Warren D. Levy, OPP Governor. Re: Asbestos

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1 Warren D. Levy, OPP Governor Date: February 26, 1985 Re: Asbestos Policy Committee report. to support their added responsibilities. Departmental Responsibilities Additional Personnel Specifically, these responsibilities include the following: -_ Department ministrative staff. This -- Department of Community Affairs - and issue certificates of occupancy for successfully completed jobs. DCA will hire a total of ten inspectors (five on an as needed basis) along with appropriate support staff. Other inspec- Positior EXECUTIVE OFFICE INTER-COMMUNICATION From: Kenneth 0. Merin, Director, OPP To: Honorable Thomas H. Kean (JnSt1tuUo or Department) We are almost ready to begin the 1985 version of the asbestos cleanup. The Asbestos Policy Committee will soon be ready to issue its final report. Before this can occur, a number of outstanding issues need to be resolved. These issues are described in the attachments to this memo. In addition, the Depart ments of Labor and Health have jointly been involved in the development of reg ulations implementing the Asbestos Control and Licensing Act (P.L. 1984, c. 173). The Department of Comunity Affairs will develop similar regulations to imple ment their responsibilities for permitting and approving asbestos removal pro jects. The regulations will parallel the recommendations made in the Asbestos The increasing asbestos abatement activities we will be undertaking in New Jersey will be handled primarily by four state agencies. They are the Departments of Health, Community Affairs, Labor and Treasury. Other depart ments will have lesser responsibilities. A supplemental appropriation bill totalling $820,000 is currently pending in the Legislature to provide partial funding for the additional staff and equipment these Departments will need of Health - This Department will be the lead agency with regard to asbestos removal and will conduct asbestos assessments of all high-priority buildings (public schools, nur series, day care centers, state and local governmental buildings). The Department is also responsibile for providing all necessary scientific and technical expertise relating to asbestos. The Department presently has a field staff of only four persons The Department will increase this number to ten asbestos assess- Positio ors, nine people to operate an electron microscope, and ten ad Department is respon sible for regulating the removal of asbestos in all buildings except state-owned and managed buildings. DCA will review re mediation plans, issue building permits, monitor work in progress,

2 Honorable Thomas H. Kean 2 February 26, 1985 tors could be hired if the workload increases substantially beyond what is anticipated. DCA has indicated that they cur rently have enough funds to hire the necessary staff, but will need funding from the supplemental at a later date. -- Department of Treasury - This Department will fulfill the same responsibilities as DCA with respect to state owned or managed buildings. In addition, Treasury will assist other state agen cies in preparing asbestos removal plans, selecting certified + 0 contractors, and identifying funding sources. Since Treasury Position already has an adequate number of inspectors, they will only require additional training in the new asbestos course that is now being developed. - Department of Labor - The Department of Labor will issue per- + 6 Posi mits and licenses to asbestos removers and contractors and tions (Not provide consultation services regarding worker safety. The Labor is nc Department will require at least an additional six positions. saying they need 40 ne positions). -- Department of Education - The Department s role in asbestos will, after this spring, involve assuring that all schools + 0 comply with federal EPA regulations that require the identi- Positior fication of all asbestos materials in schools. The Depart ment will also be responsible for accepting applications from school districts for both the state and federal asbestos aid programs which are referred to later in this memo. -- Department of Insurance - The Department of Insurance may +0 also have additional responsibilities relating to asbestos Positior liability insurance. No new positions are anticipated to be needed. -- Department of Environmental Protection - This Department has a limited role, primarily dealing with the safe disposal of as- +0- bestos after is removed. The Department will also be doing Positior additional research in asbestos related areas. No new positions are anticipated to be needed. it Asbestos Removals in Schools As of this date, a total of 221 schools have submitted requests for the remediation of asbestos over the course of this summer. We expect that this number will increase. The Department of Health is in the process of assessing the magnitude of the hazard in each school. Based on an extrapolation of assessments which have already taken place, only 30% of the schools are ex pected to need to have asbestos removed during the summer of Those schools not needing immediate remediation should be postponed until Thanksgiving or Christmas break, or the summer of This action my prove controversial. However, since we will only have a limited number of contractors and trained asbestos workers to perform removals this summer, appears to be our only option. it

3 Honorable Thomas H. Kean -3- February 26, 1985 Schools not needing immediate remediation will be placed on an asbestos management plan. This includes monitoring the conditions of the asbestos to insure that it does not deteriorateany further. All schools will then be placed on a priority list prepared by the Department of Health. We will, only have enough trained workers to adequately handle all necessary removals this sumer. A pool of 1,000 newly trained workers should be available by June 15. In addition, another 700 experienced workers should be available to supplement the 1,000 workers who complete the new state asbestos training requirements. School districts are now in the process of applying for two programs which provide aid for the removal of asbestos. The first is a federal program, the Asbestos School Hazard Abatement Act (P.L ). A total of only $50 mil lion nationwide is provided for grants or loans for asbestos projects, and it is estimated that New Jersey s share may only amount to $250,000. This small amount of funding, coupled with a complicated application process, has caused very few school districts to apply for the program. Many districts are, however, expected to take advantage of a new state program, the State School Aid Act for Asbestos, (P.L. 1984, c. 226). This act provides $10 million in state aid for the current year to school districts which have a current or potential health hazard because of asbestos, or which have expended local funds for asbestos removal or encapsulation prior to the effective date of the act (December 28, 1984). The practical effect of this legislation is to increase the number of asbestos removal requests which dis tricts make. Problem Areas The proposed regulations spell out detailed procedures for all aspects of the training and licensing of asbestos workers and contractors, as well as the safe removal of asbestos from buildings. The regulations will by far be the most comprehensive in the nation. As indicated, the attachments to this memo describe the major problem areas that have arisen regarding the new asbestos policy. The most troubling issues are the lack of asbestos liability insurance, the proper requirements for the licensing of asbestos contractors, the asbestos standard we use for the reoccu pancy of buildings, and OSHA preemption. It is essential that we resolve all issues regarding the proposed regula tions quickly. These regulations have to be submitted to the Office of Admin istrative Law by noon on Monday, March 4th to be available for advertisement in the April 1 edition of the New Jersey Register. As the following chart indicates, under normal procedures, comments would then be received for a 30 day period (until May 1). A final notice of adoption could then appear in the June 3 Register and the regulations could become effective anytime after this date.

4 V Honorable Thomas H. Kean 4- February 26, 1985 Normal Asbestos Regulation Timetable Earliest Date for Comments Accepted Regulation When Needed Advertisement Until Final Adoption Licensing & Permitting May 1 April 1 May 1 June 3 Certification of Training Courses Immediately April 1 May 1 June 3 Asbestos Wçrk & ControU.. June 3 April 1 May 1 June 3 Asbestos Sub code.. June 3 April 1 May 1 June 3 The Department of Health needs those regulations dealing with the certifica tion of training courses to become effective immediately. This is to ensure that enough asbestos training schools are established to handle the workers needed for this summer. In addition, the regulations regarding licensing and permitting will need to be in place by May 1st in order that school boards can commence the bidding process for asbestos removal jobs in the summer. We have been notified by the Attorney General s Office that the regulations dealing with the standards for asbestos work and control are preempted by OSHA. The preemption issue also affects the status of the Department of Community Affairs asbestos subcode, and we are currently reviewing the format in which this subcode can be promulgated. Further information on the preemption issue is contained in the attached issue paper. Consequently, the regulations dealing with the certification of training courses will need to be issued immediately on an emergency basis, which re quires your approval. The regulations dealing with licensing and permitting may prove controver sial, and I recommend that they be advertised in the New Jersey Register on April 1. We should allow the one month comment period for these regulations (until May 1st) to occur, but then issue the regulations on an emergency basis on May 1st. This will allow both an adequate comment period, and also assure the regulations are in place in adequate time. The Asbestos Policy Committee has also advised us that additional legislation will be necessary to implement various recommendations of the Asbestos Policy Com mittee. This relates mainly to the authority of the Department of Health to con-, duct assessments and monitoring of public and private buildings, authority of 1 2 The Attorney General s Office has indicated that these regulations would be preempted by OSHA. The Attorney General s Office has indicated that this subcode y be preempted by OSHA.

5 Honorable Thomas H. Kean 5 February 26, 1985 the Department of Health to certify asbestos testing laboratories and private asbestos consultants, as well as several other provisions. We are reviewing with the Attorney General s Office the necessity for this legislation, as well as the form it should take. We will attempt to carefully monitor all asbestos removals in the schools this summer, and be prepared to respond to any problems which may arise. The potential for unforeseen problems exists, but there seem to be enough built-in safeguards to assure there is no repeat of what happened last summer. Commissioner Cooperman has planned an extensive state asbestos education program to inform school districts around the state of our new asbestos policy. His timetable for this program has already been delayed. He considers it essen tial that our asbestos policy be finalized so that he can begin to implement this program. For this reason, as well as the fact that the asbestos regulations need to be submitted to the Office of Administrative Law on Monday, it is imperative that decisions on the issues described in the attachments to this memo be made quickly. D.M. /F