ASBESTOS AND LEAD COMPLIANCE PROGRAM
APRIL 2015
Compliance Matters
Asbestos Rulemaking Update
by Danial Miller
The Asbestos & Lead Compliance program had opened the asbestos abatement rule to conduct a
long needed update and housecleaning of those rules. The mandatory 60-day comment period for
the proposed changes to the asbestos abatement rules ended on April 25, 2015. Next step in the
process is to reconvene the advisory work group to go over comments received during the comment period and to iron out any issues in the current draft of the amended rule. Once completed,
the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) will begin the final stage of the rulemaking process
where the department provides a formal notice to affected or interested parties of its intent to the
adopt the revised regulation.
For further information go to http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/asbestos/rulerev.html.
Reminder on Clearance Testing for Asbestos Projects
Minnesota Rules, part 4620.3594, subpart 2, Item F requires the use of a one horsepower leaf
blower and an appropriate number of fans (e.g. one fan per 10,000 cubic feet of containment) to
agitate the air during final clearance of a work area. MDH staff have noted during inspections of
asbestos abatement projects where these requirements were not being followed. In some cases there
was not a leaf blower used to agitate all surfaces and box fan (s) were not be utilized, yet clearance
sampling was being conducted inside the containment area. When department inspectors observe
these instances of non-compliance with the clearance protocol, the samples are considered invalid.
Earliest Form of Self Expression Using Lead
Did you know that modern pencils owe it all to an ancient Roman writing instrument called stylus?
Scribes used this thin metal rod to leave a light, but readable mark on papyrus (an early form of
paper). Other early styluses were made of lead, which is what we still call pencil cores, even though
they actually are made of non-toxic graphite.
But pencil history doesn’t stop there…Graphite came into widespread use following the discovery
of a large graphite deposit in Borrowdale, England in 1564. Appreciated for leaving a darker mark
than lead, the mineral proved so soft and brittle that it required a holder. Originally, graphite sticks
were wrapped in string. Later, the graphite was inserted into hollowed
-out wooden sticks and, thus, the wood-cased pencil was born!
PAGE 2
Proper Decontamination is Important
by Mark Bender
We all know from training and experience that prior to exiting an asbestos work area that you need
to decontaminate. This is done to prevent the migration of asbestos fibers to the outside
environment. Proper decontamination is required from the time of disturbance of asbestoscontaining material until clearance air sampling indicates the air inside of the containment is at or
below the indoor air standard. This is not just an MDH requirement since OSHA has similar requirements for workers exiting asbestos work areas based on the various classification of work.
MDH inspectors have observed individuals applying single and double layers of tyvek suits and
entering containment areas. Technically speaking what you wear into containment is not regulated
by MDH, but what you do when you come out is covered by rule. Minnesota Rules part 4620.3569
requires the decontamination unit to be used by all individuals when leaving the containment.
Additionally, Minnesota rules 4620.3575 requires that all equipment be cleaned or properly bagged
prior to it coming out of containment. Any clothing worn into containment is considered equipment.
Please bear in mind that the next time you are in containment with
clothing under Tyvek layering that you may find yourself disposing
of those clothing items due to asbestos contamination.
For further information on the OSHA Standard 1926.1101(i) (1);
https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?
p_id=10862&p_table=standards.
E-Licensing Surcharges are going away...
Beginning July 1, 2015 the 5% surcharge associated with asbestos contractor license applications
and the application for the individual lead disciplines (risk assessor, inspector, worker, supervisor,
and project designer) will expire. The original law requiring the surcharge (Minnesota Statute
16E.22) was enacted on July 1, 2009 to support the Statewide Electronic Licensing System.
The department will be sending notices to the regulated community regarding the change via
GovDelivery. We will also be communicating with asbestos and lead training course providers
and provide updated license applications forms on the asbestos and lead web sites for initial and
refresher courses.
The following fees will change to the indicated amounts on July 1, 1015:
 Asbestos Contractor license; $100
 Lead Worker license; Lead Supervisor; Lead Inspector license; $50
 Lead Risk Assessor license, Lead Project Designer; $100
If you should have questions, please contact us at 651-201-4620 or at:
[email protected].
C O M P LI A N C E M A TTERS
Compliance data on Asbestos and Lead Industry
PAGE 3
by Dan Locher
During the 2015 Annual asbestos and lead conferences, the department shared updates on key
performance indicators (KPIs) with regard to compliance rates. KPIs are measurable expressions for
the achievement of a desired level of results in an area relevant to a program activity. The purpose
of sharing this information is to first, to be transparent with regard to what the program has observed
during inspections and secondly, to convey the message that KPI’s relate to the MDH strategy to
protect, maintain, and promote healthy living environments. The following graphs are illustrations
of the ALC programs compliance rates for both program area based on quarterly reporting.
The first graph represents the number of inspections of licensed asbestos parties conducting
regulated asbestos work with no serious violations, relative to the total number of inspections
conducted during the quarter. Health Outcomes to which this work contributes include Asbestosis,
Mesothelioma and Lung Cancer.
The second graph represents the number of inspections of certified firms and licensed individuals
conducting lead hazard reduction work with no serious violations, relative to the total number of
inspections conducted during the quarter. Health Outcomes to which this work contributes include
lead poisoning in children, pregnant women, and adults.
Mesothelioma Cases in Southern Nevada
“excerpt from NY Times”
For the past few years, the geologists Brenda Buck and Rodney Metcalf have combed the wild terrain of
southern Nevada, analyzing its stony dunes and rocky outcroppings — and to their dismay, tallying
mounting evidence of a landscape filled with asbestos. Asbestos occurs naturally in many parts of the
country, mostly in the West but also along some mountain ranges in the East. But in Nevada, the scientists found, natural erosion and commercial development were sending the fibers into the wind.
Worried about the possible health risks, Dr. Buck and Dr. Metcalf, professors of geoscience at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, reached out to experts in asbestos-related diseases. With data from
Nevada’s cancer registry, an epidemiologist prepared a preliminary report that outlined what she felt
was a troubling pattern of mesothelioma — a cancer often related to asbestos exposure — among residents of the affected areas.
Upon learning of the report, the Nevada Department of Health forced the epidemiologist, Francine
Baumann of the University of Hawaii, to withdraw a presentation of the findings at a scientific
conference and revoked her access to the state cancer registry. Dr. Metcalf and Dr. Buck offered to meet
with state officials but say they were rebuffed.
In the years since, “no one from the health department has ever contacted us to ask for any information
about the minerals,” Dr. Metcalf said.
So began one of the country’s more unsettling public health controversies. Over the past several years,
the researchers say, they have been vilified for making legitimate scientific inquiries that may have
public health consequences. Officials at the state health department counter that the researchers are
simply wrong about the asbestos hazard and are promulgating an alarmist hypothesis.
The department’s own analysis has turned up no particular asbestos risks to residents, the officials say,
pointing out that the incidence of mesothelioma in the state is well within the national average.
“Asbestos was there for hundreds, if not thousands, of years, and that has not translated into negative
health effects,” said Dr. Ihsan Azzam, the state epidemiologist. Naturally occurring asbestos deposits are
not uncommon, and in past decades, particularly rich veins were mined for commercial use. It proved to
be a dangerous occupation: Asbestos fibers travel easily through the air and are easily inhaled, scientists
later found, embedding themselves in the lungs.
For more information on this news article, please go to the New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/10/science/a-controversy-in-the-wind.html?ref=topics&_r=0
Minnesota Department of Health
Orville Freeman Building
625 Robert Street North
St. Paul, MN 55155
To continue to receive, to start or stop receiving
emails relating to asbestos and lead issues and the
“Compliance Matters” newsletter, please go to:
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/asbestos/ or
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/lead
“Protecting, maintaining and improving the
health of all Minnesotans”
Please contact Michelle Kowalski at:
[email protected] or 651-201-4521
if you have any further questions. Thanks.