8.2 Asbestos Safety Control Monitors, Asbestos Safety Technicians & Supervisory Techniques

8.2 ASCMs, ASTs & Supervisory Techniques

Quick Answer: On a New Jersey subcode project, the building owner hires a DCA-authorized Asbestos Safety Control Monitor (ASCM). The ASCM assigns a DCA-certified Asbestos Safety Technician (AST), who is on site from initial preparation through the approved final visual inspection. The AST performs all inspections and air sampling, directs corrective action, and can order work stopped in writing. The contractor's permitted supervisor is responsible for the crew. That supervisor is required on site throughout every licensed project and serves as OSHA's competent person, who must have the authority to take prompt corrective measures.

The Asbestos Safety Control Monitor (N.J.A.C. 5:23-8.11)

Authorization

• An ASCM may be an individual, partnership, corporation, or other entity. It may not provide ASCM services or contract for them without DCA authorization.
• The application must show:
  • Financial integrity, through a reviewed statement by an independent CPA.
  • Qualified management and technical staff, with all assigned ASTs certified by DCA.
  • Laboratory arrangements. Laboratories must be NIST-accredited, and PCM laboratories must participate in the AIHA proficiency program.
  • Staff policies, prior experience, and plan-review capability.
  • Proof of liability insurance.
  • A statement that the ASCM is not affiliated with, influenced, or controlled by any producer, manufacturer, supplier, or vendor of abatement products, or by any abatement contractor.
• Authorization lasts one year, with expiration dates of March 31 or September 30. Reauthorization applications are due at least 60 days before expiration.
• Fees: $5,875 for authorization and $2,937 for reauthorization. The ASCM also pays 6% of gross ASCM revenue quarterly.

Independence

When an ASCM contracts for a project, it may not have any economic relationship with another party involved with the project. The laboratory it uses may not have any economic relationship with the abatement contractor (N.J.A.C. 5:23-8.11(d)). The ASCM contracts directly with the building owner or the owner's authorized agent. The contract states the scope, how the ASCM is paid, and who will approve documents. The ASCM may perform OSHA-related air monitoring only through a contract with the building owner.

Responsibilities

The ASCM must:

• Keep enough certified staff to enforce the subcode.
• Review, approve, and release plans and specifications in writing and forward them for the permit.
• Help the owner prepare the permit application.
• Notify DCA in writing at least 10 days before the project starts. The AST telephones DCA on day one.
• Perform all required inspections and tests.
• Issue and keep the written notice to proceed, the written notice to remove barriers, the Certificate of Completion, violation notices, daily logs, air results, and a separate list of contractor deficiencies.
• Deliver a final comprehensive report to the owner within 60 days after the Certificate of Completion. DCA can obtain a copy within 10 days of a written request.
• Keep records, which may not be destroyed or removed without DCA permission.

The Asbestos Safety Technician (N.J.A.C. 5:23-8.10)

Certification Requirements

1. At least 24 college credits in academic sciences, or one year of environmental assessment work experience.
2. A course of at least 30 contact hours in air monitoring methods with hands-on calibration, or six months of air monitoring experience with at least 30 hours of on-the-job training.
3. An NJDOH-approved asbestos worker/supervisor training course. One year of experience monitoring abatement, or six months for a certified industrial hygienist, may substitute.
4. A DCA-approved asbestos safety technician course.
5. A passing score on an AST examination. New Jersey's Pearson VUE handbook lists an Asbestos Safety Technician exam at $125.

Certification runs for two years (expiring July 31 or January 31), and the application fee is $74.

Duties

Penalties: DCA can suspend or revoke an AST's certification, assess penalties, or issue warnings for fraud, gross negligence, incompetence, failure to enforce the subcode, bribery, or working without certification. An AST cannot waive subcode procedures.

The Contractor's Supervisor

Legal Responsibilities

• New Jersey: Workers must work under the direction of a supervisor who holds a valid New Jersey supervisor permit (N.J.A.C. 12:120-2.1). The licensee must keep a permitted supervisor on site throughout the project and, with that supervisor, ensure through periodic visual inspections and immediate correction that work meets the license performance standards (N.J.A.C. 12:120-4.7(b)).
• OSHA competent person: A person who can identify existing and predictable asbestos hazards and has the authority to take prompt corrective measures. For Class I and II work, the competent person needs training that meets the EPA Model Accreditation Plan supervisor course (29 CFR 1926.1101(o)). Class I jobs require on-site inspections at least once during each work shift and whenever an employee asks.
• Competent person duties include:
  • Setting up the regulated area and enclosure.
  • Ensuring enclosure integrity.
  • Controlling entry.
  • Supervising exposure monitoring.
  • Ensuring PPE, hygiene, and decontamination are used correctly.
  • Ensuring the required engineering controls and work practices are followed.

Supervisory Techniques (Supervisor Exam: Supervisory, 4%)

N.J.A.C. 12:120-6.7 requires supervisor courses to teach supervisory techniques, and the Model Accreditation Plan describes them as practices "to enforce and reinforce the required work practices and discourage unsafe work practices." In practice:

1. Plan before mobilizing. Read the specifications, survey, and permits. Confirm the notification dates, the licensed hauler and landfill, and equipment inventories.
2. Verify credentials at the door. Check permits (originals only), medical clearance, fit testing, and training for every worker. The AST will check permits too.
3. Hold a daily briefing. Cover the day's tasks, hazards (heat, electrical, falls, confined spaces), emergency procedures, and decon rules.
4. Lead by example. Follow the decontamination sequence and respirator rules yourself.
5. Inspect frequently. Check barriers, pressure, wetting, bagging, and housekeeping throughout the shift.
6. Correct immediately and document it. Unsafe practices get stopped and fixed on the spot, then noted in the log.
7. Communicate with the AST and owner. Request inspections with the required 48-hour notice. Respond to deficiency notices. Never ask the AST to sign off early.
8. Manage the crew's health. Watch for heat stress, enforce hydration and rest, and report injuries.

Records the Supervisor Keeps

• Daily entry and exit logs. On subcode jobs, the contractor must keep a daily log of personnel entering the work area and post a list of workers with daily start and stop times (N.J.A.C. 5:23-8.15(c)3).
• Personal air monitoring results and calibration records, used for OSHA compliance and NEAs.
• Equipment checks, such as HEPA unit filter changes and respirator inspections.
• Waste inventory and shipment records (Section 9.1).
• Incident, injury, and deficiency-correction records.

See Section 10.2 for why these records matter legally.

Roles Compared

Exam Traps

• Who pays the monitor? The owner, never the contractor.
• AST presence: From initial preparation through the approved final visual inspection. Work, including preparation, cannot proceed without an AST at the work area (N.J.A.C. 5:23-8.15(a)).
• Stop work: The AST orders a stop in writing. The enforcing agency issues the stop work order if the contractor does not comply.
• Certificate: The ASCM issues the Certificate of Completion. The AST does not sign a "certificate of clearance."

Scenario

Late on a Friday, a supervisor tells the AST, "Sign the pre-sealant inspection now and we'll touch up a few spots before we spray." The AST refuses. The subcode requires the pre-sealant inspection to confirm that all ACM has been properly removed before sealant is applied, with acceptance recorded in writing (N.J.A.C. 5:23-8.7(b)3). Walking the area, the AST finds residue behind pipe hangers. The AST directs re-cleaning, records the deficiency in the bound log, and re-inspects after cleaning. The supervisor's better practice would have been to perform the contractor's own inspection first and request the AST's inspection only after the area was clean.