Riggiing Contractor Cleared Of All Charges

Mr. William Rapetti's trial ended on Thursday with a not-guilty verdict by the judge that heard the case.  This ends the first of the construction trials that the construction industry is watching, the other two being the Deutsche Bank Fire and the other crane accident.  Mr. Rapetti and his company Rapetti Rigging Services were acquitted all charges.  Unfortunately, he and his company, along with other companies on the project, the building owner and New York City, still must face several civil lawsuits in regards to the accident.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Rigging contractor found not guilty in New York crane collapse (cnn.com)
• Engineer Testifies Crane Rigger Is Careful (nytimes.com)
• Crane rigger found not guilty in 2008 East Side crane collapse (nydailynews.com)
• Rigger Acquitted in Deadly '08 NYC Crane Collapse (abcnews.go.com)
• NYC crane rigger cleared in fatal collapse (cbc.ca)
• Building owner to blame for crane collapse: Attorney (nydailynews.com)
• Engineer Testifies Crane Rigger Is Careful (nytimes.com)

NYC DEP Plans Increase In Enforcement On Asbestos Investigators

Image via Wikipedia

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYC DEP) released plans to increase the scrutiny of Certified Asbestos Investigators.  As discussed in the New York Times article linked above, NYCDEP has hired two additional inspection monitors to review the work of the Certified Asbestos Investigators and plans to nearly double the number of office audits it conducts each year, to 75, up from 40; the agency will check the records and activities of nearly 15 percent of the 543 asbestos investigators it certifies, and perform 500 spot-check field inspections.  What caused this increase in oversight of the Certified Asbestos Investigators?  Mr. Saverio Todaro's guilty plea to federal environmental crimes, fraud and making false statements.  In our refresher classes we have discussed Mr. Todaro's case, who operated an environmental inspection and testing company, and acknowledged that he had submitted clean asbestos and lead test results for at least a decade without performing any tests.
Not only has Mr. Todaro's case caused increased scrutiny of Investigators, it also has exposed our industry to reckless statements such as "The city environmental agency regulates private asbestos inspectors, who play an important role in what has long been viewed as one of the more corrupt sectors of the construction industry."  I don't think the New York Times has accurately portrayed our industry.  Our industry like many others has individuals that will do anything for the money.  However, we have many individuals and companies in our industry that do not give into this weakness and perform their jobs in accordance with the regulations.  We provide our clients with an important service and help them protect their properties and the people who use the property.  I am very disappointed with the NY Times, in painting our industry with such a broad brush stroke based on the guilty plea of a few individuals.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Inspector Says He Faked Data in New York Building Tests (nytimes.com)
• Faked Safety Inspections Called Tip of the Iceberg (nytimes.com)
• Editorial: Building Inspection Scandal in New York City (nytimes.com)

Clearing Pipes With Natural Gas, A Common But Deadly Construction Practice

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

In Middletown, Connecticut on Febuary 7, 2010 an explosion caused the death of 6 workers building a power plant for Kleen Energy Systems.  The article above discusses the findings of an investigation of the cause of the explosion.  The findings found that a common construction practice of clearing pipes with natural gas was the cause of the explosion.  The Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) investigation is still ongoing.  However, it appears the common practice of clearing pipes with natural gas is also a common cause of explosions at other construction sites.  In two other sites this practice has caused explosions that have killed 4 and 6, previously.  The article implies that this practice is unregulated, which I find hard to believe.  I guess we will find out once OSHA finishes its investigation.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Safety Board Weighs Response to Conn., NC Blasts (abcnews.go.com)
• Feds weigh response to fatal Conn., NC blasts (sfgate.com)
• Conn. urges tighter power plant rules after blast (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

Doomed Crane Had History of Malfunctions | New York Construction | McGraw-Hill Construction

Image via Wikipedia

Doomed Crane Had History of Malfunctions New York Construction McGraw-Hill Construction

The manslaughter trial of William Rappetti, master rigger, and his company Rappetti Rigging Services, began this week.  The Manhattan District Attorney maintains that Mr. Rappetti was responsible for the crane accident that happened on March 15, 2008.  While Mr. Rappetti's attorneys are trying to prove the accident was caused by a number of alternative causes.  Click the link above to get an update on the trial.  We will be following this trial and the other manslaughter trial against J. Lomma (see our post "Crane Case Heading to Court") both regarding the crane accidents that happened in 2008.  Depending how these trials turn out, will depend how much of an impact the Manhattan District Attorney's Office will have on the construction industry.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Safety Codes Lack Standards For Critical Crane Repairs (constructionlawva.com)
• Rigger declines jury in NYC crane collapse trial (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Crane-collapse survivor testifies at NYC trial (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Credit still tight for U.S. construction-survey (reuters.com)
• Witness: New straps supplied before NYC crane fell (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Witness: New straps supplied before NYC crane fell (sfgate.com)
• Trial opens for crane rigger in NYC collapse (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Trial set to open for rigger in NYC crane collapse (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

ADAO Responds to Potential Canadian Efforts to Revive Jeffrey Mine « ADAO – Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization

Image by LHOON via Flickr

ADAO Responds to Potential Canadian Efforts to Revive Jeffrey Mine « ADAO – Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization

As the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization notes, Quebec continues to consider chrysotile asbestos less dangerous than other forms of asbestos.  Since Jeffrey Mine, Inc.'s current mine has run out of asbestos, Quebec's government is offering $58 million dollar loan guarantee for Jeffrey Mine to open a new mine and continue mining asbestos.  Unfortunately, the market for this new asbestos is the Third World, where many industries are concerned more about staying in business versus human life.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Overseas demonstrations protest expansion of Quebec asbestos mine (canada.com)
• Asbestos industry in for boost (canada.com)
• Opening of the Jeffrey Underground Mine - Asbestos mobilizes broad support (newswire.ca)
• Letter to Quebec premier calls for halt on asbestos exports (canada.com)

BP's Other Toxic Legacy: 'Decades of Misery' for Gulf Health

Image via Wikipedia

BP's <i>Other</i> Toxic Legacy: 'Decades of Misery' for Gulf Health

As we feared, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) again is messing up worker protection under the memorandum of understanding (MOU). This time it didn't take long for people to start being concerned about their exposure to chemicals. This article from Esquire Magazine's Politics Blog shows that OSHA really doesn't have a handle on the exposure of the workers down there. In addition, where is the American Industrial Hygiene Association in all of this? I have not heard about a position or any recommendations from this organization regarding what is going on in the Gulf regarding worker protection. So here we are again another disaster and another OSHA MOU, which means allow workers to develop illnesses (from chemical expsoures) because these aren't reported the same way accidents are (slips, trips, falls, etc). I'm sure OSHA will brag about zero accidents like they did at 9/11 but will ignore the illnesses developed. Note the recent news articles about the $700 million settlement that will be paid to thousands of 9/11 responders exposed to toxic World Trade Cener dust, that OSHA could have and should have prevented from happening.

Related articles by Zemanta

• BP Needs to Provide Respirators for Cleanup Workers (fdlaction.firedoglake.com)
• Gina Solomon: OSHA Limits Don't Protect Gulf Coast Workers (huffingtonpost.com)
• Gina Solomon: BP Coughs Up Another Drop of Air Quality Data: Not Reassuring (huffingtonpost.com)
• EPA demands a less toxic dispersant in Gulf spill (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• OSHA Fronts for BP After Congressmen Press for Worker Safety (workinprogress.firedoglake.com)
• Rep. Maloney: Address Health of Gulf Cleanup Workers Now, Before They Lose It (workinprogress.firedoglake.com)
• Gulf Oil Spill: Louisiana Officials Ask OSHA To Investigate Cleanup Safety (huffingtonpost.com)

Spring 2010 Future Focus Posted

Image by odysseyfx via Flickr

Future Environment Designs has posted its Spring 2010 newsletter finalizing our coverage of the revisions to the New York City asbestos regulation Title 15.  This issue we discuss the changes to the work procedures/practices.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Editorial: Building Inspection Scandal in New York City (nytimes.com)
• Major New Study of Libby Asbestos Starts (abcnews.go.com)
• Major new study of Libby asbestos starts (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

PCBs are Everywhere?

Image via Wikipedia

It feels like lately, everywhere I turn I find a new article or seminar discussing polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) issues.  In the Metropolitan New York Chapter of American Industrial Hygiene Association's newsletter I learned that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is currently holding a series of public meetings for the purpose of “Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the EPA potential reassessment of PCB use authorizations” (follow link from the title of this article for more information).  Even on this blog I have written several posts on PCBs (see my most recent post on 4/6/10).  Back in April, I attended the joint meeting of the New York Metro Chapter of the AIHA and the Long Island chapter of the American Society of Safety Engineers (see post on 4/20/10). Mr. Kristen Panella of New York Institute of Technology gave a very good presentation on dealing with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding transformers containing PCBs. The main points of the presentation were:

• EPA does not allow “placard” transformers (meaning the transformer has pyranol on the label or placard) to be registered after 1998.  EPA’s reason for this is that General Electric’s pyranol transformers contain 50% PCBs be weight.
• These placard transformers are required to be removed. The penalty is $24,000 for not removing them.
• The removal process is a costly and very delicate process because any spill of the PCB oil makes the project a remediation (spill clean-up) having different requirements.

Then in the April 2010 issue of Indoor Environment Connections, Ronald Smith and Vincent Daliessio of EMSL wrote an article on “PCB in Caulk: A New/Old Indoor Contaminant” (http://www.ieconnections.com/pdfs/newsletter/2010/IEC-04-2010.pdf on page 18).  The main points from this article were:

• PCB-tainted caulk with concentrations of 50 parts per million (ppm) or more can cause owners of buildings (including schools, etc.) to face EPA fines of $3,000 and $25,000 per day until the material is removed.
• EPA regulations do not require schools to test for PCBs but EPA is encouraging schools to conduct air testing where PCB use is suspected.  This recommendation is inconsistent with other indoor air quality programs (i.e., asbestos or lead) that would first require identifying or testing to confirm the presence of the material prior to an air sampling regimen.  I suspect the reasoning for this is; unlike with asbestos or lead, if the school finds PCBs in the caulk above 50 ppm they are required to remove it, as per the above point.
• There are a number of exposure guidelines and standards for chlorodiphenyl (54% chlorine in PCBs) in air:
• ACGIH – TLV is 500 ug/m3
• OSHA – PEL is 500 ug/m3
• NIOSH – REL is 1 ug/m3
• NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene – Action Level is 0.5 ug/m3
• EPA – Risk-Based Concentrations (RBCs) is 0.0043 ug/m3
• Testing of caulk for PCBs is a unique method and should be discussed with your laboratory.  PCB air testing uses two methods, recognized by the EPA, TO-4A (high volume air) and TO-10A(low volume air).  EPA does not recognize NIOSH method 5503.

In addition, two recent EPA Region 2 news releases were also regarding PCBs.  On this blog, we have been following the dredging operations on the Hudson River.  EPA’s news release on April 26, 2010 announced that EPA agreed to pay the additional costs incurred by the towns of Halfmoon and Waterford to draw water from the Troy system until November 2012 because both towns used the Hudson River as their source of drinking water.  Some of the samples taken at the Thompson Island monitoring station were reported to have exceeded EPA’s drinking water standard of 500 parts per trillion (ppt) for PCBs, during dredging operations and off-season high river flows.  The second EPA region 2 news release was on April 30, 2010 and it too, discussed PCBs. PCBs are one of the contaminants they are investigating in the Gowanus Canal Superfund Site in New York City.

Even though Congress and EPA banned and phased out in 1979 all PCBs, we are still working on preventing further damage and cleaning up the old damage done to the environment are these future employment opportunities?

Related articles by Zemanta

• The EPA on GE on PCBs (timesunion.com)
• GE: Limit PCB contamination during Hudson dredging (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• PCB Dredging hearings in final day (timesunion.com)
• APNewsBreak: GE Says Hudson Dredging Cost $561M (abcnews.go.com)
• Feds and DEC: Continue Hudson River PCB dredging (timesunion.com)

New Lead Paint Regulation Goes Into Effect - Happy Earth Day!

Image by wayneandwax via Flickr

Today is the 40th Birthday of Earth Day.  To celebrate the occasion, the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Lead Based Paint (finalized in April 2008) regulation goes into effect today.  The regulation we are talking about is the Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) rule.  The purpose of this rule is prevent lead poisoning of children.  Starting today anyone who is paid to perform work that disturbs paint in housing and child-occupied facilities built before 1978, including all general contractors, maintenance staff, and special trade contractors (such as painters, plumbers, carpenters, and electricians), are required to be trained on lead-safe work practices (become certified renovators), requires the firms to be EPA-certified, and requires the use of lead-safe work practices.  In addition, the regulation requires the firms to keep records for three years of reports certifying that lead-based paint is not present, records relating to the distribution of the lead pamphlet, signed and dated opt-out clauses, and documentation of compliance with RRP.  These regulations do not apply if the firm obtained a signed statement from the owner (known as the opt-out provision) or the work is considered a minor repair and maintenance activitiy that disturb six square feet or less of paint per room inside, or 20 square feet or less on the exterior of a home or building.  The rule require firms performing renovations must ensure that:

• All individuals performing activities that disturb painted surfaces are either certified renovators or have been trained by a certified renovator.
• A certified renovator is assigned to each renovation and performs all of the certified renovator responsibilities.
• All renovations use lead safe work practices.
• Pre-renovation education requirements are performed, such as distribution of the Renovate Right pamphlet.
• Recordkeeping requirements are met.

Violators of this regulation can face penalties of up to $32,500 per violation, per day.  Needless to say if you have not taken this training and applied for EPA certification you cannot perform renovation work on housing or child-occupied facilities until you get your certification.  EPA has up to 90 days after receiving a complete request for certification to approve or disapprove the application.  EPA has said "it does not intend to take enforcement actions against firms who applied for firm certification before April 22 and are just waiting for their paperwork."  EPA also said "they anticipate that all applications filed before April 22 will be reviewed by June."  Based on EPA's website they estimate there are 129,000 to 150,000 trained certified renovators by today.  It would seem those certified renovators are going to be very busy. 

Related articles by Zemanta

• New EPA Rule Requires More Care Around Lead Paint (abcnews.go.com)
• New EPA rule requires home renovators to take more care around lead paint (thenewstribune.com)
• New EPA rule requires more care around lead paint (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Childhood Lead Poisoning Proves a Stubborn Nemesis (nytimes.com)
• Rule on Lead Safety Set to Take Effect (nytimes.com)
• Lead-Based Paint Renovation, Repair and Painting Program Law-Important Legal Issues (constructionlawva.com)
• Earth Day Activities: Send Us Your Photos (huffingtonpost.com)
• Testing for Lead in Paint Gets Easier, Faster and Cheaper with ANDalyze Technology - Powered by DNA (eon.businesswire.com)

Long Island ASSE/Metro NY AIHA Joint Meeting to Discuss PCBs

Wednesday April 21, 2010 at 5 PM, Mr. Kristen Panella, CSP of New York Institute of Technology will be discussing "Recent Compliance Issues with PCBs - Lessons Learned."  The meeting is a joint dinner with the Long Island American Society of Safety Engineers and the Metro Chapter of the American Industrial Hygiene Association.  It is being held at the Hicksville-On The Border, 1401 Broadway Mall, Hicksville, NY 11801.
Mr. Panella is the Dir. of the Dep. of Environmental Health and Safety at New York Institute of Technology (NYIT). Kristen has over 11 years of professional experience in the environmental health and safety field. With a background in geology and environmental management he has worked on numerous EPA Superfund sites as well as emergency hazardous material spill cleanup sites. Kristen joined NYIT as the Dir. of EH&S over 4 years ago and is accountable for all environmental health and safety issues that face their three campuses. His primary focus is on asbestos, lead and mold projects, hazardous waste disposal, medical waste disposal, the proper operation of the onsite wastewater treatment plant and OSHA related issues. Kristen is also utilizing his real world expertise to conduct classes in the Environmental Technology Masters and Continuing Education Programs. He is an active member of AIHA, ASSE, CSHEMA, SEHSA and NYIT’s Radiation Safety Committee, Animal Care Committee, Biosafety Committee and Sustainable Global Community. Join us for dinner and a great presentation. Registration and Networking will begin at 5 PM. Dinner @ 6 PM

EPA Submits Final Report on First Phase of Hudson River Dredging

Image via Wikipedia

On March 8, 2010, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a detailed technical assessment of the first phase of the dredging operations on the polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)-contaminated sediment in the upper Hudson River.  This assessment, along with General Electric's assessment, are being submitted to the panel of independent scientific experts for review.  In addition, to the report being submitted to the scientific panel, EPA is also soliciting comments from the public that will also be submitted to the panel.  The first phase of this project is being used as a test run for the far larger phase 2 of this project, which EPA hopes to start in 2011.  The technical report is 185 pages and covers a number of operations and discusses problems and recommended changes to reduce PCB air emissions and water resuspensions.  Needless to say EPA feels that the operation can be done successfully with a few changes and GE has some major issues with the process because of the PCB resusensions.  It will be interesting to see what the panel has to say.

Related articles by Zemanta

• GE: Limit PCB Contamination During Hudson Dredging (abcnews.go.com)
• Dredging bypasses river highway (timesunion.com)
• EPA notes higher PCB levels in Hudson dredging (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• GE: Limit PCB contamination during Hudson dredging (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Hudson River PCB Dredging - the Good, the Bad, & the Ugly (futureenv.blogspot.com)
• Hudson River PCB dredging studies (timesunion.com)
• Dredging hits a critical phase (timesunion.com)

Syosset School Closure Creates Discussion

Last week, most people on Long Island heard about Syosset School District closing school because asbestos planks (?) were discovered in the dumpster.  This occurred after a routine mainteance operation in the boiler room.  We have had an excellant discussion at the New York State Asbestos Group at Linked In (join the discussion at http://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=2432277&trk=anet_ug_hm).  We have discussed several issues with the articles discussing what happened.  First many of us are trying to figure out what is an asbestos plank?  We have some speculations but we still have not figured it out.  Why didn't anyone know that the asbestos (planks?) were in the boiler room.  Schools are required under the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) regulations to perform triennial inspections of their facilities for asbestos containing building materials (ACBM) and every 6 months a periodic surveillance of the ACBM is required to ensure it is not disturbed.  Obviously, something went wrong.  In addition, some of the articles talk about medical testing of the workers to determine if they were exposed.  Well in our discussion we know of no such test.  The tests can be used as a baseline.  However, asbestos diseases can take at least 10 years to develop.  It is possible that an intense exposure could cause pleural plaques sooner, possibly as soon as a year, but this does not mean a disease will develop.  We thank Mr. Jack Springston, Mr. Donald Weekes, and Mr. Jim Morey for their comments on Linked In for helping flesh out this posting.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Air Quality Tests Show Syosset High School is Safe (Newsday.com)
• Weitz & Luxenberg Cautions Boilermakers on Job-Related Asbestos Exposure (eon.businesswire.com)
• ADAO Praises Senate for Passage of Sixth Annual Resolution That Establishes "National Asbestos Awareness Week" (eon.businesswire.com)

2010 PACNY Environmental Conference

On February 25-26, 2010, the Professional Abatement Contractors of New York (PACNY) held their 14th annual Environmental Conference at the Turning Stone Casino and Resort in Verona, New York. This year it was not only an honor for me to attend the meeting but to also participate as part of the industry roundtable on the last day of the event. If you attended the conference this year you would have found that PACNY was able to get representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), United States Department of Justice, and as usual Mr. Chris Alonge, of the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL).
This year probably the biggest impact of the conference was the weather not cooperating with the conference, as the area was hit by a snowstorm during the conference and Long Island was hit with a snowstorm on Friday, the last day of the conference. This hurt the attendance at the conference including one of the speakers presenting and causing several vendors to be missing in action. It was a shame because those of us who attended had a great time and were provided with a lot of information. Vendors attending included: Grayling Industries; DiVal Safety; Aramsco; Fiberlock Technologies; Foster Specialty Construction Brands, and United Rentals to name a few. Dival Safety's booth was showcasing "Green Stuff Absorbent" an environmentally friendly product used to absorb chemical spills. The product can absorb over 325 liquids and chemicals allowing for a broaden HazMat response (visit http://www.divalsafety.com/ for more information).
All the presentations were held in the Tuscarora Room. My favorite presentation was by Mr. Kevin Cannan, President of AAC Contracting Inc, also a former President of PACNY. Mr. Cannan's presentation was a discussion of the industry and a look back and a look forward. I enjoyed it so much I forgot to take notes. Well done Mr. Cannan!
The other presentations included:

• The return of Mr. Craig A. Benedict, Assistant U. S. Attorney, and Mr. Justus J. Derx, Special Agent of the EPA, both discussing recent cases and their current focus in the industry. Both mentioned that their success has led to increased responsibility into new Districts. The major points of their presentation were:
• They view their work in the abatement industry as fighting a spiral down effect. Preventing the degradation of the quality of work in the abatement industry due to contractors/consultants not following the regulations.
• They have now done over 100 individual prosecutions and have not lost one.
• They are now focusing on air sample technicians and project monitors as aiders and abettors of violations of the Clean Air Act rule and making them culpable under standard.
• They are also focusing on the culpability of owners/general contractors on ensuring the legitimacy of the asbestos contractor/consultant.
• Other issues in the industry they discussed include:
• insurance fraud and the use of foreign workforces that are not on your payroll.
• contractors using foreign workforces not on their payroll.
• reminded asbestos companies should have policies on workers moonlighting and using their equipment and inventory.
• Ms. Kimberly Castillon, Assistant Area Director of OSHA, updated the attendees on current remediation industry enforcement actions, she discussed:
• Enforcement has become OSHA's number one priority.
• OSHA expects to perform 750-800 more inspections per year utilizing 130 new compliance safety and health officers. that have been hired nationwide.
• New/revised regulations that are in the pike include Hazard Communication, Silica, Cranes and Derricks, confined space entry for construction and combustible dust.
• The OSHA Region 2 statistics include 5,600 inspections in 2009. 26% of those inspections were in compliance. 13,000 violations were issued averaging 3 violations/inspection. 81% of violations issued were serious violations. The average penalty per serious violation was $1,024.
• Typical remediation industry violations - respiratory protection, recordkeeping, hazardous waste and emergency response, and asbestos.
• Mr. Andrew McClellan, President, Environmental Education Associates, spoke on the impending EPA Lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting Regulation going into effect on April 22, 2010. The major points included:
• Lead abatement is not covered by this rule.
• The rule includes kindergartens and childcare centers.
• If the amount of material impacted is under six (6) square feet interior or twenty (20) square feet exterior, it is considered a minor repair or maintenance and is not covered by the rule.
• Each project requires records be created and filed that must be maintained for three (3) years (recordkeeping requirement).
• Mr. Sean Hickey, Senior Vice President, Rose & Kiernan discussed the Insurance Market. His major points were:
• The insurance market is currently a buyers market.
• Commercial rate changes are averaging -5% with general liability dropping 6% and workmen's compensation dropping 3.7%.
• There is more competition in the Environmental insurance industry. In 2009 there were 15 carriers, now there are 30.
• Mr. Chris Alonge's presentation was exactly the same as the one presented to Metro-AIHA meeting in November (see our entry at http://futureenv.blogspot.com/2009_11_01_archive.html for the specifics). Mr. Alonge presented a revised schedule for the proposed new Industrial Code Rule 56. Submission to GORR by April 2010. Publish proposed revisions in May 2010 in NYS register. Finalized revisions take effect August 2010. Though I suspect that may be overly ambitious. We will see.

All in all the conference was very informative and well worth the trip. Turning Stone Casino was an excellent venue for the event, even though the weather did not cooperate this year. We attended the Pro Boxing Fight Night, the main event being a Super Middleweight fight between Brian Vera versus Isaac Rodrigues. It was my first live boxing match and the main event was a slugfest. The overall experience was outstanding and enjoyable. It was a pleasure to get together with old friends, and make some new ones. Thank you to the PACNY organization for honoring me by including me on the industry roundtable at the end. PACNY did a great job on the conference as usual, they deserve much credit and accolades for their hard work. We look forward to next year’s conference and hope to see you there next year.

Related articles by Zemanta

• PACNY Conference Opens on Thursday, February 25, 2010 (futureenv.blogspot.com)
• Results of the Metro NY AIHA's EHS Global & Local Update Meeting (futureenv.blogspot.com)
• Caution: Stats May Be Slippery (businessweek.com)

CDC NIOSH Science Blog: Mad as a Hatter: Mercury and Other Occupational Hazards at the Movies

Image via Wikipedia

CDC NIOSH Science Blog: Mad as a Hatter: Mercury and Other Occupational Hazards at the Movies
I recently saw the movie at the Deer Park IMAX theather in 3D, with my family. It was a visually stunning movie and the storyline was excellant and very different from the one most of us are familar with. The CDC NIOSH science blog discusses the occupational issues that led to the term Mad as a hatter hence leading to Johnny Depp's character in the movie. What was the occupational safety and health issue? Well most people probably know by now that it was mercury exposure or mercury poisoning.  Hatters used mercury to change fur into felt.  Since these areas were poorly ventilated the exposure levels must have been tremendous.

Related articles by Zemanta

• 'Mad as a Hatter': The History of a Simile (nytimes.com)
• Johnny Depp: Mad Hatter Featurette! (justjared.buzznet.com)
• What's Up With the Mad Hatter? (media.gunaxin.com)

Crane Failure Case Heading to Court

Its amazing that the OSHA investigation found no violations.  However, the Manhattan DA found enough evidence to bring manslaughter charges against J. Lomma, T. Varganyi, JF Lomma Inc, and NY Crane.  Key quote from the article was "Equipment owners may be held personally liable—even if safety regulators in their official investigation are unable to find code violations."  Will the threat of criminal charges actually start CEOs thinking about safety first.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Charges in UES Crane Collapse: James Lomma, owner of New York... (ny.curbed.com)
• Co. Owner Indicted in Deadly NYC Crane Collapse (abcnews.go.com)
• Co. owner indicted in deadly NYC crane collapse (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Crane-Company Owner Indicted (online.wsj.com)
• NYC Crane Collapse: Manslaughter Charges Expected In 2008 Upper East Side Accident (huffingtonpost.com)
• National Safety Council: OSHA's Top 10 Most Cited Violations | EHS Today (futureenv.blogspot.com)

Doing an Indoor Air Quality Assessments

On the ride down from the PACNY conference, we caught up on reading an article written by Dr. Robert C. Brandys in Indoor Environment Connections. The title of the article was “Assessing the Cancer Risk of Indoor Environments.” We thought it was an interesting and informative article. We also note the coincidence that we were recently having a conversation, with one of our clients, regarding this very issue. The article is an excellent reference for the various chemical risk assessment standards that are available and goes into an excellent discussion of the pros and cons of conducting a chemical risk assessment. We strongly recommend those of you who are struggling with indoor air quality testing and interpreting the results of volatile organic compounds and such, read this article and incorporate the references into your indoor air quality investigations and reports.

Related articles by Zemanta

• EPA to Update Elmira Residents about Toxic Sampling (gloucestercitynews.net)

PACNY Conference Opens on Thursday, February 25, 2010

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.

Related articles by Zemanta

• February is a Big Month for Local Boxing Fans (timesunion.com)
• Restaurant groups: Alcohol at NY casino is illegal (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Oneida Nation pays $5M in bonuses to workers (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

Wall Street Journal Reports on PCB Dredging Operations

Image via Wikipedia

On December 7, 2009 we wrote about the dredging operations on the Hudson River (http://futureenv.blogspot.com/2009/12/hudson-river-pcb-dredging-good-bad-ugly.html).  On January 21, 2010 the Wall Street Journal reported that higher PCB levels were found during the Hudson River dredging operations.  Both General Electric and the EPA released draft evaluations of the project.  Both reports found higher levels of PCBs than originally anticipated, putting into question the performance standards for the project.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Hudson River PCB dredging studies (timesunion.com)
• More Hudson Dredging Needed, E.P.A. Says (nytimes.com)
• EPA notes higher PCB levels in Hudson dredging (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

Future Environment Designs discussion "The Pollution Within"

Image via Wikipedia

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.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Ban BPA In all Consumer Products (thepetitionsite.com)
• Second Study Backs BPA Link to Heart Disease (friendseat.com)
• FDA Investigating Health Hazards of BPA in Plastic Bottles, Food Packaging (shoppingblog.com)

EPA Announces Agreement with NYC Schools on PCBs in Caulk

Image via Wikipedia

EPA announced an agreement with New York City on the handling of PolyChlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) in caulk.  In our blog post http://futureenv.blogspot.com/2008/04/pcbs-in-caulk-making-headlines.html and in our Autumn 2008 Newsletter (http://futureenvironmentdesigns.com/archives.htm?ID=4311505&s=16687015)
we fully discussed this issue.  This press release announces that NYC has entered into an agreement with EPA to develop a program in handling these materials.  The agreement should help protect children from being potentially exposed to PCBs in window caulk.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Phase 1 of PCB Removal on Hudson Wrapping Up (abcnews.go.com)

New Information on the Mesothelioma Mechanisms

Image via Wikipedia

Found this information on the different ways asbestos may cause mesothelioma.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Asbestos killing more Canadians than ever; like old 'landmines' (ctv.ca)
• Mesothelioma Becoming More of a Problem in India. (healthcaremagic.com)
• Asbestos ruling sees firms face huge claims (telegraph.co.uk)