Document pe3jaNYo6mMKGRG7LYBNmY5md

RISK MANAGEMENT t this writing, roofing contractors Unfortunately, the confusion will not are still waiting with abated breath end with the promulgation of the updated for the new Occupational Safety federal documents. Each state OSHA and Health Administration (OSH A*) agency appears to have a different idea rules on asbestos to be forwarded to the about how to deal with the material. Asbestos Office of Management and Budget (OMB). "We've had state OSHA and Environ The rules will reportedly define hazardous mental Protection Agency people tell us occupational exposure levels of asbestos that asbestos encapsulated in roofing felts issue nears for the construction industry. and shingles requires no special care. Oth A recent Construction Labor Report ers tell us it's always hazardous, " Good says resolution newsletter noted that last February. OSHA disgustedly. "We've heard reports of some had predicted that the rules would be sent state inspectors advising our members to to OMB "in four to six weeks. " Carl Good, take the asbestos they encounter during NRCA's director of membership develop tear-offs to special hazardous waste sites. ment, said, "Last September, OSHA told us Others have told them to just bag it and we would see the rules in the next couple dump it." of months." The agency will only say that The Construction Advisory Board, it is concerned about getting "all the details which is composed of representative mem ironed out" before releasing the document bers of the subcontractor organizations, is to the OMB. serving as advisor to OSHA in drafting the The current permissible exposure level guidelines. (PEL) is 2 airborne fibers longer than 5 Why is OSHA concerned about updating micrometers per cubic centimeter of air as exposure rules now? Good says it has noth an eight-hour, time-weighted average. ing to do with the recent EPA ban on asbes "The new PEL may be as low as 0.1 fiber tos. (They condemned the material, calling per cubic centimeter," offers Good. it "a potent carcinogen.") The key concern in dealing with asbestos "OSHA has been working on this for a is friability. Exposure to friable asbestos, year," Good reports. "The agency saw the meaning asbestos in a brittle, crumbled amount of litigation that was taking place, state, has been linked to various types of with asbestos-related lawsuits numbering cancer. Asbestos in a non-friable state, such around 30,000, and considered the widely as encapsulated asbestos in roofing felts or quoted estimate that 8,000 people are shingles, presents little health hazard. dying of asbestos-related diseases annually. When a roof is tom off, however, asbestos OSHA decided it was time to take another fibers may become friable and present a look at its guidelines for handling it. " problem. "Of course, whenever asbestos is involved, you should be taking some kind of action," Good says, "but this may be brief 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 Construction Products Manufacturers Council has announced it is joining the newly formed American Ton Reform Association (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 SI00,000 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 of the hazards involved with toxic chemicals and mate rials. Communication, legislation and OSHA efforts indicate that a broader standard covering the entire workforce is forthcoming. that lie on the fringe of the standard's initial intent," said Good. MAY 1986 39 BIRD 015418 i BIRD 015417