Photo By Todd Wivell | 240924-A-PV259-1001 CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. Kelly Barnes, Letterkenny Army Depot’s...... read more read more
CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. – For the first time ever, Letterkenny Army Depot’s Safety Office and Directorate of Public Works personnel successfully completed Asbestos Abatement Handler and Supervisors training, from Sept. 23-27.
Those that completed the training include Kelly Barnes and Jared Doyle from DPW, and Vernon Lowe and Sherri Somers from the Safety Office.
“The depot is standing up an abatement team which can be mobilized to perform emergency abatement in response to repairs that involve asbestos or possible asbestos material,” said Vernon Lowe, LEAD safety manager. “This team will be able to respond quickly, reducing the amount of time of potential asbestos exposure to employees.
“Not only does this improve employee safety but also is extremely cost effective compared to using outside agencies.”
According to Lowe, the initial discussion about standing up this team came because of a leak in a steam pipe. When the pipe, wrapped in asbestos insulation, leak occurred it disturbed and blew loose about 6 feet of the insulation from the pipe. This fell to the floor resulting in closing off the area until full abatement.
“During the after-action review, we looked at the loss of use during that time as well as the cost to correct and came to the conclusion that we could better serve the depot and its employees by being able to do this work ourselves,” said Lowe.
Kelly Barnes is the DPW deputy director and participated in the training.
“This training allows us to apply for asbestos occupation certification through the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry,” said Barnes. “We will be able to respond quickly to concerns of disturbed asbestos and abate it properly and safely.”
Barnes shared that in the 1990’s, contractors abated or encapsulated asbestos across the depot. She further mentioned that the need to abate asbestos is typically a result of a construction or repair project that would disturb the remaining asbestos.
“When there are major repair projects such as in buildings 350 and 370, we are abating all remaining encapsulated asbestos,” said Barnes. “We also abate other encapsulated asbestos on an as needed basis which can be up to 3 times per year.”
When the team finished the course, they received asbestos abatement and supervisor certifications (29 CFR 1926.1101/40 CFR 763), CPR, first aid, and AED training. Once the team receives their Pennsylvania issued licenses, they can perform the abatement and supervisory work.
Barnes and Lowe stated that asbestos, if left alone and intact, does not pose a threat to Letterkenny employees.
“If you come across disturbed asbestos, do not touch/disturb it and block off access to the area as quickly as possible,” said Barnes. “Report the situation to Safety and DPW immediately.”
| Date Taken: | 10.28.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 10.28.2024 12:37 |
| Story ID: | 484051 |
| Location: | CHAMBERSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, US |
| Web Views: | 16 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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