestos after returning home from work in contaminated workclothes.  Workers must be aware of the potential hazards in the materials they work with or otherwise how will they know how to protect themselves.

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• Asbestos Found At Plattsburgh, NY Site (futureenv.blogspot.com)

EPA Issues a Compliance Order Against Buffalo's Public Housing Authority

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued a compliance order, charging Buffalo's Public Housing Authority with violations of the Federal Clean Air Act resulting in fines up to $25,000 a day for each violation.  See the WIVBTV video for the full story or Phil Fairbank's article "Housing Authority faces fines on asbestos" at BuffaloNews.com.
This is part 2 of the Kensington Heights housing project where the federal government has handed indictments of nine individuals and two contractors on felony criminal charges related to the asbestos removal project.  The 23-count indictment charges the contractors and individuals, including three inspectors -- one from the state, two from the city -- with improperly removing and disposing of asbestos at the complex.  EPA spokesman Michael Basile said the allegations against the authority are similar but are administrative charges, not criminal charges. The authority is alleged to have violated the EPA's National Emission Standards for Asbestos.
Basile says the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority needs to first submit a plan of proper asbestos removal for what's left in the building, then a plan for a safe demolition.  "We want to make sure that the building is demolished and the removal of the asbestos is done in a safe manner to protect human health and the environment, not only for the people that are going to be working on the project, but for the people that live in the immediate area,” said Basile.  Basile says he hopes the fines will never be imposed, and believes the Public Housing Authority wants to get the asbestos removal and demo process done as soon as possible.  He says once the plans are developed and submitted to the EPA, the approval process should take less than two weeks.

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Steve Jobs: How to live before you die | Video on TED.com

Image via WikipediaThis video of Steve Jobs' commencement speech is amazing and so true about how to live your life (I see many similarities to my own life). We lost Mr. Jobs today, but his impact on our lives will remain for so many years.
Steve Jobs: How to live before you die | Video on TED.com

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Strong Link Between Mold & Asthma in Children.

Image via WikipediaThe current issue of Indoor Environment Connection's front page article is "Strong Link Between Mold and Asthma in Children" written by Tom Scarlett.  The article discusses a new study that appeared in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, this study indicates that children living in homes with high levels of mold had more than twice the risk of developing asthma than did children in mold-free homes.  The article does a really good job of putting together results from several studies to point out the risk of children developing asthma from mold exposures.  Discussed in the article is the metric, "Environmental Relative Moldiness Index" (ERMI) that was used in the study to determine the exposure level of the occupants.  It will be interesting how we can use ERMI to help us quantitatively describe the mold burden in future studies and testing.

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Chemical Lab Safety Refresher in IH News

The current issue of the Industrial Hygiene News has an excellent article on laboratory safety called "A Chemical Lab Safety Refresher" written by Mr. Phillip G. Retallick, who is the Senior Vice President Regulatory Affairs for Clean Harbors.  The article covers the typical information regarding lab safety - training, storage, disposal, labeling, and compliance audits.  One of the more interesting sections was the discussion on the requirements of a good industrial hygiene program.  This section discussed the need for a worksite analysis and a well-defined and monitored work practices.  The need for a Chemical Abstract Service (CAS) Registry software and routine monitoring of the air to ensure lab staff are protected is not typically discussed.  The assumption is that sufficient ventilation will handle any potential problems.  However, how do you know you have sufficient ventilation?  Monitoring is the best way to ensure that.  The article list important resources such as the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) "Environmental Management Guide for Small Laboratories" and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) hazardous materials portion (Section H) of 29 CFR 1910.  A short and to the point article on Lab Safety.

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New Joint NIOSH/OSHA Publication on Nail Gun Safety

Image via Wikipedia

The National Institue of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have a new publication called "Nail Gun Safety: A Guide for Construction Contractors."  This publication was created as a resource to prevent injuries in the construction industry, including residential construction.  While nail guns may boost productivity, nail guns are responsible for tens of thousands of painful injuries each year.  One study found that 2 out of 5 residential carpenter apprentices experienced a nail gun injury over a four-year period.  When these injuries occur they are often not reported or given any medical treatment.  The risk of injury is twice as high when using a multi-shot contact trigger versus using a single-shot sequential trigger nailer.  Many years ago, Linda Archipolo of Massapequa made the news on Long Island, when she was working in a Burger King at the Sunrise Mall.  A three-inch nail, shot with a nail gun, accidentally went through two walls and landed in Ms. Archipolo's skull.  Luckily, she survived.  This new publication is intended for residential home builders and construction contractors, subcontractors, supervisors and workers to prevent these kinds of injuries.

The guidance was developed in response to a unanimous recommendation by employer, labor and public members of OSHA’s Advisory Committee for Construction Safety and Health (ACCSH), asking OSHA to develop awareness and materials about nail gun risks.  OSHA and NIOSH worked together to make sure the guidance reflects the most current information available. The publication highlights what is known about nail gun injuries, describes the common causes of nail gun injuries and provides six practical steps that contractors can take to prevent these injuries. The guidance includes actual workplace cases along with a short section on other types of nail gun hazards and sources of additional information.

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