INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE MONITORING OF LEAD AND ASBESTOS DURING ABATEMENT AND DEMOLITION OF A FORMER MILL SITE, WEYERHAUSER COMPANY, COOS BAY, OREGON

JBR was retained by Weyerhaeuser to conduct lead and asbestos monitoring during the demolition of a former lumber mill in Coos Bay, Oregon. The former Weyerhaeuser North Bend Mill site was located east of US Highway 101 at about milepost 237. The site was once a shipyard, several sawmills, a planner mill, a particleboard plant, dry kilns, and a dock facility. The site covered 37 acres and had 13 major structures that had to be removed. The buildings had materials that contained lead paint and the roofs contained asbestos. The purpose of the environmental monitoring activities was to provide empirical data that demonstrated the effects of the demolition activities on the workers and the environment. The information generated from this project will be used to help direct future projects of a similar nature. The objectives of the monitoring program were as follows:

• Demonstrate through the collection of sound scientific data that the demolition and/abatement activities at the site did not pose an abnormal health risk to the general public in vicinity of the site.
• Document the true exposure levels of workers for the tasks monitored.
• Demonstrate that the workers at the site were not exposed to harmful levels of lead and/or asbestos during demolition and abatement at the site.
• Collect sufficient information to make a determination if the demolition and/or abatement work had an adverse affect on the surrounding environment. 

A detailed sampling and analysis plan was prepared for the project which described the type of monitoring activities that was to occur, the media to be sampled, the contaminates of concern, and the sampling and analytical techniques that were used. The plan was prepared by JBR and reviewed by Weyerhaeuser, OSHA, and DEQ.

JBR provided all sampling, equipment calibration, and conducted the majority of the asbestos analytical work on the project. All sampling and analytical work was conducted in accordance with NIOSH protocols. JBR personnel collected a total of 1,742 asbestos samples over the course of the project. Of this total, 1,353 were stationary high volume samples and 389 were personal samples. In addition, a total of 768 lead samples were collected; 650 were stationary high volume samples and 118 were personal samples. The project lasted approximately nine months.

• Jonathan Williams - Division Manager -