NYSDOL’s New Asbestos Survey Fact Sheet: When the “Guidance” Creates More Questions Than Answers!
Over the years, we learned in the asbestos industry that details matter. They matter when an asbestos inspector conducts a survey. For consultants, the same applies when they prepare a report. They matter when a contractor is bidding a project. They matter when the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) Asbestos Control Bureau (ACB) reviews a project. And, most importantly, they matter when workers are standing in a building, getting ready to disturb material that may contain asbestos. This prompted us to review the NYSDOL ACB fact sheet. It is titled “Expectations for Contents of Asbestos Surveys and Assessments.” We introduced this fact sheet in our blog. The blog is titled “Regulatory Updates, Industry Concerns, and Straight Talk from OSHA and NYSDOL – Day 3.” The intent of the fact sheet appears straightforward: to provide asbestos inspectors and consultants with additional direction on what NYSDOL expects to see in an asbestos survey or assessment. Unfortunately, when you start comparing the information in the fact sheet with the actual requirements of Industrial Code Rule 56 (ICR56), federal requirements, laboratory analytical methods, and the realities of performing asbestos inspections in the field, there are several areas that deserve closer examination. Some of the information is useful. Some of it appears to go beyond what the regulation actually says. And some of it is internally inconsistent with other information NYSDOL has provided to the industry. As someone who has been involved with asbestos inspections, abatement, consulting, training, and regulatory issues for decades, we believe these issues need to be discussed—not to criticize for the sake of criticizing, but because inspectors, consultants, contractors, building owners, and regulators all need to be working from the same set of rules. The Importance of Getting the Survey Right An asbestos survey is not simply a report
