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CONTROL TECHNOLOGY
Control of Incidental Asbestos Exposure at Hazardous Waste Sites
Richard N. Koustas
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Edison, New Jersey
This paper discusses asbestos regulations that are not part of Superfund and examines how these regulations can help to identify, evaluate and manage the risk associated with Asbestos Containing Material (ACM) at hazardous waste cleanup sites. Unless one knows where to look for ACM at hazardous waste sites, it may go undetected even after all the traditional sampling is done. Although EPA is currently developing a policy for evaluating risk from asbestos exposure at certain Superfund sites, information from existing regulations can be used to manage hazards associated with asbestos exposure at hazardous waste sites. This paper also identifies where to find governmental agency personnel and consultants who may be retained for site-specific help.
Asbestos may be encountered in sev eral different ways at hazardous waste sites that are slated for Superfund or RCRA mandated cleanups. A review of the Record ofDecision System (RODS) database reveals that there has been thirty-six Record of Decisions (RODs) signed before March 1991 that address asbestos contamination (See Table I). At seventeen sites, asbestos has been landfilled. Seven sites had asbestos in debris piles and thirteen sites had as bestos in equipment insulation or building materials. Asbestos, a min eral, may be found in the natural geology ofthe site, or the site may have been an asbestos mine, such as the Atlas and Coalinga Mines in Califor nia. The site itself may he a former landfill where manufacturing or demo lition debris was buried, such as the Asbestos Dump in Millington, New Jersey. This paper does not address landfills, former mining sites, or other sites where asbestos is the primary contaminant of concern.
Asbestos is often present elsewhere on the site and it may not he detected
Copyright 1901--Air & Waste Majiugoment Association
in the soil, water, or even air samples. Storage tanks, process equipment (in cluding piping), buildings, and insula tion are all clues that a variety of
asbestos-containing materials may be present. The focus of this paper will he on Asbestos Containing Material
(ACM) that may have been used as insulation on pipes, boilers, storage
tanks, process equipment, or found in construction materials. To fully char acterize the site and properly evaluate the potential exposure risks, all asbes tos-containing material must be identi fied and properly managed.
ACM is regulated differently than other types of material that may be encountered at hazardous waste sites. Clean-up personnel may not be trained to identify and subsequently manage
suspect materiaL Asbestos is not a RCRA characteristic hazardous waste, however, it is on the CERCLA list of hazardous substances. Costs of asbes tos abatement ifthe asbestos was used
in building materials or used as insula tion may not be reimbursable if it is performed under Superfund. EPA's Office of Emergency and Remedial Re sponse (OERR) in Washington, DC is
developing policy on how to assess the
health risk from asbestos at Super-
fund sites, such as an abandoned asbes
tos mine. This policy does not appear., t.1
to address the fact that asbestos is
often an incidental, or secondary type
of pollutant. EPA does however regu
late asbestos under the Clean Air Act
(CAA) and the Toxic Substance Con----
trol Act (TSCA). In the absence of
official Superfund guidance, some of
the requirements in these regulations
could be a beneficial resource to a
Regional Project Manager (RPM), On-
Scene Coordinator (OSC), or emer
gency response personnel. In addition,
third-party consultants, who may be
accredited by EPA, may be retained to -..... a: :
identify suspect material and subse- .
quently identify asbestos-containing
material. This consultant can assess
the site condition, and develop a man
agement plan with specific recommen
dations on hoyr to reduce the existing
and potential health risk.
V.:'..,..L
Asbestos Primer1 1
Asbestos is a name given to a group ofnaturally occurring minerals consist ing of hydrated silicates, crystalline in nature, forming parallel bundles of small fibers that can be broken down linearly into Smaller fibers.2 These minerals consist of two major types: Serpentine arid Amphibole.3 Chrysotile, a fibrous asbestiform Serpentine, is rolled micaceous structures which form hollow fibers. Ninety-three per cent of all asbestos used in products is chrysotile. Amphiboles are chain sili cates. Their fihers are much more splin tery and more rigid than the Chrysotile fibers. Included in this group (in order of decreasing Occurrences in products) are: Amosite,! Crocidolite, Tremolite, Anthophyllite and Actinolite.
Although asbestos is being phased out of most consumer products,J it is
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still used commercially in specialty paper products, such as gasket mate rial; certain building materials, such
as roofing felts and shingles; and fric tion products, such as elevator brake shoe lining and automobile clutch disks. In the United States, the Ver mont Asbestos Group mines and pro duces Chrysotile. Other major mining
sources of asbestos include Canada, South Africa, China, Australia and the U.S.S.R. Rock containing the asbestos
mineral is mined with explosives. The blasted rock and rubble go through a series of crushers and screeners. The asbestos material is separated from the rock for further processing, and the waste rock, or tailings, are dis posed ofin on site waste piles.
Mined asbestos was usually further processed and mixed with other mate rial, such as cement or paper, or was used as a binder or reinforcer. For example, asbestos was often mixed with dry cement and water. This "mud" mixture was trowelled on to pipe fit tings, such as elbows and valves, and trowelled onto equipment, such as res identialboilers. Canvas wrapped corru gated cardboard impregnated with asbestos, commonly called air-cell insu
lation, was often used to insulate straight pipe runs. All mixtures of asbestos with another'material, such
as concrete or paper, are examples of ACM. IfACM was used as a material of
construction it also may be known as Asbestos Containing Building Mate rial (ACBM). Before major diseases were linked to asbestos exposure, as bestos was used extensively. Its unique characteristics, combined with its somewhat low installation costs, made
it a "miracle mineral" or "miracle fiber." Asbestos fibers were easily bro ken down and processed into smaller fibers. These fibers were inexpensive and easy to mix with other materials. As thermal insulation, it dissipated' heat slowly. It was commonly used in standard commercial boiler and pipe insulation. Asbestos could withstand somewhat high temperatures and was often used for fireproofing. Most con tract specifications for steel-framed
buildings built during the 1950's and 1960's required sprayed asbestos on structural steel and decking under ceil ings for fireproofing. Cloth containing asbestos was used to insulate electrical wire and was even used between the copper skin and the iron bars in the
Table I. List of site3 with BOD'a addressing asbestos (2/11/91).
Site name
EPA region
Location
Debris Equipment Landfill pile insulation
Mountain View/Globe
9 Globe, AZ
Atlas Asbestos Mine
9 Coalinga, CA
Coalinga Asbestos Mine
9 Coalinga, CA
Purity Oil Sales
9 Malaga, CA
Rocky Mountain Arsenal
8 Commerce City, CO
Broderick Wood Products
Co 8 Denver, CO
Johns-Manville
0 Waukegan, IL
LaSalle Electrical Utility
5 LaSalle, IL
Koppera Co/Galesburg
5 Galesburg, IL
Industri-plex
1 Woburn, MA
Iron Horse Park
1 Billerica, MA
Anaconda Co. Smelter
8 Anaconda, MT
Cape Fear Wood Preserv-
mg 4 Fayetteville, NC
Syncon Resins
2 Kearny, NJ
Combe Fill South
2 Chester Twp, NJ
Combe Fill North
2 Mount Olive, NJ
Gems Landfill
2 Gloucester Twp, NJ
Diamond Alkali Co.
2 Newark, NJ
Nascolite Corporation
2 Millville, NJ
Asbestos Dump-Milling-
ton 2 Millington, NJ
Roebling Steel Co.
2 Roebling, NJ
New Lyme Landfill
2 New Lyme, NY
York Oil Company Site
2 Moira, NY
Chem-Dyne
5 Hamilton, OH
Hardage Criner
6 Criner, OK
Martin Marietta Corp
10 The Dalles, OR
Publicker/Cuyahoga
Wrecking
3 Philadelphia, PA
Ambler Asbestos Piles
3 Ambler, PA
Landfill and Resource
Recovery
1 North Smithfield, RI
Geneva Industries
6 Houston, TX
Koppers Co.
6 Texarkana, TX
Midstate Disposal Landfill 5 Cleveland Twp., WI
West Virginia Ordanance
3 Pt. Pleasent, WV
y y
y y y y
y y y
y y
y y
y y y
y y
y y y
y y y
y y y
y y y y y
y
y
original (before the early 1980's reno vation) Statue of Liberty. Because as bestos1 is also relatively chemically in ert, Transits, a cementitious asbestos containing building material, was ideal for laboratory bench tops, panels be tween steam radiators and exterior walls, .and water supply pipes. Other common applications of asbestos in clude soundproofing and brake-lin ings.
However, the "miracle fiber" be came the "killer fiber." As early as the turn of the century, young women working in textile mills in England, who regularly handled asbestos, con tracted asbestosis and died. Insulators and shipyard workers who regularly handled asbestos (probably the best known case history studies) had in creased mortality rates.
Health Hazards Associated with Asbestos
Inhalation is the primary, and possi bly the only, exposure route of con cern. One way to figure out the likeli hood of asbestos fibers becoming airborne is to determine the friability of the material. Suspected material is considered friable if it can be pulver ized or crumbled under hand pressure alone.5 This definition of friability may vary significantly under various state and regional regulations. Generally, the more friable the ACM, the greater the chance of asbestos becoming air borne, and consequently inhaled. Therefore, friable material poses the greatest health risks. Normally nonfriable material may become friable un der certain conditions; from water damage or excess moisture, or under impact, such as when hit with a wreck ing ball, Most, if not all, asbestos regu lations are written to minimize human exposure to airborne asbestos.
The three main diseases associated with asbestos exposure (in order of increasing individual mortality are): asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothe lioma. The latency period of all asbes tos related diseases is typically 20 to 30 years from exposure. Asbestosis is the most common lung disease associated with asbestos exposure. This disease causes scarring of the lung tissue, also known as pulmonary fibrosis. Asbes tos fibers lodge into the surface of the alveoli, the area of the lung where oxygen-carbon dioxide exchange oc curs. This lung tissue scars and the effective surface area of the alveoli decreases, thereby reducing the lung's ability tp oxygenate blood. Asbestosis was first found in textile workers in England: at the turn of the century. It is also kpown as the disease that many asbestos insulators8 and shipyards workers1 contracted from occupational exposure.
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CONTROL TECHNOLOGY
health and welfare from exposure to airborne asbestos. This regulation ap
plies-to, among-other things, renova
The second disease associated with
asbestos exposure is lung cancer. As bestos exposure alone can cause lung cancer, or the lung cancer can be caused
by asbestos exposure combined with some other exposure, such as cigarette smoking. Asbestos exposure combined
with smoking has a synergistic effect on the chances to contract lung can cer.8
tion and demolitions, and consists of notification, work practice and dis posal requirements. These regulations, which are found in 40 Code of Federal Regulations Fart 60 (40 CFR 60), should be cited as an Applicable or Relevant and Appropriate Require ment CARAR) when asbestos-contain ing material will be removed from a facility at a Superfund site.
Mesothelioma, by far the most seri ous disease associated with asbestos
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
exposure, is cancer of the pleural lin ing of the lung and/or the lining of the abdominal cavity. Although it has not been proven, route of entry is believed to be from inhalation only. Fibers can be broken down to submicron fibrils
and migrate through various types of tissue. Mesothelioma may develop many years after small exposures of
relatively short duration. Mesothe
lioma causes the cancerous area to swell and become hard. Death usually occurs within months of positive diag nosis. This cancer is generally believed to be exclusively related to asbestos exposure.
The TSCA regulations address asbes tos in schools and certain public em ployee workplace exposure. The TSCA regulations do not apply to hazardous waste sites, yet, information in the regulations and associated background documents could be used to assess the potential health hazard associatedwith
ACM at dean-up sites. To understand these regulations better, a discussion oftheir applicability and requirements is provided.
The Asbestos Hazard and Emer gency Response Act (AHERA) regula tions apply to most primary and sec ondary school districts. According to
these regulations, an EPA-aceredited
Existing Asbestos Regulations and
inspector must determine location and
Superfund Guidance
P.4 assess the condition of suspect ACM and ACBM in. the school. An EPAaccredited inspector (and manage ment planner) is someone who has received formal training and must at tend annual refresher courses. The inspector must take hulk samples for positive identification, or must assume suspect material to be asbestos. Once the suspect material is identified as containing asbestos, the inspector must assess its condition, friability, and po tential for damage. Based on this as sessment, a management plan is devel oped and becomes a pseudo-regulation for the individual school to follow. For each ACM or ACBM identified the management `plan must recommend specific action; (a) remove it, (b) leave it alone (repair and periodically moni tor), (c) encapsulate or (d) enclose the material.
EPA Superfund (OEHR) Guidance
EPA policy for addressing asbestos issues at Superftmd sites is under de velopment bv OERR. This policy orieinated from the problem of estimating the health risk from large area asbes tos sources (such as tailing piles of a former asbestos mine) on the National Priority List (NPL). This guidance will help RPMs with asbestos sites in the
Though asbestos is not a characteris tic hazardous waste or material, it is a known carcinogen, and as such, the cost of removal and ultimate disposal isjustified under CERCLA. As a carcin ogen, it is regulated outside of the hazardous waste regulations and is sometimes misunderstood by hazard ous waste cleanup personnel. The pri mary focus of the various asbestos regulations is to prevent asbestos from becoming airborne and subsequently inhaled. EPA considers it a toxic air pollutant under the Clean Air Act (CAA) and as a toxic substance tinder the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). These regulations are in tended to control asbestos exposure to the general populace (including school children and public employees). The Occupational Safety and Health Ad ministration (OSHA) of the Depart ment of Labor regulates workplace exposure. State and local regulation are typically combinations of the two and usually include certification for workers, handlers, supervisors and/or sampling personnel.
Clean Air Act
The oldest asbestos EPA regulation, the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPs) in Section 112 of the Clean Air Act, was promulgated to protect public
Table II. Asbestos NPL sites-removals.
Site name
EPA region
Artie Surplus South Bay Asbestos Area Capperopolis Asbestos
Purity OH Soles Edmond's Salvage Yard Swainsboro Print Works
LaSalle Electrical Utilities Iron Horse Park Weldon Spring Quarry/
Pint/Pits (DOE) Cape Fear Wood Preserv-
mg Shady Lone Asbestos Area
Lowell Road Asbestos Area
Niquette Drive Asbestos
Area 1 Niquette Drive Asbestos
Area 2
Ridge Avenue Asbestos Russell Avenue Asbestos
Area Nascolite Corporation Roebling Steel Co. NL Industries, Inc. Asbestos Farmingdale Amber Asbestos Piles Maltovsky Drum Co. American Street Tannery Publicker/Cuyahoga
Wrecking Plant Geneva Industries
French Limited Site Beck Street Salvage West Virginia Ordanance
10 9 9 9 4 4 5 1
7
4 1
1
1
1 1
1 2 2 2 o 3 3 S
3 6 6 8 3
Location
AK Alvisa, CA CA Malaga, CA FL GA LaSalle, IL Billerica, MA
MO
Fayetteville, NC NH
NH .
NH
NH NH'
NH MiHyHle, NJ Roebling, NJ Pedricktown, NJ Farmingdale, NY Ambler, PA PA PA !
Philadelphia, PA Houston, TX Crosby, TX UT Pt. Pleasant, WV
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remedy selection. The strategy behind, the policy is delineated in New Tools for Investigating and Evaluating As bestos; The Environmental Asbestos Assessment Manual.9 The two vol umes of the guidance that have been published10 describe the Transmission Election Microscopy (TEH) method of air sampling and analysis to determine ambient air asbestos concentrations. A good argument for TEM is presented, but the document fails to specify what the results actually mean and how they are to be interpreted. Since TEM can find asbestos in virtually any ambi ent air sample, a "safe level" is diffi cult to establish. Under the AHERA regulations, TEM is specified for final air clearance after certain response actions.
Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA)
The OSHA regulations are used pri marily to determine the level of protec tion required for workers who are ex posed and provide specific guidance for work performance. The OSHA regula tions should be complied with during asbestos removals at hazardous waste cleanup sites. Since these limits are for determining the level of personnel pro tection, they should not be used in the determination of health risks associ ated with the existence of ACM at sites.
These standards, which can be found in 29 CFR 1910 and 1926, apply to occupational exposure based on the Phase Contrast Microscopy (PCM) method of concentration measure ment. This method counts fibers in an air sample with a specified length and aspect ratio, whether or not the fiber is asbestos. Additionally, these regula tions specify training and medical mon itoring requirements for certain work ers exposed to asbestos.
Where Asbestos or Suspected ACM Might be Found at Superfund Sites
Since proper asbestos removal or management may be a significant ex pense, and since the EPA is encourag ing an asbestos survey during the ini tial Site Investigation (SI) stage of the Superfund process, the earlier asbes tos is identified in the site assessment the better economic predictions will be and the more accurate the Hazardous Ranking. A simple removal, one which does not require special considerations (such as scaffolding or rigid containment structure) costs about $25 per square or linear foot.
Since asbestos surveys are being en couraged, a certified AHERA inspector or management planner should be re tained. The inspector should be famil iar with the site specific conditions and
state or local regulations. Additionally,
the inspector should be objective and not have future work based on his
recommendations. Qualifications should include documented field expe rience.
All suspect materials should be in ventoried. Under the AHERA regula
tions, the inspector is required to ei
ther sample all suspect bulk material for positive asbestos identification, or
"assume" the material to contain as bestos. The first materials to be exam
ined should be any process equipment. Storage tanks, piping, and boilers were often coated with friable or nonfriable
asbestos-containing insulation. Piping may have one type of insulation on' straight runs of pipe and a different type of insulation on elbows and fit tings. Patches in the insulation, from maintenance activities or repairs may he a different type of insulation. In
boilers and other process equipment,
asbestos-containing materials also may have been used in gasket matter, in
expansion joints, and in insulating bricks. The next place to look is in
buildings. Most buildings provide, or once provided, heat for occupants. If the building had its own boiler, the
boiler room should be inspected for insulation and fireproofing material,
such as sheet rock and plaster. In
addition, buildings may have sprayedon fireproofing, soundproofing, or dec orative finishes. All coatings, including decorative coating, should be inspected. In addition, inspectors should check heating ventilation and air condition ing (HVAC) equipment and ductwork, open plenum areas (which may be found above drop ceilings), all vinyl floor tile, ceiling tiles, sheet rock, plas ter, roofing felts and joint compounds.
While taking bulk asbestos samples,
certain safety precautions should be taken. Proper respiratory and person nel protection should be worn during sampling. In addition, to minimize air
borne asbestos-containing dust, the material should be wetted with a plant spray bottle prior to and during sam pling. Samples should be placed in a sealable labelled plastic bag. Record the exact sample location, assess the condition of the material, fill out a chain-of-custody form (ifrequired) and send samples for analysis. A more de tailed description ofsampling methods and procedures can be found in the October 30,19S7 Federal Register and inEPA's "Pink Book."11
The only EPA-approved method of analyzing bulk material to determine
the quantity and type of asbestos in ACM is to use Polarized Light Micros copy (PLM), The National Institute of
Standards and Technology (NIST) cer tifies laboratories which use this method. A listing of certified laborato ries is available through EPA's Re-
P.5_ _ 1
gionaii Offices and NIST. Laboratories also may be found in local phone direc tories.: Depending on the number of samples, the capacity of the laboratory and its relative location, turn-around time on bulk analysis should be one day or less. The lab should report the type apd relative percentage of asbes tos content. Once the suspect material is identified as containing asbestos, a yellow warning label should be placed on or adjacent to the asbestos that remains on the facility. Based on the material's assessment and the poten tial for the material to become dam aged during future planned activities, the inspector should make recommen dations. These recommendations should1 be approved and implementable by- the Regional Project Manager or On-scene Coordinator.
Managjng the Risk
There have been two different ad ministrative ways to control asbestos at NPli sites. Table II lists sites that have had asbestos removals or encapsu lation dlone as an emergency response or removal action. Table III lists NPL sites that addressed the contamination in a remediation, sometimes as a sepa rate operable unit. Three different sce narios are presented based on the fu ture use of an ACM insulated facility. The first scenario is when the facility is to be. demolished. The second sce nario is when the facility is to remain, but may impede future activities. The third scenario is when the facility is to remain and probably will not impede future activities.
Scenario One
If the ACM is found on facilities (pipes, boilers, process equipment, structural steel, construction mate rial, etc.) which are not in use and these facilities will be removed or de molished as a part of the removal action air remediation, friable ACM must be; removed first, according to the NESHAPs regulations. For exam ple, Fike Chemical, an NPL listed site in Nitro, West Virginia, has several buildings and process equipment on site with asbestos insulation and build ing materials. The buildings and pro cess equipment are obstructing reme diation ofsoils under an existing ROD. Therefore, the buildings were sepa rated into their own operable unit (OU#2) and the selected remedy for the buildings and process equipment is demolition. The primary ARAR identi fied in the ROD is NESHAPs, which requires removal of friable asbestos insulation prior to demolition.
Although asbestos removal is basi cally renovation or demolition, re moval procedures have developed into
July 1991
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tion as well as a significant reduction
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a sophisticated scientific art during the 1980's. A typical asbestos removal includes construction of a contain
ment structure (with negative air that is filtered and vented outside the work area), a three-stage decontamination area, and a waste load-out area. Work
If the facility (which contains ACM) is remaining and the ACM is either in the way or likely to be disturbed (hit, cut or punctured) it must be removed or enclosed. Removal is much more expensive, but offer's a permanent solu tion.
ers don protective clothing and proper respirators as they enter through the
Scenario Three
decontamination area. ACM is ade quately wetted, removed and con tained (usually in heavy-duty pre labeled plastic bags). Containers are passed through the load-out area to a transport vehicle. These techniques may be regulated by state or local agencies. In addition, most states re
quire worker, supervisors, and/or mon itoring certification. In the absence of state or local regulations, the National
Institute of Building Science offers a comprehensive guide specification for
asbestos removal that is updated peri
odically.12 This guide is an excellent starting point for asbestos removal specification and should be modified to include local regulations and site spe cific conditions or restrictions.
If the facility is to remain and there is little chance of the ACM being dis
turbed, the existing and potential health risk must be evaluated. Using the AHERA regulations as a guide, the
risk assessment should be based on the material's condition, friability, and potential for traffic exposure. Although neither required nor encouraged by AHERA, the assessment may include
air monitoring (personal and area). If a health risk exists, the asbestos
should be either mitigated or removed.
In the management plan, recommenda tions for specific action should include one or more of the following: (a) leave it alone (repair and monitor), (b) encap sulate or enclose (once widely accepted abatement techniques--relatively in
expensive but temporary), or (c) re
Scenario Two
move it (and apply lock-down after
If the facility is not going to be demolished or removed, the AHERA
regulations offer state-of-the-art guid ance for developinga means for manag ing asbestos material. Once all asbes
removal). A more formal decision pro
cess is presented in the Asbestos Haz ardous Emergency Response Act
(AHERA) regulations dated October 30,1987.
tos material has been identified, and Technical Assistance the facilities will remain, a manage
ment plan similar to the one required
The regional air compliance groups
for schools should be developed. This (or their delegated state agencies) are
plan should include a summary of the responsible for enforcement of the
sampling locations, analysis and esti NESHAPs regulations. Therefore, they
mated amounts of each identified ma are a great resource for the enforce
terial and a timetable for abatement ment records of asbestos removal con
activities, A site-specific management tractors. This should be of primary
Table HI. Asbestos NPL sites--remediations.
Site name
EPA region
Location
US Alabama Army Am
munition Plant Mountain View/Globe South Bay Asbestos Area
Atlas Asbestos Mine Coalings Asbestos Mine Rocky Mountain Arsenal Johns-Manville LaSalle Electrical Utilities Cape Fear Wood Preserv
ing Asbestos Dump--Milling
ton Site Hardage Criner
Publicker/Cuyuhoga Wrecking
Ambler Asbestos Piles Landfill and Resource Re-
covery
Midstate Disposal Landfill
4 9 '9 9 9 8 5 5
4
2 6
3 S
0 5
AL Globe, AZ Alviso, CA Coalings, CA Coalinga, CA Commerce City, CO Waukegan, IL LaSalle, IL
Fayetteville, NC
Millington, NJ Criner, OK
Philadelphia, PA Ambler, PA
North Smithfield, RI Cleveland Twp, WI
1008
importance since one would want to hire a contractor to perform an abatement at a Superfund site at the same time that the EPA's regional air compliance groups are litigating against that contractor. The air compli ance groups also maintain a national database which tracks enforcement ac tions intrastate. The worker protec tion rule and the various school regula tions are enforced by the Regional Asbestos Coordinator (RAC). The RAC is usually given the task of providing technical guidance for abatement projects, at no cost, and should be consulted to answer technical ques tions regarding containment, removal procedures, or if the removal is un usual. State and local agencies enforce their regulations. They should have information on abatement contrac tors, air monitoring firms, and thirdparty consultants, if regulated. Third party consultants also can be found in the following listings; the local yellow pages, the contractor's "blue book," Pollution Engineering's yellow pages, and the National Asbestos Council's membership list. Local training cen ters may have! information on consult ants in the area.
Conclusion
Because of its unusual characteris tics and its low cost, asbestos was used extensively in fireproofing, insulation and friction products. Materials con taining asbestos can be found at haz ardous waste sites in a variety of insu lation or construction materials. Since asbestos exposure has been linked to a number of diseases, including cancers, early identification and proper manage ment of these materials is necessary to reduce the risk from exposure. To help cleanup personnel identify and man age asbestos, information from exist ingregulations, and trained personnel, could be valuable resources and should be made readily available,
i
References
1. The Material for this section and the next is taken from course material at the Mid-Atlantic Asbestos Training Center, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, University ofMedicine and Den tistry of New Jersey.
2. "InspectingBuildings for Asbestos Con taining Mgterials-Managing Asbestos in Buildings," University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, MidAtlantic Asbestos Training Center, 1988.
8. Rutstein, M. S. "The nonexpert's guide to amphiboles," Aabeatoa laauea, 4: 50 (1991).
4. U. S. EPA, "Asbestos; Manufacture, Importation, Processing, and Distribu tion in Commerce Prohibitions: Final Rule," Federal Register, 40(763): 29459, July 12,1989.
5. 40 CFR 61.146.
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6. Selikoff, I. J.; Hammond, E. C.; Seidman, H. Mortality Experience ofInsula tion Workers in the US and Canada
1943-1976, Vol 330, Annals New York Academy of Sciences, New York, 1979, pp. 91-116. 7. Selikoff, 1. J.; JLilis, B.; Nicholson, W. J.; Asbestos Disease in US Shipyards, Vol.
330, Annals New York Academy of Sciences, New York, 1979, pp. 295311. 8. Selikoff, 1. J.; Hammond, E. C.; Seid-
man, H.; "Mortality Effects of Ciga
rette Smoking Among Amosite Asbes
tos Factory Workers'V. Nation, Cancer
Insiit., 65:507 (19791. 9. Abstract: New Tools for Investigating
and EvaluatingAsbestos: The Environ
mental Asbestos Assessment Manual,
D. Wayne Berman, ICF Technology, publishing date to he announced. 10. "Environmental Ashestoe Assessment Manual, Superfund Method for the De termination of Asbestos in Ambient Air," U.S. Environmental Protection, EPA/540/2-90/005a & b. May 1990.
11. "Asbestos in Buildings: Simplified Sam pling Scheme for Friable Surfacing Ma terial, U.S- Environmental Protection Agency, EPA 560/5-85-030a, October 1985.
12. Asbestos Abatement and Management
in Buildings, Model Guide Specifica tion, 2nd Edition, National Institute of Building Sciences, Washington, DC, 1988.
P.7
R. N. Kouatas is an environmen tal engineer with the Technical As sistance Section, Technical Support Branch of the Risk Reduction Engi neering Laboratory, U.S. Environ mental Protection Agency, Edison, NJ 088S7-3679. This manuscript was submitted for peer review on April 5, 1991. The revised manu script was received on May 2,1991.
CONTROL TECHNOLOGY NEWS
DOE Selects NewJersey Firm To Install
Pollution Control System in Poland
Responding to President Bush's pledge of U.S. assistance to help fight air pollution in Poland, the U.S. Department of Energy has chosen a New Jersey firm to install a "model" high-efficiency cleanup technology on a coal-burning power plant serving the historic city of Krakow.
The Energy Department said in May that it had selected AirPol Inc., of Teterboro, New Jersey, to install a state-ofthe-art scrubbing system on a 50-megawatt coal boiler at the Skawina Power Station. The department will provide $7.7 million to AirPol to install the patented scrubber system.
In July 1989, President Bush called Krakow a city "under siege by pollution." Speaking to the Polish Parlia ment, Bush pledged U.S. funding for a cooperative venture with Poland to "reclaim" the former royal capital from the damages of air pollution. Poland depends on coal for its electricity, but its coal-fired plants have few, if any. sulfur pollutant controls.
AirPol will install the pollution control system on one of the 11 coal-fired boilers in a 550-megawatt plant outside of Krakow. The system is expected to capture as much as 98 percent ofthe sulfur pollutants from the boiler's gases. The technology's high degree of effectiveness means the entire plant will be able to meet 1998 emission laws by cleaning flue gas from a few of the plant's 11 boilers, rather than all of them. Under the tightened air regulations, the Skawina plant must cut its overall sulfur emissions by about 43 percent. Nationwide, Polish sulfur emissions must be re duced by about 50 percent.
AirPol was one of five U.S. firms responding to a solicita tion issued by the department in September 1990. The call for proposals followed a technical assessment of possible candidate power plants in and around Krakow. A steering committee of U.S. and Polish officials oversaw the selection process.
AirPol will use a technique called the "Thiosorbic Lime
Process," currently employed in more than 20 coal-fired power plants in the U.S. "Thiosorbic lime" contains magne sium that enhances its sulfur-absorbing properties. High magnesium lime is available at the Skawina plant site. The "Thiosorbic Lime Process" was developed by Dravo Inc., of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who granted the rights to use it without charge to the project.
July 1991
Volume 41, No. .7
The Energy Department is administering the project under an interagency agreement with the U.S. Agency for International Development. It will be overseen by the
department's Pittsburgh Energy Technology Center.
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