Planning Is Key to Avoiding Expensive Mistakes

Commercial buildings have a defined life-cycle. At some point, most existing structures will be demolished for a new use, renovated as a part of an expansion or change, or occasionally damaged or destroyed by disaster (fire, earthquake, hurricane, tornado, flood, etc.).

As construction technology has advanced, building materials have changed and become more specialized. Engineered materials and steel have replaced wood, fluorescent lamps have replaced the light bulb, and a vast number of products – both man-made and naturally-occurring – have found uses in buildings to meet specific design needs. Many of these products were created to solve problems or satisfy needs; but often little thought was given to the impacts and problems that these “answers” may themselves create.

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A Look at the Basics

Natural resource damages (NRD) may occur as a result of releases of hazardous substances or oil. By statute, any natural resources held in the public trust, which have been “injured”, must be restored and the public compensated for their loss.

Statutory Authority

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) is designed to address any release, or threatened release, of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants that could endanger human health and/or the environment. The statute also provides authority for assessment and restoration of natural resources that have been injured by a hazardous substance release or response.

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Still A Potential Issue?

Although The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have regulated various aspects of asbestos for many years, some companies are still unaware or unwilling to comply with the regulations. As a result, employers are still being cited and fined for failure to adhere to these rules. On May 24, 2011, OSHA issued penalties of $1,247,400 to an Illinois company that was using unprotected and untrained workers to conduct asbestos removal. In February 2011, the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries fined a company $400,000 for willful and serious worker safety violations involving the removal of asbestos from an old high school and a government building. In March of 2011, the EPA settled an enforcement action against the General Services Administration (GSA) and four of its contractors for violating the federal Clean Air Act requirements by failing to properly remove, handle and dispose of asbestos during a supposedly “green” renovation project of a post office and a court house building in Boston, Massachusetts in 2007. The EPA fined the GSA and the four contractors $100,000 for this violation.

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The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) was passed in 1986 in response to the 1984 leak of methyl isocyanate gas at the Union Carbide India Limited pesticide plant in Bhopal, India that killed thousands of people. This horrible accident raised concerns in the United States about the chance of a similar accident happening to an unsuspecting community. The possibility of a “Bhopal”-scale accident is remote, but the risks of chemical releases in communities are real. According to the United States Public Interest Research Group and the  National Environmental Law Center, a chemical accident is reported in the United States an average of 21 times a day and one in twenty of these mishaps resulted in immediate injuries, evacuations or deaths.

EPCRA was enacted to deal with this very real concern. In keeping with the philosophy that “forewarned is forearmed,” EPCRA is designed to inform communities about chemicals and chemical hazards present and transported in the community, and to involve the community in developing emergency planning and response to a potential leak of those chemicals.

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Prevention of Legionellosis Associated with Building Water Systems

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) has developed a draft standard addressing the issue of Legionellosis, a disease caused by infection with the bacterium Legionella pneumophila. The bacterium received this name from the infamous incident that occurred at the 1976 American Legion conference in Philadelphia, where many attendees suffered from an outbreak of a type of pneumonia – resulting in 34 deaths. Legionella pneumophila is spread by the release of small droplets of contaminated water into the air from equipment such as air conditioning cooling towers, showers, misters, and humidifiers. In the Philadelphia Legionnaires’ disease outbreak, the hotel’s cooling tower was identified as the likely source of the disease, although domestic water sources were not evaluated.

Legionnaire’s disease is considered to be fairly common and serious in the United States. It is frequently characterized as an “opportunistic” disease that most frequently attacks individuals with an underlying illness or weakened immune system. The most susceptible include persons who are elderly, smokers, or immuno-suppressed.  Although approximately 1,000 cases are reported annually to the Center for Disease Control, it is estimated that over 25,000 cases occur each year and cause more than 4,000 deaths.

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Assessing the Need

While visiting a manufacturing client, you discover a noisy and dusty environment.  The employees are wearing dust masks and ear plugs, so you assume the facility is in compliance with Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) regulations. Right?

OSHA’s Stand

Assigning personal protective equipment (PPE) based on perceived hazards is not  an acceptable practice according to OSHA.  Their Standard 29 CFR 1910.132 requires employers to assess their workplace to determine if hazards are present, or are likely to be present, which necessitate the use of PPE.  Hazards may include impact, penetration, crushing, chemicals, heat, and harmful dust.  Employers are required to use feasible engineering and work practice controls to eliminate and reduce hazards before using PPE to protect their employees.  Hazard sources can include machinery, high temperatures processes, chemical exposures, grinding or other harmful dust emitting sources, welding, falling objects, sharp objects or tools, and rolling or pinching objects. Typical examples of engineering and work practice controls include ventilation, substitution of the hazardous material, isolation of the work process, rotation of workers, wet methods, and housekeeping.  If engineering and work practice controls are not feasible for the work area, then PPE must be used. But caution must be exercised in making this decision, since the use of PPE is typically the last control method that OSHA wants to see utilized. Continue Reading →