News
- Have you considered PCBs?
- Wanna Know What a 'WIMP' Is?
- LEED and Construction Indoor Air Quality Management
- Handle Your Asbestos Properly or Risk Jail Time!
- New EPA Lead Paint Rule Could Affect You!
- Design Build Work? Don't Forget About Environmental Concerns
- New Environmental Concern: PCBs In Caulk
- EPA to Reconsider Portions of Lead Monitoring Requirments
- Water Intrusion Management Program
- Washington DC's New Lead Law
Have you considered PCBs?
Posted: April 11, 2011
High levels of PCBs are found in building caulking material. The PCBs can migrate from the caulking material to the air, dust and soil and create significant exposure concerns to building occupants. Exposure to PCBs can affect the immune system, reproductive system, nervous system and endocrine system. In human beings, PCBs are cancer-causing.
Caulk that is peeling, brittle, cracking or deteriorating can release PCBs to the surrounding environment and expose building occupants. Caulk that is disturbed as a part of a building renovation or demolition can expose building occupants and construction workers.
Buildings built or renovated between 1950 and 1978 should be tested for the presence of PCBs in building caulk. In addition to PCBs in caulk, PCBs can be found in paints (along with lead), transformers, ballasts and floor finishes.
For more information on PCBs, click here:
http://www.epa.gov/wastes/hazard/tsd/pcbs/pubs/caulk/caulkexposure.pdf
KEM provides testing for PCBs in buildings and determines if there are any exposure concerns that exist.
Wanna Know What a 'WIMP' Is?
Posted: April 11, 2011
It’s not what you’re thinking!
A WIMP is a Water Intrusion Management Program and it is just another of the “Innovative Environmental Solutions” provided by KEM. A WIMP is a pro-active program for contractors, building managers, property managers and building owners designed to :
- Prevent water intrusion into buildings (because water intrusion can lead to mold growth)
- Clean up water intrusion if it occurs
- Aggressively treat wet building materials before mold growth occurs
- Properly handle mold remediation if efforts to prevent mold growth have failed.
KEM has designed WIMP programs for many of the region’s largest general contractors, hotel owners and developers, and multi-family building owners and developers.We have a proven track record of providing this “innovative solution” which includes saving hundreds of thousands of dollars in mold remediation costs by aggressively managing and treating water intrusion.
Our programs involve a written manual, training and education, and third party inspections and testing. Call us today to learn how a WIMP can help you!!
LEED and Construction Indoor Air Quality Management
Posted: April 11, 2011
If you are considering LEED certification on your new construction or renovation project, don’t forget that 2 points can be earned by developing and executing a Construction Indoor Air Quality Management Plan. These are Credits 3.1 and 3.2.
These plans are relatively simple to develop and execute, and the LEED requirements for the plan are likely part of normal construction best practices that are already in place. This means that poin ts for these credits should never be missed on a new construction or renovation project.
Through the LEED® green building certification program, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is transforming the built environment. The green building movement offers an unprecedented opportunity to respond to the most important challenges of our time, including global climate change, dependence on non-sustainable and expensive sources of energy, and threats to human health.
KEM can assist with the development and implementation of the Construction Indoor Air Quality Management Plan (LEED Credit 3.1) and can provide the IAQ testing necessary to achieve credit for LEED Credit 3.2. Call on us to learn how KEM can work with you to assure LEED credits for Construction Indoor Air Quality Management that integrates seamlessly with existing operations for the project.
Handle Your Asbestos Properly or Risk Jail Time!
Posted: April 11, 2011
Consider this Upstate New York Contractor who was convicted in an asbestos case:
The Wall Street Journal reported on November 15, 2010 that Keith Gordon-Smith and Gordon-Smith Contracting were convicted of eight counts of asbestos-removal violations. Workers were exposed to the toxic air pollutant when, as prosecutors described, “asbestos fell like snow on workers who wore no protective suits.” Gordon-Smith faces up to five years in prison and fines up to $250,000 on each count and his company could be fined up to $500,000 on each count.
http://online.wsj.com/article/APe914afcb24b7429db4695e87181bf8d8.html
If you have a renovation or demolition project and are uncertain of the possibility of asbestos being disturbed, you should have an asbestos survey done to ensure the safety of all workers on the project. Renovations and demolitions don’t always require large scale asbestos abatement activities but you need to know where asbestos is located and how it might be impacted. Don’t wait until “asbestos falls like snow!” Protect workers, protect your pocketbook, and stay out of jail. Call KEM for an asbestos survey for any building renovation or demolition. Even newer buildings might contain asbestos floor tiles, gaskets, etc.
KEM has earned a reputation as one of the leading consultants in asbestos inspections, assessment abatement design and management. J. Brent Kynoch has been a leader in the asbestos abatement industry since 1984.
New EPA Lead Paint Rule Could Affect You!
Posted: April 11, 2011
On April 22, 2010, a long-awaited “Renovation, Repair and Painting” Rule from EPA went into effect regarding lead-based paint. The rule is designed to protect children under six from inadvertent exposure to lead-based paint and dust generated from disturbance of lead-based paint. In short, the rule requires that ANY contractor performing work in pre-1978 housing or child-occupied facilities that might disturb a painted surface must use lead-safe work practices, must have trained and certified workers and must apply for a firm license from the EPA. Housing includes single family homes, apartments and condominiums. Child-occupied facilities include day care centers and kindergartens.
The new rule presumes that any paint in pre-1978 housing or child-occupied facilities is lead-based paint, unless testing proves otherwise. If renovation, repair or painting will disturb a painted surface, then all of the requirements of the rule become effective.
- Contractor must be licensed by EPA
- Contractor must employ trained and certified workers
- Contractor must hand owner and occupants an EPA brochure called “Renovate Right” and must obtain a signed acknowledgement from owners and occupants
- Contractor must use lead-safe work practices including containment, dust minimization and specific clean-up practices
- Contractor must perform a cleaning verification procedure when the work is complete.
KEM is able to assist with the necessary training and testing required by the RRP rule. We are also able to answer any questions you might have about the RRP rule. The fines from EPA are $32,500 per violation, so be sure you are in compliance!
For a one-page summary of the rule, click here.
For a copy of the “Renovate Right” brochure, click here.
For a copy of the RRP law, click here.
Design Build Work? Don't Forget About Environmental Concerns
Posted: April 11, 2011
Today, with the resurgence of design build work to deliver a comprehensive set of services, it is important that the integrated team doesn’t overlook environmental issues. Since the design build team takes full accountability for concept to completion of the project, the requirements for addressing environmental concerns that might normally fall to the owner now fall squarely on the design build team. If the design build project involves the demolition or renovation of a building, federal law requires that all asbestos and lead paint that might be disturbed is first identified and quantified.
A partial list of environmental concerns associated with a renovation of demolition project includes:
· Asbestos
· Lead-based paint
· PCB-containing light ballasts
· Mercury-containing fluorescent bulbs
· PCB-containing caulks
· Underground tanks
Every design build renovation/demolition project should include a budget item for an inspection of the building for environmental concerns that will be encountered during the course of construction. If environmental concerns are discovered, then the remediation can be addressed during the planning and design phase. This will prevent the stoppage of the construction project once it is underway, and will prevent unnecessary surprises during the project. Federal law requires such an inspection and local laws may have even more stringent requirements.
Protect your client. Protect your workers. Provide for an environmental inspection early in the design build process for any renovation or demolition project.
KEM is an experienced design build team member and can work with you to integrate any and all environmental requirements into your project. Our engineers and industrial hygienists will assure compliance with all applicable laws and will protect the health and safety of the construction team.
New Environmental Concern: PCBs In Caulk
Posted: April 11, 2011
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a press release on September 25, 2009 stating that buildings built or renovated between 1950 and 1978 may have PCBs at high levels in caulk. Congress banned the manufacture and most uses of PCBs in 1976 and they were phased out in 1978. However, there are many buildings across the country constructed or renovated during the period of 1950 - 1978 that have PCBs at high levels in the caulk around windows and door frames, between masonry columns and in other masonry building materials. Exposure to these PCBs may occur as a result of direct contact with the caulk or the release of PCB’s from the caulk into the air, dust, surrounding surfaces and soil.
Exposure to PCBs is a serious health concern, so disturbance of caulk in buildings built or renovated between 1950 - 1978 must be handled carefully to avoid exposure to persons performing work and secondarily to other occupants or bystanders. EPA recommends that owners implement steps to minimize exposure to potentially contaminated caulk.
The EPA suggests that building owners and facility managers should test caulk to determine if it is PCB-containing. If a building has PCBs in caulk, then air testing inside the building should proceed to determine if PCB levels in the air exceed EPA’s suggested public health levels.
For buildings that were constructed or renovated between1950 and 1978 that are planning renovations and/or repairs today (replacing windows, doors, roofs, ventilation, etc.), EPA recommends that PCB-containing caulk be carefully and properly removed. It is critically important to ensure that PCBs are not released into the air, soil or surrounding environment during replacement or repair of caulk. Simple, commonsense work practices can prevent the release of PCBs during renovation and repair operations.
Kynoch Environmental Management can work with you to develop a practical approach to test caulk for PCBs, to test air for PCB exposure and to develop programs that will reduce exposure to PCBs, including the removal of contaminated caulk.
More information on PCBs in caulk: http://www.epa.gov/pcbsincaulk
EPA to Reconsider Portions of Lead Monitoring Requirments
Posted: April 11, 2011
EPA will reconsider certain portions of its ambient air quality monitoring requirements for lead. Specifically, the agency will review requirements be placed near sources that emit 1 or more tons of lead each year, along with requirements that monitors be operated in urban areas of 500,000 or more.
The Missouri Coalition for the Environment Foundation, the National Resources Defense Council, the Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning, and Physicians for Social Responsibility petition EPA to review their requirements earlier this year. Though EPA has issued a fact sheet declaring the 2009 revised standard ‘10 times tighter’ than previous standards, they will review whether additional monitoring near industrial sources is warranted, as well as the requirements for urban areas.
Water Intrusion Management Program
Posted: June 3, 2009
Do you have a WIMP? Maybe you should!!
A WIMP is a Water Intrusion Management Program.
Water Intrusion Management Programs (WIMPs) are intended for new construction projects, or buildings under renovation, however they can be adapted to occupied buildings. The purpose of a WIMP is to control water incursion and intrusion events to avert mold concerns.
A WIMP includes several goals. The most important of these is the development of a written, organized program to create respect for the effects of moisture in a structure. The program’s overall goal is to minimize, if not prevent, water intrusion to organic materials. The program also establishes parameters for clean up in the event of water intrusion, to respond to such an event BEFORE mold is a problem.
The Basic steps of a WIMP are very logical and progressive, and include:
- Keeping building and porous organic materials dry
- If that fails, cleaning up and drying water intrusion quickly and thoroughly
- If that fails, cutting out any water damaged materials promptly; -If that fails, proper and safe mold remediation.
Why is a WIMP effective? It is a PROACTIVE program, rather than a reactive one. If moisture intrusion problems cannot be prevented, they must be identified and acted upon quickly in order to prevent mold growth. A WIMP puts all of the tools and resources in place BEFORE an event occurs. This assures the best possible outcome in cleaning up a water intrusion event. In the event mold does develop, remediation action will be done safely, completely and properly to guard against exposures and resulting liability.
For more information on developing a WIMP (Water Intrusion Management Program) for your organization, or before starting any project, it is important to consult a trusted, experienced firm for advice. Kynoch Environmental Management (KEM) is committed to providing quality professional consulting services that offer innovative, sound and consistent solutions for today’s environmental concerns. KEM has extensive experience in WIMPs, and can provide you with expert guidance, and innovative, quality solutions.
Washington DC's New Lead Law
Posted: June 3, 2009
The District of Columbia has a new lead law, effective beginning April, 2009. This law makes the presence of lead-based paint hazards illegal in all residential dwelling units, in common areas in multifamily properties, and in child-occupied facilities such as daycares, built before March 1, 1978.
See the full article: