Document 5LbR96X2QqxdL5MkrQm177Bkz

m RISK MANAGEMENT t this writing, roofing contractors are still waiting with abated breath for the new Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) rules on asbestos to be forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The rules will reportedly define hazardous occupational exposure levels of asbestos for the construction industry. A recent Construction Labor Report newsletter noted that last February, OSHA had predicted that the rules would be sent to OMB "in four to six weeks." Carl Good, NRCA's director of membership develop ment, said, "Last September, OSHA told us we would see the rules in the next couple of months." The agency will only say that it is concerned about getting "ah the details ironed out" before releasing the document to the OMB. The current permissible exposure level (PEL) is 2 airborne fibers longer than 5 micrometers per cubic centimeter of air as an eight-hour, time-weighted average. "The new PEL may be as low as O.i fiber per cubic centimeter;" offers Good. The key concern in dealingwith asbestos is friability. Exposure to friable asbestos, meaning asbestos in a brittle, crumbled state, has been linked to various types of cancer. Asbestos in a non-friable state, such as encapsulated asbestos in roofing felts or shingles, presents little health hazard. When a roof is torn off however, asbestos ' fibers may become friable and present a problem. "Ofcourse, whenever asbestos is involved, you should be taking some kind of action," Good says, "but this may be more clearly specified in the new rules." Another drawback with the original OSHA rules is that they were written pri marily for wall and ceiling work, which involves installing insulation that contains friable asbestos. "What's on the books right now is not very specific for roofing," admits John Marbtonick, an OSHA repre sentative. Good agrees this is cause for frustration on the part of the roofing con tractor, who will be held responsible for assessing the level ofasbestos on the jobsite and doing something about it. "The build ing owner's responsibility is not necessar ily recognized by OSHA," he says. "There's a lot of inconsistency, like what levels of asbestos exposure are truly safe, how you can best dispose of it, and how you can best protect yourself from it. We hope the new rules will address some of us that lie on the fringe ofthe standard's initial intent," said Good. Unfortunately, the confusion will not end with the promulgation of the updated federal documents. Each state OSHA agency appears to have a different idea about how to deal with the material. "We've had state OSHA and Environ mental Protection Agency people tell us that asbestos encapsulated in roofing felts and shingles requires no special care. Oth ers tell us it's always hazardous, "Good says disgustedly. "We've heard reports of some state inspectors advising our members to take the asbestos they encounter during tear-offs to special hazardous waste sites. Others have told them to just bag it and dump it." The Construction Advisory Board, which is composed ofrepresentative mem bers of the subcontractor organizations, is serving as advisor to OSHA in drafting the guidelines. Why is OSHA concerned about updating exposure rules now? Good says it has noth ing to do with the recent EPA ban on asbes tos. (They condemned the material, calling it "apotent carcinogen.") "OSHA has been working on this for a year," Good reports. "The agency saw the amount of litigation that was taking place, with asbestos-related lawsuits numbering around 30,000, and considered the widely quoted estimate that 8,000 people are dying ofasbestos-related diseases annually. OSHA decided it was time to take another look at its guidelines for handling it. ' ' Asbestos issue nears resolution Construction Products Manufacturers Council has announced it is joining the newly formed American Tort ReformAssociation (ATRA). ATRA is trying to combine the efforts of business, consumers, public interest groups and government agencies to promote the reform of a legal system clogged with frivolous lawsuits. Its ultimate aim is to resolve the liability insurance crisis. And they're not alone. An administration task force has presented Presi dent Reagan with a set of recommendations to deal with the insurance problem. The 80-page report deals almost exclusively with tort reform. The suggestions include placing a 8100,000 ceiling on non-economic jury awards for pain and suffering, basing findings in court cases on credible sci entific and medical evidence, and limiting attorneys' contingency fees. In case you missed it, May 25 was the OSHA deadline for hazardous com munication rules. By then, chemical manufacturers and importers were to have had a complete communication and training program in place for advising employees ofthe hazards involved with toxic chemicals and mate rials. Communication, legislation and OSHA efforts indicate that a broader standard covering the entire workforce is forthcoming MAY 1986 39 BIRD 012239