[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 104 (Tuesday, August 2, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 2, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
           ROOFERS PROVIDE EXAMPLE OF FEDERAL OVER-REGULATION

                                 ______


                          HON. THOMAS W. EWING

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, August 2, 1994

  Mr. EWING. Mr. Speaker, over 2 years ago I brought to the attention 
of my colleagues a column written by the National Roofing Contractors 
Association [NRCA] which appeared in the Wall Street Journal, ``So You 
Want To Get Your Roof Fixed * * *''. This column detailed all of the 
Federal regulations which a roofer must comply with to perform a simple 
roof repair. This column, which I am including below, gave us a very 
vivid example of how just one industry is affected by excessive Federal 
regulations.
  I am also including a recent letter I received from Mr. Charles E. 
Bechtel, president of the NRCA. Mr. Bechtel asked his staff to provide 
an updated version of ``So You Want To Get Your Roof Fixed * * *''. 
What this effort showed is that, over 2 years later, there has been no 
change for the better and in fact the situation is getting worse. When 
Federal regulation should be shrinking, it is instead growing worse 
every day.
  I encourage my colleagues to review the updated version of ``So You 
Want To Get Your Roof Fixed * * *.'' and join me in efforts to reduce 
costly and unnecessary Federal regulations.
                                                  National Roofing


                                      Contractors Association,

                                        Dayton, OH, July 28, 1994.
     Hon. Thomas W. Ewing,
     House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Ewing: Two-years ago, then-president of the 
     National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA), Richard 
     Rosenow, wrote an article on federal regulations for fixing a 
     neighbor's garage roof. On February 4, 1992, Mr. Rosenow's 
     ``So You Want to Get Your Roof Fixed. . . ,'' was run in The 
     Wall Street Journal.
       Today, I am president of NRCA and federal regulations are 
     still growing unchecked. For example, the Occupational Safety 
     and Health Administration is pursuing new regulations on 
     reporting illnesses and injuries, hazard abatement 
     notification and indoor air quality. It is formulating lead 
     and fall protection standards, and will soon publish a 
     massive regulatory proposal concerning ``ergonomics.''
       There are also many new regulations from the Department of 
     Transportation, Environmental Protection Agency, Department 
     of Labor, and various other agencies and commissions. 
     Furthermore, there are countless state and local regulations.
       NRCA staff annotated, ``So You Want To Get Your Roof Fixed. 
     . . ,'' to see whether the regulations cited had been eased. 
     I regret to tell you that not much has changed. We slightly 
     altered the story to feature a school building, as opposed to 
     a neighbor's garage, but the regulations from the original 
     remain applicable.
       I've enclosed both the original and the annotated versions. 
     We are grateful for your efforts in the fight against 
     overregulation and hope that you will call our Washington 
     Office at (202) 546-7584 if we can be of assistance.
           Sincerely,

                                           Charles E. Bechtel,

                                       President, National Roofing
                                          Contractors Association.
       Enclosure.

              [From the Wall Street Journal, Feb. 4, 1992]

                   So You Want To Get Your Roof Fixed

                          (By Richard Rosenow)

       Suppose you own a roofing business, and one morning you get 
     a call from your neighbor, whose garage roof is leaking. He 
     tells you that the roof is asphalt-based, and you agree to 
     send a repair crew to try to fix it. In order to fully comply 
     with federal regulations that are in effect today, you would 
     have to:
       First examine the roof to determine whether asbestos is 
     present. There is a good chance that an asphalt roof will at 
     least include asbestos-containing base flashings and cements; 
     if they do, Environmental Protection Agency regulations will 
     apply, and Occupational Safety and Health Agency regulations 
     may apply.
       It is very likely that you won't know from a visual 
     examination whether asbestos is present. In that case, you 
     will have to cut a sample from the roof, and patch it to 
     avoid leaks at the point of the sample cut. You will then 
     send the sample, after you have bagged it properly, to an 
     accredited laboratory, and delay your repair work until the 
     sample is analyzed. (In some states, only a certified 
     abatement contractor is allowed to make this test cut.)
       If you discover that asbestos is contained in the roof, you 
     must:
       Notify the owner (your neighbor) in writing;
       notify the EPA Regional Office (10 days prior to beginning 
     work, which will mean your neighbor's roof will continue to 
     leak);
       be sure that at least one person on your repair crew is 
     trained to satisfy EPA requirements;
       conduct air monitoring on the job, once you are able to 
     start work, to determine whether emissions of asbestos will 
     exceed OSHA's action level. You can't do this, of course, 
     until the 10-day EPA notification period has passed.
       Once you begin any repair work, you will have to 
     ``adequately wet'' the materials. EPA defines this as 
     `'thoroughly penetrating'' the asbestos-containing material, 
     which is an interesting concept for a waterproof material 
     like asphalt. EPA also stipulates that there be no ``visible 
     emissions'' on the job, even if you can demonstrate that the 
     emissions contain no asbestos fibers.
       You will then have to vacuum the dust generated by any 
     ``cutting'' that you do, put it in double bags, and take it 
     to an approved landfill.
       You will also be responsible for prohibiting smoking on the 
     job site, and are subject to fine if one of your employees 
     lights up.
       You will probably wonder why your neighbor will be asked to 
     absorb all of the costs associated with these steps, since 
     hundreds of test samples have shown no asbestos exposures 
     above acceptable limits in roofing operations.
       You must ensure that your crew is trained about any 
     hazardous materials that they may encounter. (These will 
     include the gasoline you use to power the pump on your 
     roofing kettle.) You will also have to be sure that copies of 
     the appropriate at the work site, and that ask containers are 
     properly labeled.
       Your crew must also be thoroughly trained in handling these 
     materials. This will be determined not by what steps you have 
     taken to train them, but by why your employees tell the OSHA 
     inspector who asks them what they have been taught.
       Because you are transporting asphalt at a temperature above 
     212 degrees, so that your crew won't have to wait two or 
     three hours at your neighbor's home for the asphalt to heat, 
     you must:
       Mark the side of your roofing kettle with a sticker that 
     says ``HOT'' in capital letters;
       Complete shipping papers before the truck leaves your yard;
       Have emergency response procedures developed in the event 
     the kettle should turn over en route to your neighbor's home;
       Be sure that your driver has been drug-tested, and has a 
     commercial driver's license;
       Be sure that the driver completes his logs sheets for the 
     day, and stops 25 miles after he leaves your yard to see if 
     the load has shifted;
       Be sure that your kettle has a hazardous material placard, 
     in addition to the ``HOT'' sticker mentioned above.
       Because your vehicle is being driven for work-related 
     matters, you must be sure that the driver wears his seat 
     belt, and has received driver training. If he does not wear 
     his seat belt, of course, will be fined.
       Assuming you have met other OSHA safety standards, and are 
     satisfied you will be in compliance with local and state 
     regulations, it is now safe for you to begin. Your most 
     dangerous act, however, is yet to come: presenting your 
     neighbor with his bill, and explaining why your costs have 
     increased so dramatically in the three years since these 
     regulations have been promulgated.
                                  ____


                   So You Want to Get Your Roof Fixed

       (Annotated Version of 2/4/92 WSJ Article, Revised 6/21/94)

       Suppose you own a roofing business, and one morning you get 
     a call from the facilities manager at a local school, where 
     the roof is leaking. He tells you that the roof is asphalt-
     based, and you agree to send a repair crew to try to fix it 
     before school opens. In order to comply with federal 
     regulations that are in effect today, here are some of the 
     things you would have to do:
       First, examine the roof and take samples to determine 
     whether asbestos is present. There is a good chance that an 
     asphalt roof will contain asbestos fibers, which have been 
     embedded in asphalt, and which have been shown to remain in 
     the asphalt even when the roof is cut into sections to be 
     removed. If the roof is asbestos-containing, then 
     Environmental Protection Agency and Occupational Safety and 
     Health Administration Agency regulations will apply;\1\ of 
     course, they are different.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
     \1\Footnotes at end of article.
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       You will have to cut a sample from the roof, and patch it 
     to avoid leaks at the point of the sample cut. You will then 
     send the sample, after you have bagged it properly, to an 
     accredited laboratory, and delay your repair work until the 
     sample is analyzed.\2\ (In some cases, only a certified 
     asbestos abatement contractor is allowed to make this test 
     cut.) You also need to examine the school's interior to make 
     sure no asbestos would be disturbed by reroofing activities.
       If you discover that asbestos is present, you must:
       Notify the school in writing;
       Notify the EPA Regional Office 10 days prior to beginning 
     work, which means that the leaks will continue;\3\
       Be sure that at least one person on your repair crew is 
     trained to EPA's satisfaction;\4\
       Conduct air monitoring on the job, once you are able to 
     start work, to determine whether emissions of asbestos will 
     exceed OSHA's action level or permissible exposure limits.\5\
       You can't do this, of course, until the 10-day EPA 
     notification period has passed;
       Once you begin repair work, mist the roof while you are 
     cutting it, then vacuum up what you have cut, put this dust 
     into bags, label the bags, carefully lower them to the ground 
     via a hoist, crane or enclosed chute, and have them taken to 
     an approved landfill;\6\
       Ensure that your employees don't smoke on the job, 
     recognizing that you--not they--will be fined if they do.\7\
       You may wonder why the school should be asked to absorb all 
     the costs associated with these steps, since hundreds of test 
     samples have shown no asbestos exposure above acceptable 
     limits in roofing operations.\8\
       You must ensure that your crew is trained about any 
     hazardous materials that they may encounter. (These will 
     include the gasoline you use to power the pump on your 
     roofing kettle.) You will also have to be sure that copies of 
     the appropriate Material Safety Data Sheets are present at 
     the work site, and that all containers are properly labeled.
       Your crew must also be thoroughly trained in handling these 
     materials. This will be determined not by what steps you have 
     taken to train them, but by what your employees tell the OSHA 
     inspector who asks them what they have been taught.\9\
       Because you are transporting asphalt at a temperature above 
     212F degrees, so that your crew won't have to wait two or 
     three hours at the school for the asphalt to heat, you must:
       Mark the side of your roofing kettle with a sticker that 
     says ``HOT'' in capital letters;\10\
       Complete shipping papers before the truck leaves your 
     yard;\11\
       Have emergency response procedures developed in the event 
     the kettle should turn over en route to the school;\12\
       Be sure that your driver has been drug-tested and has a 
     commercial driver's license;\13\
       Be sure that your driver completes his log sheets for the 
     day\14\ and stops 25 miles after he leaves your yard to see 
     if the load has shifted;\15\
       Assuming you have met other OSHA safety standards,\16\ and 
     are satisfied you will be in compliance with local and state 
     regulations, it is now safe for you to begin. Your most 
     dangerous act, however, is yet to come: presenting the 
     engineer with the bill, and explaining why your costs have 
     increased so dramatically in the three years since these 
     regulations have been promulgated.


                               footnotes

     \1\EPA NESHAP 40 CFR 61, 61.140 through 61.152 OSHA Asbestos 
     Standard 1926.58, and proposed revisions.
     \2\EPA Asbestos-Containing Materials in Schools 40 CFR Part 
     763--Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA)--Under 
     AHERA, Laboratories must be accredited and follow EPA 
     requirements for analysis of bulk samples and/or air samples 
     of asbestos.
     \3\EPA NESHAP 40 CFR 61--61.145.
     \4\EPA NESHAP 40 CFR 61--61.145 and EPA notice of guidance FR 
     46380, September 12, 1991.
     \5\OSHA Asbestos Standard 1926.58 and amendment issued 
     September 14, 1988.
     \6\EPA NESHAP 40 CFR 61.145 and letter to Honorable Sonny 
     Callahan, House of Representatives from EPA's John Seitz, 
     Director, Office of Air Quality Planning Standards.
     \7\1926.58 Amended February 5, 1990.
     \8\``Exposure to Asbestos During Roofing Removal'', SRI 
     International and Fowler Associates, 1990.
     \9\OSHA Hazard Communication Standard, 1926.59 and Safety 
     Training, 1926.21.
     \10\49 CFR Part 172.325 Elevated Temperature Materials.
     \11\49 CFR Part 177.817 Shipping Papers.
     \12\49 CFR Part 172.203(n) Additional description 
     requirements.
     \13\49 CFR Part 391 Subpart H--Controlled Substance Testing 
     and Part 383--Commercial Driver's License Standards.
     \14\49 CFR Part 395 Hours of Service of Drivers and 396.11 
     Driver's Inspection Report.
     \15\49 CFR Part 392.9(b)(2) Safe loading.
     \16\29 CFR 1926.21 Safety Training and education; 1926.500(g) 
     Guarding of low-pitched roof perimeters; 1926.28 Personal 
     protection equipment.

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