September 3, 1997
Mr. Gayle E. Anderson
Manager, Corporate Marketing and Sales
Reliable Environmental Management and Services, Inc.
2500 W. 31st Street, Suite G-2
Lawrence, Kansas 66047
Dear Mr. Anderson:
This is in response to your letter of February 3, addressed to Mr.
Michael Connors, Regional Administrator, Chicago Regional Office of
the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). You wrote
your letter to obtain answers to questions you have pertaining to
the Construction Asbestos Standard, 29 CFR 1926.1101.
I will include each of your questions and follow them with an answer.
Question:
Does OSHA view wallboard/gypsum wallboard and joint compound as a
composite building system as does the Environmental Protection Agency
(thus allowing for a composite of the bulk sample analysis of the
multiple layers)?
Answer:
By interpretation of the definition of asbestos-containing
material (ACM) presented at 29 CFR 1910.1001(b), 29 CFR 1915(b), and 29
CFR 1926.1101(b); OSHA regards each of the items used to construct wall
shells from wallboard panels as separate materials. Each of these
materials that may contain asbestos must be analyzed separately for their
asbestos content. If any of these materials contain more than 1% asbestos,
then work practices specified in the Standard must be followed if the
wallboard panels are removed.
Question:
What type of material does OSHA consider wallboard/gypsum
wallboard to be, surfacing or miscellaneous?
Answer:
As indicated by the definitions of "Class I asbestos work"
and "Class II asbestos work" presented at 29 CFR 1926.1101(b), OSHA
divides asbestos-containing material (ACM) into two groups. One group
of ACM consists of surfacing material and thermal system insulation.
The other group of ACM material consists of material that is not
surfacing material or thermal system insulation material. ACM
wallboard/gypsum wallboard is material that is not surfacing material
or thermal system insulation material.
Question:
What type of material does OSHA consider joint compound to
be, surfacing or miscellaneous?
Answer:
ACM joint compound is material that is not surfacing material
or thermal system material. As indicated on page 41032 of Federal
Register, Vol. 59, No. 153, Wednesday, August 10, 1994, joint compound
is finishing material.
Question:
If OSHA regards wallboard/gypsum wallboard and joint compound
as a surfacing material, is it correct to interpret 29 CFR 1926.1101 in
that abatement of greater than 10 square feet of ACM joint compound is
"Class I" work?
Answer:
OSHA does not regard wallboard/gypsum wallboard and joint
compound as a surfacing material. If a wall shell is constructed of
ACM joint compound and wallboard panels that are not ACM, then removal
of the wall shell is Class II asbestos work.
Question:
If OSHA regards joint compound as a surfacing or miscellaneous
material, is the abatement of ACM wallboard/gypsum wallboard and joint
compound required by OSHA prior to building renovation, remodeling or
demolition activities?
Answer:
I understand this question to be seeking clarification as to
whether the wallboard panels must be removed from the studs and the like
before these are removed if ACM joint compound was used in the construction
of the wall shell. Note that the term "removal" includes demolition
operations. When wallboard panels are removed, the provisions the
employer must comply with include the methods of compliance provisions
presented at 29 CFR 1926.1101(g)(1), (g)(2), (g)(3), and (g)(7) and at
29 CFR 1926.1101(g)(8)(v) or (vi); and the waste disposal provision at
29 CFR 1926.1101(l)(2). I have enclosed copies of the identified
provisions for your convenience. An employer may have difficulty
complying with the provisions without removing the panels and the
studs and the like separately, but if the employer can remove the
panels and studs and the like together and comply with the provisions,
that approach is acceptable.
Question:
If OSHA regards joint compound as "surfacing material" does
the material then have to have bulk samples collected following the
"3,5,7" rule using the random sampling grid.
Answer:
There is not a requirement to collect bulk samples of joint
compound according to the "3,5,7" rule because joint compound is not
regarded as surfacing material.
Question:
If wallboard/gypsum wallboard and joint compound are viewed
by OSHA as separate materials, does this conflict with the EPA's definition
that considers these to be a "composite" building system?
Answer:
If you have correctly reported the EPA's position, there are
apparently a greater percentage of wall shells constructed from wallboard
panels and ACM joint compound that are covered by the OSHA Asbestos
Standard than by the EPA asbestos standard issued as one of the National
Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP). OSHA has
concluded that removal of wall shells constructed with wallboard panels
and ACM joint compound poses a potential hazard to workers that must
be controlled; while the EPA may have concluded that such activity does
not produce sufficient air pollution to regulate. This is not viewed
as a "conflict."
Question:
In order to be in compliance with OSHA's "Communication of
Hazard" requirement as outlined in 29 CFR 1926.1101(k), do inspections
that were conducted pursuant to the requirements of the Asbestos
Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA), 40 CFR 763 Part E and/or
Asbestos National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants
(NESHAP), 40 CFR 61, Subpart M, fulfill OSHA requirements when
wallboard/gypsum wallboard systems are sampled as composite building
system as allowed under AHERA?
Answer:
An inspection conducted pursuant to the requirements of
AHERA or NESHAP where wallboard/gypsum wallboard systems were sampled
is not relevant to the OSHA provision at 29 CFR 1926.1101(k)(5)(ii)(A).
This provision indicates that one of the means an employer has for
demonstrating that presumed asbestos-containing material (PACM) does
not contain more than 1 percent asbestos is to have had a completed
inspection conducted pursuant to the requirements of AHERA (40 CFR
Part 763, Subpart E) which demonstrates that the material is not ACM.
The reason this is not relevant is because OSHA does not consider
either wallboard or joint compound PACM.
Question:
If not, how can this conflict between the regulations be
reconciled?
Response:
OSHA does not see a conflict between the regulations.
Question:
If not, are all inspections conducted pursuant to the
requirements of the AHERA and/or NESHAP inadequate with respect to
assessing wallboard/gypsum wallboard and joint compound when
considering OSHA regulations?
Response:
OSHA does not see a conflict between the regulations.
Question:
If your answer is "yes" [the inspection conducted
pursuant to the AHERA and Asbestos NESHAP regulations are inadequate],
how does OSHA reconcile its position when 1910.1001(e)(8)(ii)(A)
states: "Having a completed inspection conducted pursuant to the
requirements of AHERA (40 CFR 763, Subpart E) which demonstrates
that no asbestos is present;" is a means by which a building owner
may demonstrate that PACM does not contain asbestos?
Response:
OSHA does not see a conflict between the regulations.
Question:
Has OSHA adopted the EPA Model Accreditation Plan as the
training curriculum for workers who work around, disturb, repair or
remove asbestos-containing materials in public and commercial buildings?
Answer:
According to 29 CFR 1926.1101(k)(9)(iii), if the workers
perform Class I operations or Class II operations that require the use
of critical barriers (or equivalent isolation methods) and/or negative
pressure enclosures, then they must be provided training that is
equivalent in curriculum, training method and length to the EPA Model
Accreditation Plan (MAP) asbestos abatement workers training (40 CFR
Part 763, subpart E, appendix C).
Question:
What is OSHA's definition of a "public" building as it
pertains to the applicability of the regulations under discussion?
Answer:
OSHA does not have a special definition for "public
building" because the term is not used in the standard.
We appreciate the opportunity to provide this clarifying information.
If you have further questions please contact the Office of Health
Compliance at (202) 219-8036.
Sincerely,
John B. Miles, Jr., Director
Directorate of Compliance Programs
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