Major Projects
U.S. EPA, El Dorado Hills, CA - NOA Risk Assessment
Activity-based asbestos air sampling was done in 2004 for U.S. EPA to assess the public health hazard due to Naturally Occurring Asbestos (NOA) in El Dorado Hills, CA. Asbestos TEM Labs perform custom bulk soil sample preparation and analysis by polarized light microscopy (PLM). In addition,air sample analysis by phase contrast microscopy was performed for EPA to assess the public health hazard from NOA. The results are included in EPA's 2005 "El Dorado Hills Naturally Occurring Asbestos Multimedia Exposure Assessment, El Dorado Hills, California Preliminary Assessment and Site Inspection Report - Interim Final".(here)
Controversy arose after the publication of the report with the 2006 Stone, Sand and Gravel by the RJ Lee Group which criticised many of the EPA's findings stating, in summary, that little or no asbestos was present in El Dorado Hills, and that EPA had erroneously identifed the presence of asbestos (here).
Asbestos TEM Labs President, Mark Bailey PG, was retained by EPA as consulting geologist/mineralogist to respond to the criticisms leveled at the EPA report on El Dorado Hills by the Sand and Gravel Association. While not responsible for the final report, his findings were used as part of the basis for EPA's 2006 report titled "Response to the November 2005 National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association Report Prepared by the R.J. Lee Group, Inc “Evaluation of EPA’s Analytical Data from the El Dorado Hills Asbestos Evaluation Project” (here)
In addition, research was performed, and a report generated by Dr. Greg Meeker of the US Geologlical Survey in his 2006 Report, "Mineralogy and Morphology of Amphiboles Observed in Soils and Rocks in El Dorado Hills, California" (here), which also contributed to EPA's reponse confirming EPA's initial findings. The USGS findings were also consistent with Mr. Bailey's findings in his initial response.
Through it all, Mr. Bailey and Asbestos TEM Labs were involved in various parts of the both EPA's original report and final response.
Calaveras Dam Replacement Project for SFPUC
The Calaveras Dam Replacement Project (CDRP) was a 10 year long project for which Asbestos TEM Labs was the primary testing lab responsible for analyzing tens of thousands of rock, soil, air, settled dust and water samples for the presence of naturally occurring asbestos. The asbestos portion of the project began in 2009 when drill core collected from the site for geotechnical bedrock evaluation was submitted to Asbestos TEM Labs for TEM analysis, during which time a new type of asbestos, glaucophane asbestos, was discovered at the site, along with chrysotile asbestos.
During the project Asbestos TEM Laboratories provided a wide range of testing and consulting services including:
- Asbestos analysis by:
- TEM EPA quantitative bulk with CARB 435 sample prep
- TEM AIR
- CARB-modified AHERA
- NIOSH 7402
- ISO 10312
- TEM Water
- EPA 100.1 - Asbestos in Drinking Water
- EPA 100.2 - Asbestos in Water
- TEM Settled Dust
- ASTM ???
- A level of mineral identification raised to a previously unheard of level for a project of this type with all mineral fibers speciated into their specific amphibole mineral phase allowing for detailed fingerprinting for use in identifying asbestos fiber source locale
- Expert mineralogical/geological consulting by President, Mark Bailey,PG related to developing protocols to speciate amphibole minerals
- Expert database consulting services to aid in the design of a powerful data handling system for both storing, QC checking and retrieving information from the enormous quantity of air sampling data generated by the project
Presentations and scientific papers on the CDRP site have aided the world-wide NOA hazard abatement community in understanding the scope of the project, as well as the numerous unique protocols that were developed, and may be useful on future lNOA projects both large and small.
Hunters Point Redevelopment Project for Lennar
Since 2006 Asbestos TEM Laboratories has tested thousands of NOA samples by CARB Modified AHERA from the Lennar Hunters Point Redevelopment Project at Hunters Point, as well as the Hunters View and PG&E Hunters Point site mitigation project.
Asbestos TEM Labs, Inc. also provided battery-powered high volume air sampling equipment to the client on a lease basis to allow them to perform 24 hour TEM air sampling in an environment with no electrical power.
CARB 435 Method Development Research Project for ARB
Under contract with the California Air Resources Board, Asbestos TEM Labs conducted a series of tests modifying the CARB 435 method for NOA in soil and rock.
Asbestos TEM Labs is the only lab in California with the fully approved bulk soil/rock sample crushing and pulverizing equipment specified in the CARB 435 method. Under contract with the California Air Resources Board, Asbestos TEM Labs conducted a series of sample preparation tests in to assess proposed modifications to the CARB 435 method for NOA in soil and rock. Special prep techniques were used to homogenize and mix pulverized soil samples. The results of the asbestos tests will be used by ARB to modify the CARB 435 test method.
California Air Resources Board (CARB), Oak Ridge High School, El Dorado Hills, CA - NOA Air Monitoring
The California Air Resources Board became involved at Oak Ridge High School, El Dorado Hills, CA in 1998-1999 when signficant levels of airborne asbestos identifed as actinolite amphibole were detected in ambient samples at the site. Asbestos TEM Labs was hired under contract to CARB to perform the air sample laboratory analysis following a TEM AHERA- type protocol. Hundreds of sample were analyzed and reported to CARB, some of the data of which were included a report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), Division of Health Assessment and Consultation which can be found (here).