Month: August 2022

A Brief History of the Belvidere Asbestos Mine

WCAX by Rachel Mann

Eden, VT – It looks like a pile of rocks from afar, but the Belvidere Asbestos Mine was once a community staple in the Northeast Kingdom. The Belvidere Asbestos Mine has operated under many different names and owners since mining attempts started in 1902. It finally got off the ground in the 1930’s and continued operating until 1993. It closed once people found out about the health risks associated with asbestos, and there was no longer demand for the product. Although the Department of Health did studies in 2008 and 2009 stating there were no asbestos-related deaths connected to the mine. For the full text, click here.

EIA Managing Director Brent Kynoch Participates in Congressional Briefing to Urge Congress to Ban Asbestos

ADAO Washington, DC

The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, an independent nonprofit dedicated to preventing asbestos exposure through education, advocacy, and community initiatives, today held its 17th Congressional Staff Briefing, “Impact of Asbestos on Public Health, Environment, and Economy.” Experts in medicine, science, and public health shared the latest updates with Congressional staffers and members about the need to ban asbestos imports and use in the United States. Click here to access the briefing video. For the full text of the press release, email info@eia-usa.org.

After EPA Rule Changes, Which ASTM Phase I Standard Should You Use?

JDSupra.com

On November 1, 2021, ASTM International released its revised standard for Phase I Environmental Site Assessments. On March 14, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (the “EPA”) published a Direct Final Rule that confirmed the new ASTM standard, ASTM E1527-21, could be used to satisfy the EPA’s All Appropriate Inquiry (“AAI”) regulations. However, on May 2, 2022, EPA withdrew the Final Rule it had published on March 14, 2022, and indicated it would address the comments it received concerning the previously Final Rule in a subsequent final action. Why the change and, more importantly, which ASTM standard should a potential purchaser of contaminated property use when having a Phase I Site Assessment prepared? For the full text, click here.

Colorado Schools, Childcare Centers Must Test for Lead, Make Fixes

Chalkbeat Colorado by Anne Schimke

Colorado – A new state law will require about 5,800 Colorado elementary schools and child care centers to test their drinking water for lead and install filters or do repairs if they find elevated levels. Schools and child care facilities will have until May 31 to test their water and will have to make fixes if lead levels are 5 parts per billion or higher. That threshold is the same as the limit set by the federal government for bottled water but lower than what most Colorado school districts previously used. For the full text, click here.

Johnson and Johnson to Stop Selling Talc Based Baby Powder Globally

Washington Post by Andrew Jeong

International – Johnson & Johnson will stop selling its talc-based baby powder worldwide starting next year, in what it called a “commercial decision” aimed at ensuring long-term growth. The company discontinued sales of such products in the United States and Canada just over two years ago, citing declining demand for the baby powder after thousands of consumer lawsuits were filed against the firm alleging that the powder contained carcinogens. Johnson & Johnson said Thursday that it remains “firmly behind” the view that its talc-based goods are safe, do not cause cancer and do not contain asbestos. For the full text, click here.

‘Time-Bomb’ Lead Pipes Will Be Removed, But First Water Utilities Will Have to Find Them

NPR by Allison Kite

Trenton, MO – It took three years for officials to notice lead was seeping into the city’s drinking water. Missouri regulators had given the green light in 2014 for Trenton to start adding monochloramine to its drinking water to disinfect it without the harmful byproducts of chlorine. But by 2017, the city noticed something alarming. Lead levels in drinking water in the northwest Missouri town — population 5,609 — had spiked. Over the next two years, one-quarter of the homes tested exceeded the Environmental Protection Agency’s action level — 15 parts per billion — at least once. For the full text, click here.

OSHA Considers Proposed Rulemaking for Blood Lead Level for Medical Removal

Federal Register

National – OSHA is considering rulemaking to revise its standards for occupational exposure to lead-based on medical findings since the issuance of OSHA’s lead standards that adverse health effects in adults can occur at Blood Lead Levels (BLLs) lower than the medical removal level (?60 µg/dL in general industry, ?50 µg/dL in construction) and lower than the level required under current standards for an employee to Rhoades Environmental turn to their former job status (<40 µg/dL). The agency is seeking input through August 29. For the full text, click here.

Olympia Asbestos Contractor Sentenced to Jail Time for Environmental Crimes

Washington State Attorney General Olympia, WA

Derrick Boss, the owner of Above and Beyond Asbestos Removal in Bothell, was sentenced to 105 days in jail and ordered to pay full restitution to his victims for environmental crimes he committed in his asbestos abatement business. Boss duped his clients by posing as a properly licensed and trained asbestos removal expert. In fact, he was unlicensed and unqualified — and repeatedly exposed his customers and workers to asbestos. Boss must pay full restitution to four people who paid him for his services, a total of $13,350. For the full text, click here.

Las Vegas Apartment Complex Manager Sentenced for Violating Clean Air Act Asbestos Regulations at Two Facilities

Department of Justice Las Vegas, NV

A CA man was sentenced to one year and one day in prison and 36 months of supervised release for renovating two apartment complexes in violation of federal Clean Air Act regulations intended to prevent human exposure to toxic airborne asbestos fibers. Bobby Khalili was indicted by a grand jury sitting in the District of Nevada in September 2019, in connection with asbestos-related Clean Air Act violations at a Las Vegas apartment complex. The grand jury later returned a superseding indictment against Khalili in July 2021, in connection with new Clean Air Act asbestos violations at a second apartment complex, which Khalili committed while on pretrial release for the first set of charges. Khalili pled guilty on March 11, to failing to safely remove asbestos prior to renovation at each complex. For the full text, click here.

EPA Improves Legacy Asbestos Scope of Risk Review

ADAO Washington, DC

ADAO announces the organization is pleased with EPA’s Asbestos Part 2 Supplemental Evaluation Including Legacy Uses and Associated Disposals of Asbestos; Final Scope of the Risk Evaluation To Be Conducted Under the Toxic Substances Control Act. Unlike EPA’s disappointing Part 1 Chrysotile Asbestos rule which only proposed banning six conditions of use, EPA’s Part 2 evaluation includes all six asbestos fibers and the Libby Amphibole (winchite and richterite); however, the evaluation will not lead to banning these additional fibers. Under a consent decree negotiated by EPA and ADAO, the Part 2 risk evaluation must be completed by December 1, 2024. For the full text, email info@eia-usa.org.