EMSL Asbestos Division - Guidance Document

Transcription

1 EMSL Asbestos Division - Guidance Document New York State Guidance on Asbestos in Vermiculite Updated 12/27/12 On October 30, 2012 the New York Association of Approved Environmental Laboratories (NYAAEL) held a meeting in Rochester, NY. As part of that meeting Stephanie Ostrowski of NY DOH ELAP, held a question and answer session for the attendees. In our continuing effort to provide our clients with the most accurate and up to date information on the NY Vermiculite policies and regulations EMSL posed numerous questions and requests for clarifications. Those questions and ELAP s responses are documented below. At the end of this document is a summary of ELAP s guidance for Vermiculite containing samples and EMSL s standard policies to comply. EMSL will continue to keep our clients updated as changes or clarifications on this important issue occur. EMSL Questions to ELAP Regarding Vermiculite 1) The new vermiculite guidance seems to be regulating by FAQ. Is there a plan to update either code rule 56 or the ELAP Methods? 12NYCRR Part 56 addresses vermiculite insulation as a Suspect Miscellaneous ACM. This regulatory change was effective in The recent vermiculite guidance to laboratories issued on June 22, 2012 and August 27, 2012 provided clarification regarding what types of vermiculite insulation can (and cannot) effectively be analyzed by current ELAP approved methods. Therefore, no new changes to regulations are required. 2) Understanding that the majority of asbestos in vermiculite is non-regulated, is NY ELAP comfortable defending this new policy which will have a big economic impact on so many people? While vermiculite originating from Libby Montana are known to contain an array of asbestos types, it is not clear this same geological occurrence happens in vermiculite mines worldwide. That being said, vermiculite from Libby is known to contain tremolite, whinchite, and richterite. Currently approved and validated methods can not adequately distinguish between these types. Therefore, labs typically report all asbestos identified in these vermiculite samples as tremolite. This question points to the historical limitations of current methods, and not a new requirement by ELAP nor an outcome of this new guidance. Until new methods are validated and promulgated, these limitations will continue to exist.

2 3) Is any and all mica in a sample assumed to be vermiculite? To our knowledge, no other form of mica has the same commercially-desired properties as vermiculite does when it is exfoliated. Therefore, while it is possible that the refining process of vermiculite may leave behind other mica contaminants, realworld vermiculate-based thermal insulation materials in question must be reported as vermiculite. 4) Does this new policy apply to NOB Materials? There is no mention of or in the FAQ. Yes. Careful review of requires additional steps, including gravimetric reduction, acid treatment, and/or ashing when interfering contaminating (including organically bound) materials are found by the lab. Therefore, if properly followed, adequately serves this role. 5) Is there a requirement to report vermiculite percentage or is it enough to have the point count data documented and on file? While the June 22, 2012 guidance indicates that point counting of vermiculite is appropriate, the percentage of vermiculite is what the end user (your client) is interested in. Remember that it is the percent of vermiculite in thermal insulation materials that makes the material eligible/ ineligible for analysis via Therefore, reports should indicate the percent vermiculite, while benchsheets and raw data (representing point counting) should remain on file at the lab. 6) Will all responses to the questions posed from this session be posted somewhere? Yes. NYAAEL questions and answers will be posted through their membership. 7) Could you please elaborate on ELAP's advise to report > or equal 10% vermiculite - assume ACM, and asbestos % /analysis 'NA' (because as noted in the decision tree in the June 22 guidance, PLM should not be conducted further). We find that many people in the field are not aware of the meaning of 'NA'. My apologies for any confusion. Currently approved and validated methods are not adequate to rule out asbestos contamination in samples containing greater or equal to 10% vermiculite content. Therefore, as the percentage of vermiculite increases in a material, the likelihood of generating a false negative result when utilizing current methods also increases. Therefore, if a material is found to contain greater or equal to 10% vermiculite content, further analysis is not applicable (meaning NA ). Therefore, such material must be presumed asbestos containing (ACM).

3 New York State Guidance on Asbestos in Vermiculite In a document dated August 27, 2012 the New York State Department of Health issued a clarification on how it expects vermiculite to be treated with regards to asbestos content. The document can be found using the link below. Vermiculite was mined and milled for many purposes including use as insulation (Vermiculite Attic Insulation (VAI), Block Fill, etc.), and also as a component in the manufacture of various building materials (thermal insulation systems, surfacing, pipe lagging, spray on, etc.). Unfortunately some of the vermiculite used for these purposes was contaminated with asbestos. It is New York State s position that there is currently no analytical method that can reliably confirm the absence of asbestos in Vermiculite. And when encountered in its loose form this material must be assumed to be contaminated with asbestos and designated Asbestos Containing Material (ACM). Recognizing that when vermiculite is used as a component in building materials it may comprise just a small percentage, NY has separated vermiculite samples into two main categories with different procedures spelled out for each. Loose Vermiculite - Vermiculite Attic Insulation (VAI), Block Fill and all other loose Vermiculite materials. Vermiculite Containing Materials Building materials that contain vermiculite as a component. Scenario 1 Loose Vermiculite Samples are to be considered asbestos containing materials (ACM). No analysis is necessary for this determination. All the same precautions applied to other ACMs should be used. Scenario 2 Vermiculite Containing Building Material Samples are analyzed first for Vermiculite (not asbestos) content via NY stratified point count (method 198.1). If the vermiculite content of the sample is >10% the material should be considered ACM. If the vermiculite content of a building material is <10%, analysis may then be conducted by the New York State PLM Method (198.1) as usual to determine the asbestos content. Scenario 3 Non-friable Organically Bound (NOB) Vermiculite Containing Building Material Samples are not exempt from this new guidance. Samples containing >10% vermiculite should be considered ACM. If the vermiculite content of a building material is <10%, then analysis for asbestos content may be conducted.

4 The following flow chart illustrates the required course of analysis for loose Vermiculite and Vermiculite Containing Materials.

5 EMSL Procedures to Comply with New York State Guidance Scenario 1 Samples of loose Vermiculite samples such as VAI or block fill should be assumed to be an asbestos containing material (ACM). If they are submitted to the lab as billable samples they will be listed on the final report and reported as Loose Vermiculite - ACM by NYS Guidance Scenario 2 Samples that contain vermiculite as a component will be analyzed for vermiculite percentage by point counting (when possible) via New York method o If the vermiculite concentration is determined to be 10% or greater the material should be assumed to be an asbestos containing material (ACM). The sample will be reported as Vermiculite 10% of total material - ACM by NYS Guidance o If the vermiculite concentration is determined to be <10%, analysis for asbestos content will proceed via NYS ELAP Scenario 3 Non-friable Organically Bound (NOB) Vermiculite Containing Building Material Samples are not exempt from this new guidance. o After gravimetric reduction the ashed residue will be analyzed for vermiculite content by point count (when possible) and this percentage will be used to calculate the vermiculite percentage in the original sample. If the vermiculite percentage is calculated to be 10% or more the material is considered ACM. The sample will be reported as Vermiculite 10% of total material - ACM by NYS Guidance o If the vermiculite percentage is calculated to be <10% then analysis for asbestos content will continue as normal via ELAP Important Note: The requirement for a point count to determine vermiculite content necessitates that NOBs go to PLM (198.6) prior to TEM analysis (198.4) EMSL will continue to stay on top of this issue and issue further guidance as more information becomes available.