NEWTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT
RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR CONDUCTING ABRASIVE BLASTING
The City of Newton Health Department hereby orders that the following regulations be and are hereby adopted this Fifteenth Day of May, 1983 to be effective on June 1, 1983 under authority of Sections 31C, 122, and 142E of Chapter 111 of the General Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
SECTION I DEFINITIONS
1.1 Air Contaminant – Means any substance in the ambient air space
and includes, but not limited to dust, fly ash, fume, mist, odor,
smoke, vapor, pollen, micro-organism, heat, any combination
thereof, or any decay or reaction product thereof.
1.2 Air Contamination Source – Means any source at, from, or by
reason of which any air contaminant is emitted directly into
the ambient air space.
1.3 Ambient Air Space – Means the unconfined space occupied by the
atmosphere above the geographical area of Newton,.-
1.4 Atmospheric Pollution – Means the presence in the ambient air
space, or partition thereof, of one or more air contaminants
or combinations thereof in such concentration and of such
duration as;
(a) To cause a nuisance;
(b) To be injurious or tend to be, on the basis of current
information, injurious to human or animal life, vegetation,
or to property, or
(c) To unreasonably interfere with the comfortable enjoyment
of life and property or the conduct of business.
1.5 Department – Means the Health Department, City of Newton.
1.6 Dry Abrasive Blasting – Propulsion, by means of a stream of shot or other finely divided abrasive material, for the purpose of abrading or cleaning a surface.
1,7 Dust – Means finely divided solid matter
1.8 Emission – Means of discharge or release to the ambient air space
of any air contaminant.
1.9 Fluid – Air, steam, other gas, water or other liquid.
1.10 Ash – Means the aerosolized solid component of burned or
partially burned fuel.
1.11 Fume – Means any aerosol resulting from chemical reaction,
distillation, or sublimation.
1.12 Mist – Means any liquid aerosol formed by the condensation of
vapor or by the atomization of liquids.
1.13 odor – Means that property of gaseous, liquid, or -olid materials
that elicits a physiologic response by the human sense of smell.
1.14 Particulate Matter – Means any material that exists in a finely
divided form as a liquid or solid at ambient air temperature,
humility, and pressures.
1.15 Person – Means an individual, partnership, association, firm,
syndicate, company, trust, corporation, city department, bureau,
or agency, or any other entity recognized by law as the subject
of rights and duties.
1.16 Smoke – Means the visible aerosol, which may contain fly-ash,
resulting from combustion of materials.
1.17 Vapor – Means the gaseous state of certain substances that can
exist in equilibrium with their solid or liquid states under
standard conditions.
1.18 wet Abrasive Blasting – Propulsion, by means of or accompanied
by a fluid under pressure, or the use of high-pressure water in
conjunction with chemical solvents, for the purpose of abrading
or cleaning a surface.
SECTION II ABRASIVE BIASTING
Dry abrasive blasting is prohibited except under the following
circumstances:
2.1 As part of a manufacturing process in which the abrasive process
is completely enclosed without exhaust or discharge to the
atmosphere, or n which the abrasive process is enclosed and
exhausted to the atmosphere in a manner and location approved
in writing by the Health Department.
(a) Approval will be granted if during the manufacturing
process any material discharged or exhausted to the
atmosphere has first passed through a filtration system.
2.2 As part of a manufacturing, construction, or repair process,
conducted at a location zoned for manufacturing, and for which
the Health Department has granted an ANNUAL RENEWABLE LICENSE
setting forth location at and conditions under which such
process may be conducted.
2.3 Any person engaged in abrasive blasting of a building or other
structure for which the Health Department has granted an
ANNUAL RENEWABLE LICENSE must obtain a PERMIT limited in time
and specific to 1 cation where blasting s to be performed.
SECTION III LICENSES/PERMITS
3.1 Permits for the conduct of abrasive blasting shall be granted
by the Health Department only upon the following general terms
and conditions, and subject to such other special terms and
conditions as the Health Department shall find necessary to
protect the public health and welfare.
3.2 Application for a temporary permit (and for renewal of annual
licenses) shall be in writing, on a form provided by the Health
Department.
SECTION IV ABRASIVE BLASTING
4.1 Abrasive blasting activities shall be so enclosed or curtained-
off as to prevent the escape onto public property, rights-of-way,
or the property of others, of visible abrasive material.
Enclosure (s) shall not be removed until all surfaces, including
the ground, are thoroughly cleaned of all loose material
attributable to the abrasive blasting operation.
4.2 The re-use of abrasive material is prohibited.
SECTION V CLEAN-UP PROCEDURES
5.1 Ground cleaning capabilities shall include equipment designed to
remove used blasting material and surface material (i.e. paint
chips, dust, and any other particulate matter) from lawns, shrubs,
and any other area exposed to visible abrasive material or by-
products. For the purpose of this section broom sweeping will
not be sufficient.
5.2 It shall be the responsibility of the contractor to prevent
ground contamination as a direct result of any chemical or solvent
used during the blasting operation or failure to recover by-
products of the operation with regard to paint chips or other
material abraded from a specific surface.
LEAD TESTING
6.1 If the surface to be abraded has been painted, the paint shall
be tested for the presence of lead by the Health Department or
Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Division of Lead
Poisoning Prevention, before a permit will be issued.
6.2 If dangerous levels of lead are found to be present, the Health
Department shall require additional precautions to be taken to
prevent the exposure of lead dust or particles to children, as
well as the general public, and to prevent potential contamination
of ground surfaces.
6.3 “Dangerous Level of Lead” means level which materially endangers
the health of children or adults, by producing a substantial and
serious danger of lead poisoning. When present in paint, a
dangerous level shall be deemed, pursuant to M.G.L. Chapter III
g 194 and 196, to be the following:
A. More than 0.5 percent lead by dry weight as measured by
atomic absorption spectrophotometry test of sample or by
testing with 6 to 8 percent sodium sulfide solution.
B. More than 1-2 milligrams lead per square centimeter of
surface as measured on site by mobile x-ray fluorescence
analyzer or comparable equipment.
6.4 Employees or persons engaged in the performance of any aspect
of the blasting operation shall be protected against particulate
matter through the use of approved protective devices.
SECTION VII EVIDENCE OF VIOLATION
7.1 Any of the following conditions shall be prima facie evidence
of violation and can result in the revocation of any license or
permit issued and the immediate cessation of the blasting operation.
A. Visible emission of particulate matter, beyond the
vertically extended property line of the owner of the
property on which abrasive blasting is permitted;
B. Failure to enclose or curtain off that area of the building
under-going abrasive blasting.
C. Visual amounts of particulate matter upon public or other
private property.
D . Failure to ensure adequate precautions against ground surface
contamination.
E. Operating without a license or permit.
SECTION VIII FEES
8.1 Fee for annual license to perform abrasive blasting shall be
Ton ($10.00) Dollars.
8.2 Fee for Abrasive Blasting Permits shall be Five ($5.00) Dollars.
SECTION IX PENALTY
violators of these regulations shall be punished, for the first offense, by a fine of not less than fifty dollars per more than one hundred dollars and for a subsequent offense, by a fine of not less than two hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars. Each day or part thereof of violation, whether such violation be continuous or intermittent, shall be construed as a separate and succeeding offense. (M.G.L. Chapter 111, Section 31C).