8101 World Ctr. Dr.
Orlando, FL, 32891

Conference: April 30–May 2, 2012
Exhibits: May 1-3, 2012
Las Vegas Convention Center
Las Vegas, Nevada

The Port of Seattle Commission has approved $15 million for environmental remediation and congestion relief projects in 2011, according to a company press release.

At its last meeting for the year, the Commission has approved the funding as part of a five-year environmental programme costing nearly $68 million.

The board have also approved a $5 million investment in the South Park Bridge replacement, and finalised an agreement with Puget Sound Energy for easements along the Eastside Rail Corridor.

The funding will action spending on several environmental remediation projects across port facilities. Much of the funding is planned to go towards the cleanup of the Lower Duwamish Waterway Superfund site.

The port, along with several partners, will be working with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Washington Department of Ecology to develop a remediation plan for port facilities, including Terminal 117 sediments, bank and uplands, cleaning up contamination at Terminal 115 from former operations, and several other complementary projects throughout the Lower Duwamish area.

The commission has authorised CEO Tay Yoshitani to execute an agreement that will see $5 million being invested in the South Park Bridge replacement.  This investment is in addition to the $8 million in (Freight Action Strategy) FAST Corridor investments also included in the 2011 budget.

“The South Park Bridge is a vital connector to the Duwamish industrial area, and to the communities that are our neighbors,” said Commission Vice President Gael Tarleton.

As planned, Puget Sound Energy is purchasing easements along the Eastside Rail Corridor for just over $13 million.

The port has invested $1.2 million in the At-Berth Clean (ABC) Fuels programme that has already reduced over 357 tonnes of sulphur dioxide emissions from ocean-going vessels.

The Clean Air Truck Programme-which provides $5000 or blue book value (whichever is greater) to truck owners scrapping their trucks- has received $1.5 million in funding

At the announcement of of the proposed environmental budget, Commission President Bill Bryant said; “We authorised a budget that reflects the priorities of generating jobs and protecting the environment.”

“Today’s actions show that we are prepared to hit the ground running in 2011,” he added.

A Long Island community is attempting to rid its town of a long-time eyesore, but has had trouble lining up a contractor to remove asbestos from the property at an affordable price.

According to Riverheadlocal.com, the town of Riverhead will solicit bids for the third time to award a contract for asbestos abatement at the former Weeping Willow motel. The town hopes to demolish the structure and develop the land as part of a riverfront greenbelt.

Asbestos removal frequently is done ahead of demolition to prevent fibers of the hazardous mineral from becoming airborne and causing a health danger to anyone in the vicinity. Asbestos exposure is linked to lung cancer, malignant mesothelioma and asbestosis and has been the focus of many asbestos settlements and mesothelioma lawsuits.

The West Main Street property was purchased by the town last year for $1.2 million, the community website reported.

The New York state Community Preservation Fund provided $500,000 toward the purchase price because the site is one of 150 parcels in the Wading River corridor that the state has identified as environmentally significant. The preservation fund is funded by the collection of 2-percent taxes on land transfers in local communities.

Source: Mesothelioma Resource Center

The ceremony is scheduled for 11 a.m. Thursday at the Roundhouse site, a former rail yard, in downtown Port Jervis.

The remediation system was made possible through a $200,000 grant that was awarded to the City of Port Jervis by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under its Brownfields Cleanup Program for environmental remediation of oil-contaminated sites.

“After many years of assessment and investigation, we are pleased to finally have a system in place that will assist in the cleanup of this critical downtown property that bears so much of the city’s rich history and heritage of the Erie-Lackawanna Railroad,” Mayor Russell R. Potter said. “We are grateful to our federal partners at the U.S. EPA for providing these sorely needed funds and for the assistance of the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation for their technical guidance and support.”

A tour and demonstration of the new system will be conducted by the Chazen Companies, the city’s consultant responsible for the design, installation and maintenance of the remediation system.

Abatement means any measure or set of measures designed to permanently eliminate lead-based paint hazards. It includes the removal of lead-contaminated dust and lead-based paint. It is the permanent encapsulation of lead-based paint or the permanent enclosure of such paint. It includes the replacement of lead-painted surfaces, and the removal of lead contaminated soil. It includes all the prep work, cleanup, disposal and post-abatement testing to insure all the lead-based paint/ dust was removed. Abatement does not include renovation, landscaping, remodeling or activities that are not designed to permanently remove and eliminate the paint hazards.

Occupants who live in a property that will be having lead-based paint renovation need to make arrangements and be prepared for what is going to be done. The rooms or areas where work is going to be done needs to be block off with plastic sheeting. If this room is a bedroom, kitchen or bathroom, the occupant needs to anticipate not having access to this room until the work is completed. Arrangements need to be made for all pets as well. They too can be poisoned by lead and can track the dust into other parts of the dwelling. Tacky doormats can trap dust from shoes and contain it.
Ideally a separate pathway can be used by the contractor to bring his/her work materials in and out of the home that is separate from the occupants use.

All furniture and belongings may have to be moved from the work area, to avoid being contaminated with lead dust and debris. If they cannot be moved, then they should be wrapped in heavy duty plastic sheeting.Remind occupants to turn off air conditioning and heating while the work is being done. The lead based paint dust can travel through duct work, if the ducts are not properly sealed off.The job will go much more smoothly when the occupants fully understand what needs to be done and why.

Do not forget, you can get more information by calling the EPA at 800-424-5323 for more tips and information.

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Asbestos is a mineral that is fibrous by nature. It is fire resistant, chemical resistant and very strong. It can be easily woven into cloth to make fireproof clothing. Despite being such a useful substance, it is very hazardous to the employees and laborers, who work with it. It leads to various diseases like asbestosis, fibrosis, asbestos warts and even, cancer. Mesothelioma, a killer disease, is the most terrible of all the diseases caused by exposure to asbestos. Due to this, asbestos use, mining and manufacture were banned in many countries a few decades ago. But, there are still many countries like India and china, which have not imposed a complete ban on asbestos. Even those developed countries, which have banned asbestos, are still reaping the troubles of asbestos exposure. This is because the diseases caused due to asbestos exposure have a long latency period. For instance, mesothelioma may take even 40 years to develop after asbestos exposure.

One problem with asbestos is what when it is mined and manufactured a lot of asbestos dust and asbestos fibers are released into the atmosphere. Since these are light and invisible, the laborers easily inhale them. The trouble starts after this, as these fibers are very harmful when inhaled. For instance, when the asbestos fibers come in contact with the mesothelium lining, they react adversely with the cells leading to tumors. The tumors may appear in body parts like lungs, hearts and abdomen. This disease is called as mesothelioma. These tumors may also spread throughout the body, finally leading to dearth.

The following industries have high risk for exposure to asbestos:

Contractors or construction workers:

Since asbestos is very strong, flexible and fireproof, it is a highly preferred material in all types of construction work. In some way or in some form, asbestos is present in paints, cement, tubes, pipes, and sheets and so on. Not only the laborers but also residents, school children in schools, officers in offices and all others face a risk of asbestos exposure.

Firefighters:

In yester years, firefighters wore clothing woven with asbestos. This fireproof clothing gave rise to various health hazards due to asbestos exposure. Even now when old buildings collapse due to fire, firefighters become exposed to asbestos.

Power plants:

The boilers and generators of power plants are mostly lined with asbestos. This is done to protect it from intense heat and sudden fires.

Automotive mechanics:

Mechanics work with brakes and clutch linings, which contain asbestos. Thus, they get exposed to asbestos. Even though asbestos is banned now, the old vehicles still contain such asbestos parts.

Miners:

Minerals like vermiculite and talc contain asbestos. Thus, not only the asbestos miners but miners of these minerals too will suffer from asbestos exposure.

Shipyards:

Most of the components in ships like hot water pipes, incinerators insulation, boilers and steam pipes contain asbestos. Since asbestos is fire proof, chemical proof, strong and flexible, it is popularly used in ship components. Therefore, shipyard workers have high risk of developing asbestos related diseases like mesothelioma. During the Second World War, there was widespread use of asbestos and in US alone, more than 4 million people worked in shipyards. Overhauling and destruction of old ships also releases a lot of asbestos dust and is thus, very hazardous.

Railroads:

Just like automotives and ships, railroads also made use of asbestos in steam pipes, boilers, gaskets, brakes and clutches.

Steel Mills:

Asbestos is expected to be present in the thermal Insulation Substances used in steel mills.

Oil refineries:

It is expected that many parts in the oil refineries also contain asbestos, as the rate of mesothelioma is very high among the refinery workers.

While this gives us an in-depth knowledge about how asbestos affects the various areas of workplace, this is not conclusive. It is important to take proper care and be vigilant to prevent asbestos exposure.

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Asbestos is a natural fibrous mineral, and it is mined in a number of countries across the world.  Historically, it has been a popular mineral to use in construction due to the fact that it is durable, flexible, resistant to chemical attack, an excellent insulator and able to withstand high temperatures.  Even the name itself comes from the Greek language where it means ‘un-extinguishable’.

In the UK, asbestos has been used since the industrial revolution when it was first used as insulation.  Since then, it has been used in various applications such as fire retardant coatings, bricks, pipe lagging and lining of boilers.

There are three main forms of asbestos that occur naturally.  The first is known as ‘chrysotile’, or white asbestos, and is by far the most commonly used type.   It was usually mixed with cement to form corrugated roof sheets, or used to make flat sheets for walls and floors.  Extremely flexible, it can be spun and woven like cloth which made it ideal as pipe insulation or even fireproof clothing.  Considered to be dangerous to health, it was banned from the UK in 1999.  It is estimated that this type accounts for up to 95% of all asbestos found in buildings.

The second type of asbestos is called ‘amosite’, or brown asbestos.  In buildings it is most commonly found covering steel as fire protection or in walls as sound proofing.  This type of asbestos is also considered harmful, and the import of amosite was banned in 1986.

The third form of asbestos is called ‘crocidolite’, or blue asbestos.  It is a harder and less flexible form than the other types, but it is extremely strong and has a high acid resistance.  It is considered to be the most dangerous of all asbestos types, and its use was strictly controlled from 1969 until it was finally banned in 1986.

It is essential that when asbestos it is found it is removed and disposed of correctly by a professional, licensed asbestos removal company, as the removal process can expose you to health risks if the correct procedures are not followed.

As asbestos has been used for over a century, it has been included in thousands of products.  The list below gives some of the common uses for asbestos containing products so that you know what to be careful of when carrying out alterations to a property.  While asbestos is generally safe if left alone, any damage can lead to the release of fibres which are dangerous to health.

Roof tiles and panels – asbestos is commonly found mixed with concrete to make either flat or corrugated panels.  They are often seen as the roofs or walls of outbuildings and garages.

Roofing felt – asbestos can be found combined with bitumen in the felt often found covering flat roofs, where it gives flexibility and insulation.  Some bitumen products containing asbestos were also used to make guttering.

Lagging – adding asbestos to cloth allowed it to be used to lag pipework and prevent heat loss or frost damage.  Similar material was also used for fire blankets and some protective clothing.

Sound proofing - sprayed asbestos can often be found in under floors and in ceiling voids where it acts to prevent noise pollution.

Electrical insulation – Asbestos paper has been used to wrap electrical cabling and as the back of fuse boxes because of its non-flammable properties.

Spray coating – spraying asbestos on structural components of buildings provides protections against damage from heat and cold.

Loose packing – wall and ceiling cavities in older buildings may contain asbestos as it was frequently used as insulation.

Door linings - a flat sheet of asbestos under door panels provides resistance in the event of fire.

While this list gives you an idea of what to look for, it is not complete and if you are in any doubt a qualified asbestos surveyor should be contacted for advice.  They will be able to assess the situation and advise you accordingly.  If in any doubt ask a professional asbestos removal company to undertake an asbestos survey so that you are certain of what you dealing with before you start removing anything that could significantly harm your health.

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