Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 18, September 16, 2024
(a) Any candidate
for certification as an asbestos safety technician shall submit an application
to the Department accompanied by the required application fee established in
(c) below. The requirements for certification as an asbestos safety technician
are as follows:
1. At least 24 college
credits in academic sciences, including biology, chemistry, industrial hygiene,
environmental science, physics, geology or related fields; or one year of work
experience which included performing environmental assessment activities, which
may be substituted for this education requirement;
2. Successful completion of a course in air
monitoring methods consisting of a minimum of 30 contact hours that shall
include hands-on experience with using and calibrating various types of air
monitoring equipment; or six months of work experience performing air
monitoring including at least 30 hours of on-the-job training, which may be
substituted for this education requirement;
3. Successful completion of a training course
for asbestos worker/supervisors approved by the New Jersey Department of Health
pursuant to N.J.A.C. 12:120 and N.J.A.C. 8:60;
i. One year of experience in monitoring
asbestos abatement activities may be substituted for completion of an approved
training course;
ii. Six months of
experience monitoring asbestos abatement may be substituted for completion of
an approved training course if the individual is an industrial hygienist
certified by the American Board of Industrial Hygiene;
4. Successful completion of a course for
asbestos safety technicians approved by the New Jersey State Department of
Community Affairs;
5. Successful
passing of an examination for asbestos safety technicians administered by the
National Assessment Institute in cooperation with the National Asbestos
Council, or any equivalent examination approved by the Department.
(b) The Department shall renew the
certification following submission of an application, payment of the required
fee pursuant to (c) below, and verification by the Department that the
applicant meets the requirements for the certification in this section.
1. Every two years any certification already
issued shall be renewed upon submission of an application, payment of the
required fee, and verification by the Department that the applicant has met
such continuing educational requirements as may be established by the
Commissioner. The Department shall renew the certification previously issued
for a term of two years. The renewal date shall be 45 days prior to the
expiration date. The expiration dates shall be July 31 or January 31.
2. The Department shall issue, upon
application, a duplicate certification upon a finding that the certification
has been issued and the applicant is entitled to such certification to replace
one which has been lost, destroyed, or mutilated. Payment of a fee as
established by
5:23-8.10(c)
shall be required.
3. The
Department may establish by rule continuing education requirements as deemed
necessary for the renewal of a certification.
(c) No application for certification or
recertification shall be acted upon unless said application is accompanied by a
$ 74.00 fee.
(d) Duties of the
asbestos safety technician shall be as follows:
1. The asbestos safety technician shall
perform all air sampling specified in this subchapter, as delineated in
5:23-8.21 and shall be thoroughly
familiar with this subchapter. He or she shall inform the department who his or
her employer is at the time of his or her application for certification, and
shall notify the department in writing within 10 working days of any change in
status or employer. He or she shall have access to all areas of the asbestos
abatement project at all times and shall continuously inspect and monitor the
performance of the contractor to verify that said performance complies with
this subchapter while work is in progress. The asbestos safety technician shall
be on site from the initial preparation of the work area through the approved
final visual inspection, and shall perform all inspections pursuant to
5:23-8.7.
2. The asbestos safety technician shall
direct the actions of the contractor verbally and in writing to ensure
compliance with this subchapter. The asbestos safety technician shall require
that all workers present a valid asbestos worker performance permit issued by
the New Jersey Department of Labor before entering the work area. In matters of
negligence and/or flagrant disregard for the safety of any person, including
the possibility of contaminating the building environment and the emergence of
an unsafe condition at the work area, the asbestos safety technician shall
direct such corrective action as may be necessary. If the contractor fails to
take the corrective action, or if the contractor or any of his or her employees
continually violates the requirements of any regulation, then the asbestos
safety technician shall order, in writing, that the work be stopped. If the
contractor fails to comply with the order, the asbestos safety technician shall
notify the enforcing agency, who shall issue a Stop Work Order to the
contractor and have the work area secured until all violations are
abated.
3. The asbestos safety
technician shall calculate, based on the actual available output (not the rated
output) of the air filtering units, the required number of air filtration units
for each work area. This calculation shall be made whenever the volume of the
work area changes. The asbestos safety technician shall inform the owner,
contractor, and the abatement project designer of any discrepancies between the
number of units required and those in operation within the work area. If
problems are identified and not corrected, the asbestos safety technician shall
inform the enforcing agency who shall take necessary measures to ensure
corrective action;
4. At the
beginning of each work shift, every four hours thereafter, and at the end of
the contractor's work day, the asbestos safety technician shall monitor
pressure differential by digital manometers with continuous printout or other
approved low pressure monitoring devices for each work area. One or more
separate monitoring systems shall be installed for every 10,000 square feet of
separation surface adjacent to the work area. Pressure monitoring shall be
representative of all adjacent areas. The pressure differential shall meet the
minimum requirement set forth in
5:23-8.15(b)9 or
8.17(d)6i or 8.19(c)4ii, as appropriate.
5. The asbestos safety technician shall
ensure that the contractor smoke tests all the glovebags after they are
attached and before the commencement of work.
6. For unoccupied buildings, upon receipt of
testing results indicating that concentrations above the acceptance criteria
established in
5:23-8.21 have occurred during the
abatement project, the asbestos safety technician shall immediately direct
corrective action and verbally report these results within 24 hours to the
contractor, the owner and the abatement project designer. Such verbal
notification shall be followed by written notification to the contractor, the
owner and the abatement project designer. A copy shall be sent to the enforcing
agency and the Department within three business days from receipt of the
results. For occupied buildings, the procedure set forth at
5:23-8.19 shall be
followed.
7. The asbestos safety
technician shall monitor the removal of all asbestos-contaminated waste from
the work area to ensure that it takes place in conformance with
5:23-8.22, in the following manner:
i. Direct removal by a collector/hauler
registered with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection pursuant
to N.J.A.C. 7:26 and pursuant to New Jersey Department of Transportation rules
at N.J.A.C. 16:49.
ii. Indirect
removal by placement in a locked and secure container, for temporary storage,
awaiting the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection registered waste
hauler.
8. The asbestos
safety technician shall keep an up-to-date and comprehensive daily log of
on-site activities. The log shall be updated continuously. The name of the
project, name of the asbestos safety technician, and date shall be recorded
daily. Each entry shall contain the event, the time of event and shall be
initialed by the asbestos safety technician. One section of the log shall
contain observations concerning contractor compliance with activities required
under this subchapter listing all deficiencies encountered. In addition, the
log shall list the name of each person entering the work area. The log shall be
a bound book and all entries shall be in ink. The log shall be kept at the
project site and shall be made available upon request at all times to the
owner, the abatement project designer and to appropriate local and State
agencies.
9. The asbestos safety
technician shall prepare a comprehensive final report to include daily logs,
required inspection reports, observations and air monitoring results. This
report shall be made part of the official record filed by the asbestos safety
control monitor.
(e)
Penalties: The Department may suspend or revoke a certification, or assess a
civil penalty, in accordance with
5:23-2.31, for each offense, if the
Department determines that an individual:
1.
Has violated the provisions of the Uniform Construction Code
regulations;
2. Has obtained a
certification by fraud or misrepresentation;
3. Has aided or abetted in practice as an
asbestos safety technician any person not authorized to practice as an asbestos
safety technician under the provisions of this subchapter.
4. Has fraudulently or deceitfully practiced
as an asbestos safety technician.
5. Has been grossly negligent or has engaged
in misconduct in the performance of any of his duties;
6. Has failed to maintain a minimally
acceptable level of competence;
7.
Has been found to have accepted or failed to report an offer of a bribe or
other favors in a proceeding under this act or other appropriate law of this or
any other state or jurisdiction;
8.
Has failed to comply with any order issued by the Department;
9. Has made a false or misleading written
statement, or has made a willful material omission in any submission to the
Department;
10. Has failed to
enforce this subchapter; or
11. Has
performed the duties of an asbestos safety technician without being certified
as such.
(f) In addition
to, or as an alternative to, revoking or suspending a certification or
assessing a penalty, the Department may issue a letter of warning, reprimand,
or censure with regard to any conduct which, in the judgment of the Department,
warrants such a letter. Such letter shall be made a part of the certification
file of the individual. A copy of such action shall be sent to an officer of
the asbestos safety control monitor firm employing the individual.
(g) Conviction of a crime or an offense shall
constitute grounds for revocation or suspension of a certification.