Construction Support and Permitting & Compliance
Jul 26, 2021
Planning a Building Renovation or Demolition and have Asbestos Containing Materials? The Massachusetts Department of Labor Standards (DLS) recently revised asbestos regulations, 454 CMR 28.00: The Removal, Containment, Maintenance, Or Encapsulation Of Asbestos, effective April 2, 2021. These regulations primarily govern licensing, training, worker protection, and records retention. The revisions include a variety of changes, but most notably clarifying who can hire who.
No longer can abatement contractors hire the asbestos Project Monitor to inspect their work and perform air clearance testing. The Owner or General Contractor must do that. Asbestos abatement contractors can still perform licensed “Asbestos Consulting” (i.e. Inspector, Project Monitor, Management planner, and Designer), but not on projects where they will perform abatement. Also, firms that provide asbestos consulting must now hold a certificate for the company to do so, from DLS by September 1 2021. The company certificate is in addition to asbestos licenses required for the individuals who perform work.
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What is the biggest change for you? Building owners, their Construction Manager or Owner’s Project Manager; or the General Contractor, now must hire the asbestos Project Monitor on asbestos abatement projects. |
All individuals who enter an active “Work Area” must have at least 16- hours of asbestos training and be accompanied by a “Competent Person” having 40-hours of asbestos training. The same applies to individuals who operate excavators for bulk handling of asbestos containing/contaminated material and asbestos waste.
Firms or individuals performing bulk sample analysis on projects (i.e. K-12 schools) subject to AHERA (Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act), cannot use a laboratory in which they have a financial interest (i.e. in-house laboratory or related business unit). A third party independent laboratory must be utilized.
The regulatory revisions are intended to improve the quality of work by eliminating conflicts-of-interest in contractual arrangements. Previously, abatement contractors where doing so and the revised regulations now clearly prohibit that arrangement.
SAK Environmental provides cost effective asbestos Consulting Services, including Project Monitoring, that provides you the peace-of-mind that the abatement project was completed in compliance with the project specifications, and state and federal regulations. SAK employs Project Monitors, Asbestos Inspectors, Management Planners and Abatement Designers. Click here to learn more and contact Meghan Emmert at 978-688-7804 x122 to discuss a specific project.
