Future Environment Designs Training Center's Blog

Wednesday, December 08, 2010

Colorado Man's Home is a Living Laboratory.

Part 2 of the "Killer In The Attic" articles from AOL News discussed the story of 71 year-old William Cawlfield, who has mesothelioma. Mr. Cawlfield lives in a two-story red-brick farmhouse in Pueblo, Colorado that had been his family's home for more than a century. When he was 15 years old Mr. Cawlfield helped his father install Zonolite insulation in the attic. In addition, Mr Cawlfield also said "I used to play up there and kept my toys and a bunch of books because it was like a sand pile where I could hide things,..." He had no knowledge that the material contained asbestos.

Last month, Cawlfield stood outside his family's home watching a specially trained asbestos-removal experts wearing respirators and dressed head to toe in Tyvek carefully remove the Zonolite insulation from inside. He was paying $15,000 to have them do so. The reason he was doing this was testing conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Denver regional office found that high levels of the lethal tremolite fibers were released from the Zonolite insulation that was spread between the rafters in its attic. EPA inspectors concluded that the almost-invisible asbestos-containing dust from the Zonolite sifted though the light fixtures and switches, ceiling fans and the seams of dried-out joint tape. Copies of the reports from EPA (that AOL News obtained) determined that some of the levels of asbestos recorded in the house exceeded the maximum number of lethal fibers that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) says is too dangerous for workers.

Unfortunately, EPA continues to not provide any guidance to the asbestos abatement industry on how to handle this material and continues to rely on its website as the only source of information on this dangerous situation.

Related articles

Monday, December 06, 2010

OSHA Proposes $51,000 in Fines Against David H. Koch Theater in New York for Asbestos, Fall and Crushing Hazards

Image via WikipediaThe Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited the David H. Koch Theater, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in Manhattan, for alleged repeat and serious violations of workplace health and safety standards. The theater faces a total of $51,000 in proposed fines, chiefly for asbestos, fall and crushing hazards identified during an OSHA inspection prompted by worker complaints.

OSHA's inspection found that employees of the theater and of outside contractors had not been informed of the presence of asbestos-containing and potentially asbestos-containing materials in the theater's promenade area and in nearby electrical closets. The materials had not been labeled and asbestos warning signs had not been posted.
In addition, an exit door was stuck and unable to be used, and a portable fire extinguisher was not mounted. As these conditions were similar to those cited by OSHA during a 2009 inspection of the theater, they resulted in the agency issuing the theater four repeat citations with $45,000 in proposed fines. A repeat violation is issued when an employer previously has been cited for the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years.
"The recurrence of these conditions is disturbing," said Kay Gee, OSHA's Manhattan area director. "For the health and safety of its employees as well as outside contractors, the theater must take effective steps to identify and permanently eliminate these and other hazards identified during this latest OSHA inspection."
OSHA also found that, due to a lack of guarding, theater employees were exposed to falls into the orchestra pit when the stage was raised above the pit, and to being struck or crushed by the stage when it descended into the pit. These conditions, plus the use of temporary wiring in place of permanent lighting in the promenade area, resulted in OSHA also issuing the theater three serious citations with $6,000 in proposed fines. A serious citation is issued when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.
"One means of eliminating hazards such as these is for employers to establish an illness and injury prevention program, in which workers and management jointly work to identify and eliminate hazardous conditions on a continual basis," said Robert Kulick, OSHA's regional administrator in New York.
The theater has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and proposed penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. The inspection was conducted by OSHA's Manhattan Area Office, telephone 212-620-3200. To report workplace accidents, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742).

Sunday, December 05, 2010

Review of Northeast Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition

This Friday, December 3, 2010, we went to the 64th Annual Northeast Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel New Brunswick, NJ. The conference was presented by the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA), New Jersey Section, Inc. and co-sponsored by the Metro New York and Philadelphia Sections AIHA. The title of the conference was "Welcome to the Future! Evolving Industrial Hygiene Opportunities." The conference agenda included presentations in Nanotechnology by Dr. Chuck Geraci from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH); Prevention through Design by Ms. Donna Heidel from NIOSH; Managing Risk in the Face of Change by Mr. T.J. Lentz from NIOSH; Industrial Forensics by Mr. Ryan Hall from RJ Lee Group; Bioterrorism Response by Dr. Nancy Connell from University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ); Before and After Measurements of Ergonomic Successes from Mr. Dan MacLeod of Dan McLeod LLC; and then the Bedbugs Invasion Panel that included Mr. Jay Taylor from Chubb and Son, Mr. Roy Viola, Esq. from McGiveny & Kluger, Mr. Rick Cooper of Cooper Pest Solutions, and Dr. Howard Sandler of Sandler Occupational Medical Associates. The exhibition included AJ Abrams Co.; Analytics Corp., Belfor USA, Bomark Instruments, EMSL, Environmental Reports, Nilfisk, Sandler Occupational Medicine Assoc., Unitech Services Group, and Zefon International to name a few.

The event like usual is great day for networking and catching up with people you haven't seen in a while. It was great to see you folks, Mrs. Deborah Gul Haffner, Mr. Ed Olmstead, Mr. Stu Mirowitz, Mr. Jack Springston, Mr. Ed Gertz, Mr. Paul DeBiase, Mr. Ken Burns, Mr. Ron Smith, and Mr. Ken Shaw, to name a few. As with most conferences, we go in hopes of learning something new or possibly meet someone who will help your business. Well this conference was duo win on that front for us. The Bedbug Panel provided alot of information that we will discuss in our next newsletter. The Prevention Through Design presentation was our favorite. It discussed "Building Industrial Hygiene into the Plan for Safer and Greener Economy." Discussing the role of industrial hygiene in the green economy, and the need for industrial hygienist to be at the beginning of the design project. Interesting statistic, from this presentation, was from an Australian Study that determined that design continues to be a significant contibutor to work-related serious injury. 37% of workplace fatalities involved design-related issues and another 14% of fatalities, design-related issues may have played a role. If that statistic was not enough for us, the case studies presented emphasized how industrial hygienists involved at different stages of the project affected or prevented risk shifting. The presentation also discussed whether worker safety and health should be included in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system? A building could be rated platinum but were their any fatalities during construction, are the occupants happy with indoor air quality, or what are costs involved with operations and maintenance?

Kudos to the New Jersey section for an excellant conference.

Related articles

Thursday, December 02, 2010

Study suggests that being too clean can make people sick

2D structure of antibacterial / antifungal age...

Image via WikipediaA recent study by the University of Michigan School of Public Health suggests that people who are overexposed to endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) may suffer more allergies and negative effects to their immune systems. Study suggests that being too clean can make people sick. This study indicates that young people who are overexposed to antibacterial soaps containing triclosan may suffer more allergies, and exposure to higher levels of Bisphenol A (BPA) among adults may negatively influence the immune system. Triclosan is a chemical compound widely used in products such as antibacterial soaps, toothpaste, pens, diaper bags and medical devices. BPA is found in many plastics and, for example, as a protective lining in food cans. Both of these chemicals are in a class of environmental toxicants called endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs), which are believed to negatively impact human health by mimicking or affecting hormones. "We found that people over age 18 with higher levels of BPA exposure had higher CMV antibody levels, which suggests their cell-mediated immune system may not be functioning properly," said Erin Rees Clayton, research investigator at the U-M School of Public Health and first author on the paper. The study also found that people age 18 and under with higher levels of triclosan were more likely to report diagnosis of allergies and hay fever. There is growing concern among the scientific community and consumer groups that these EDCs are dangerous to humans at lower levels than previously thought.

Wednesday, December 01, 2010

Government Refuses to Act on Cancer-Causing Insulation

Image via WikipediaWe have discussed this issue in our asbestos initial and refresher classes. The Zonolite insulation made from vermiculite mineral mined from the Libby, Montana. The vermiculite from this mine is contaminated with tremolite asbestos. Mr. Andrew Schneider wrote this excellant article "Government Refuses to Act on Cancer-Causing Insulation". This is also an important issue for asbestos inspectors because the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is specifically saying not to take samples of this material. This material gives false negative results and EPA recommends that this material be treated and handled as an asbestos containing material. In addition, vermiculite was not only used as attic insulation, it was also used in sprayed-on fireproofing until late 1980s. High-rise buildings built between 1980-1989, using sprayed-on fireproofing made by W.R. Grace (monokote made with vermiculite) also is suspect and again it is suggested that you do not sample this material. This material should be assumed to be asbestos containing.