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A significant part of the Maryland Department of the Environment’s (MDE) work in protecting health and the environment is to educate people. Educational efforts cover a broad range of topics from safe handling and proper disposal of harmful substances, to recycling, pollution prevention and compliance assistance.
MDE’s Air and Radiation Management Administration (ARMA) offers various and diverse educational opportunities. The following is a description of some of ARMA’s ongoing and past education efforts and accomplishments.
Asbestos
The Asbestos Division provides training to state employees who may encounter asbestos-containing materials during their work activities. These workers include carpenters, painters, and plumbers and others who work in and maintain state facilities.
Asbestos is an inexpensive material used for fire protection since it does not readily burn or conduct heat. It was used extensively in fireproofing, pipe and duct insulation, floor tiles, and other building materials and products. Banned in the 1970s because of its potential harm to human health, asbestos is found in older homes and buildings. These products are not considered to pose any significant risks to public health or the environment, if handled properly.
“We provide training so that state employee may safely work with asbestos and protect the environment at the same time,” explains Mardel Knight, a division chief with MDE’s Asbestos Division. “These employees don’t remove asbestos per se, but may disturb small amounts while working on pipes or performing repairs.”
The Asbestos Division also oversees asbestos-handling training performed by private sector companies or other government agencies to construction workers and laborers. MDE audits the courses to ensure that proper training is provided and issues photo identification and accreditation to people who successfully complete the course.
Mobile Sources
The Mobile Sources Control Program (MSCP) implements measures and programs that reduce motor vehicle-related pollution from gasoline and diesel powered on-road vehicles, such as passenger cars, buses and trucks. With vehicles traveling nearly 150 million miles each day in Maryland alone, it is important to control the pollution from vehicle emissions.
An effective approach to controlling vehicle pollution is through properly maintaining and repairing vehicles, especially the emissions control systems. Maryland’s Vehicle Emissions Inspection Program (VEIP) is a key component of the state’s plan to improve air quality. By requiring vehicle emission systems inspections every two years and the repair of failing vehicles, VEIP significantly reduces the emissions that contribute to Maryland’s air quality problem of ground-level ozone.
MSCP provides ongoing classroom training for vehicle repair technicians to improve their skills for repairing automobile emission control systems. MSCP recently held free courses for technicians at Montgomery Park Business Center. The topics of these courses were: Diagnosis and Repair of Oxygen Sensors and Diagnosis and Repair of Three-Way Catalysts. To present the latest information to attendees, MSCP contracted with Weber State University’s (Utah) Center for Automotive Science and Technology.
“We contracted with Weber State University for their nationally recognized expertise and experience in the field of automotive technology,” says Dave Filbert, division chief in the MSCP. Another nationally-recognized institution, Colorado State University’s National Center for Vehicle Emissions Control and Safety, will provide additional technician training later this spring.
The training for repairing emission control systems have been so well attended and positively critiqued, that MSCP will be scheduling additional classes to reach more of Maryland’s vehicle technicians.
Radiological Health
As part of the post-September 11th world, Congress and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) put in place more stringent radioactive material controls. The NRC oversees nuclear energy matters and nuclear safety. This commission also regulates the nation’s civilian use of byproduct, source, and special nuclear materials to ensure adequate protection of public health and safety, to promote the common defense and security, and to protect the environment.
ARMA’s Radiological Health Program (RHP) provides training to civilian users of radioactive materials – medical, industrial and research facilities – on the regulatory requirements and registration processes. RHP’s Radiation Machine Division also provides training to technicians who use mammography machines. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration established standards for proper procedures and RHP provides training for quality control as well as annual site inspections of mammography facilities in Maryland.
There are several more education efforts performed by ARMA employees, including visiting schools and community meetings, developing science curricula and advocating for voluntary actions that benefit our environment.
Keep a lookout for a follow-up article describing these activities. In the meantime, to learn more about ARMA’s programs, visit: http://mde.maryland.gov/air.
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