EPA Brownfields 2013 Latest Information News and Program Updates

March 19 2013 - there are some new press releases and information posted on the USEPA Brownfields Program site.  A summary follows:

Fiscal Year 2013

• Evaluation of the National Brownfields Program
  • EPA recently conducted the first national program evaluation of the outcomes, efficiencies, and economic benefits produced by Brownfields grants. Over 8,000 Brownfield sites were evaluated to determine property milestones achieved and how funding was used at those properties. As a result of this evaluation, EPA's Brownfields Program has been able to make important programmatic changes to their grant and Revolving Loan Fund activities to improve future outcomes.
    Evaluation of the Brownfields Program, Part I and Part II
  • The final section of the evaluation was a rigorous analysis, using fixed-effect and quasi-experimental methods, estimating the causal effect of Brownfields cleanups on personal property values. Through this analysis it was determined that personal property values increased 5.1% - 12.8% near Brownfield sites when cleanup is completed. Part III of this evaluation can be found here:
    Estimating the Impacts of Brownfield Remediation on Housing Property Values

• FY 2013 Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training Grant Application Guidelines - Request for Proposals
  EPA provides funds to nonprofit organizations and eligible entities to deliver environmental workforce development and job training programs focused on hazardous and solid waste management, assessment, and cleanup associated activities, chemical safety, and wastewater management. Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training (EWDJT) grants are provided to recruit, train, and place, unemployed and under-employed, including low-income and minority, residents historically affected by hazardous and solid waste sites and facilities with the skills needed to secure full-time, sustainable employment in the environmental field and in the assessment and cleanup work taking place in their communities. Proposals are due April 9,2013.
  • Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training Grant Guidelines (PDF)
  • Frequently Asked Questions (PDF)

• Technical Assistance to Brownfields Communities - New TAB Grants Announced
  The EPA recently selected a new round of TAB grantees. Building on their previous experience working with communities, and their extensive team of subgrantees, contractors, partners and other network contacts, three new TAB grantees, the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), Kansas State University (KSU), and the Center for Creative Land Recycling (CCLR), will help communities tackle the challenge of assessing, cleaning up and preparing brownfields sites for redevelopment, especially underserved, rural, small, and otherwise distressed communities. Technical assistance being provided through these grants will help communities across the country move brownfields sites forward in the process toward cleanup and reuse. More information about the TAB grantee providing technical assistance in your area can be found at the following link - http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/tools/index.htm


• FY2013 Brownfields Area-Wide Planning Grant Guidelines – Request for Proposals
  These grants may be used by communities to facilitate community involvement in developing an area-wide plan for brownfields assessment, cleanup and subsequent reuse on a catalyst site and other high-priority brownfield sites. Each grant is funded up to $200,000 for two years. The proposal submission deadline is November 30, 2012.
  • FY2013 Brownfields Area-Wide Planning Grant Guidelines (PDF)
  • Frequently Asked Questions (PDF)

Please contact Three D Enterprises, LLC should you need any assistance in devloping a cost estimate to demolish a building or facility as part of a Brownfields Redevelopment Program

Damon Kozul, PE, CHMM  dkozul@scrapmetalprices.biz

Asbestos Abatement Sampling and Analysis Before Demolition

March 9 2013

Prior to doing any demolition, an asbestos survey must be conducted and sampling and analysis conducted.

Where asbestos may be found?  According to the USEPA:

• Attic and wall insulation produced containing vermiculite
• Vinyl floor tiles and the backing on vinyl sheet flooring and adhesives
• Roofing and siding shingles
• Textured paint and patching compounds used on wall and ceilings
• Walls and floors around wood-burning stoves protected with asbestos paper, millboard, or cement sheets
• Hot water and steam pipes coated with asbestos material or covered with an asbestos blanket or tape
• Oil and coal furnaces and door gaskets with asbestos insulation
• Heat-resistant fabrics
• Automobile clutches and brakes

Here is a video of about asbestos testing. Two types of air sampling are conducted on an asbestos abatement project: - Personnel Sampling required by OSHA - Area sampling required by EPA (AHERA), NYSDOL and NYCDEP

PCBs - Uses, Exposures and Health Effects

As described on the USEPA website

Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB)

PCBs belong to a broad family of man-made organic chemicals known as chlorinated hydrocarbons. PCBs were domestically manufactured from 1929 until their manufacture was banned in 1979. They have a range of toxicity and vary in consistency from thin, light-colored liquids to yellow or black waxy solids. Due to their non-flammability, chemical stability, high boiling point, and electrical insulating properties, PCBs were used in hundreds of industrial and commercial applications including electrical, heat transfer, and hydraulic equipment; as plasticizers in paints, plastics, and rubber products; in pigments, dyes, and carbonless copy paper; and many other industrial applications.

Commercial Use of PCBs

Although no longer commercially produced in the United States, PCBs may be present in products and materials produced before the 1979 PCB ban. Products that may contain PCBs include:

• Transformers and capacitors
• Other electrical equipment including voltage regulators, switches, reclosers, bushings, and electromagnets
• Oil used in motors and hydraulic systems
• Old electrical devices or appliances containing PCB capacitors
• Fluorescent light ballasts
• Cable insulation
• Thermal insulation material including fiberglass, felt, foam, and cork
• Adhesives and tapes
• Oil-based paint
• Caulking and Plastics
• Carbonless copy paper
• Floor finish

The PCBs used in these products were chemical mixtures made up of a variety of individual chlorinated biphenyl components, known as congeners. Most commercial PCB mixtures are known in the United States by their industrial trade names. The most common trade name is Aroclor.

Release and Exposure of PCBs

Prior to the 1979 ban, PCBs entered the environment during their manufacture and use in the United States. Today PCBs can still be released into the environment from poorly maintained hazardous waste sites that contain PCBs; illegal or improper dumping of PCB wastes; leaks or releases from electrical transformers containing PCBs; and disposal of PCB-containing consumer products into municipal or other landfills not designed to handle hazardous waste. PCBs may also be released into the environment by the burning of some wastes in municipal and industrial incinerators.
Once in the environment, PCBs do not readily break down and therefore may remain for long periods of time cycling between air, water, and soil. PCBs can be carried long distances and have been found in snow and sea water in areas far away from where they were released into the environment. As a consequence, PCBs are found all over the world. In general, the lighter the form of PCB, the further it can be transported from the source of contamination.

PCBs can accumulate in the leaves and above-ground parts of plants and food crops. They are also taken up into the bodies of small organisms and fish. As a result, people who ingest fish may be exposed to PCBs that have bioaccumulated in the fish they are ingesting.

Health Effects of PCBs

PCBs have been demonstrated to cause cancer, as well as a variety of other adverse health effects on the immune system, reproductive system, nervous system, and endocrine system. See the Health Effects page for more information.