Volume I • Issue 25June 22, 2010PIPELINE

• Approximately 30 million U.S.workersareexposedtohazard-oussoundlevelsonthejob.

• Youshouldknowaboutthehaz-ards of excessive sound levels—andifandwhatkindofhear-ingprotectionyoumayneed.

• Noise-induced hearing loss isoneofthemostcommonwork-placeinjuries.

• Itisoftenignoredanduntreated.Becauseithasnovisibleeffects,it usually happens over a longtime,anditisnotusuallypainful.

• Noise-induced hearing loss is100percentpreventablebut

once acquired, hearing loss ispermanentandirreversible.

AccordingtoOSHAregulations(29CFR 1910.95), audiometric test-ing is conducted for employeeswhoseexposuresequalorexceedtheactionlevel,whichisan8-hourtime-weightedaverageof85deci-bels.Within 6months of an em-ployee’sfirstexposureatorabovetheactionlevel,theywillgetavalidbaselineaudiogramagainstwhichsubsequent audiograms can becompared.

Hearing protection is a sound in-vestment! Click here for DEP’sHearingConservationPolicy. *

Commissioner’s Corner

Spotlight on Safety

Summer officially arrived yes-terday, and the City’s 14 milesofbeachesareasbusyasever.DEPplaysacritical rolemakingsurethatourharborwatersstayclean—particularly BWSO andBWT. While it’s no vacation forus, the work we do behind thescenes makes summer in theCity much more fun for thou-sandsoffamiliesthroughoutthefiveboroughs.

Last Wednesday, I was joinedby Local 1320 President James Tucciarelli and Council Mem-bersDiana ReynaandStephen Levin beneath the WilliamsburgBridge inBrooklyn to debut twonewVactortrucksthatwillbegincleaningthecity’svastnetworkofsewerlines—agreatstepforwardforthequalityofNewYorkCity’ssurroundingwaters *.StartinginSoutheast Queens, we will sys-tematically cleanall of theCity’slargest sewers (called intercep-tors) over the next two years,cutting CSOs by up to 25% insome areas. Special thanks toChiefofCollectionFacilitiesJerry Volgende, Senior Stationary En-gineers Chris Laudando andKevin Buckley,andDeputyCom-missioner Vinny Sapienza forputtingtogetherthisfantasticini-tiative.YoucanreadmoreaboutitintheNewYorkTimes *orinourpressrelease *.

Later in the week, wetook the first steps tofollowthroughonMayor Bloomberg’s commit-menttodramaticallyim-provetheecologyofJa-maica Bay. At the 26thWardWastewaterTreat-ment Plant, we haveenacted measures tocut nitrogen discharg-es by 4,000 pounds a

day—a 10% reduction in thedaily amount released into thebayasanaturalby-productofthe wastewater treatment pro-cess.Wehavealsoramped-upthe number of water samplingsitesintheBayby50%,sowecan get the most comprehen-sivepicture ofwater quality inJamaica Bay since we begantesting 100 years ago. Youcan readmoreabout ithere *or watch the Osprey team atwork on CBS News *. Engi-neeringTechnicianBernadette Boniecki, Water Ecology Sci-entist Geneive Hall, and Ma-rine Science’s Section ChiefBeau Ranheim are featuredin the story, with the sup-port of Osprey team mem-bers Markus Koelbl, Stavros GeorgiadisandYin Ren.Thanksto all for your tirelesswork allyearround.

Lastweek,DEPemployeescon-tributed486pintsofbloodatourquarterly blood drive—one ofourmostsuccessfuleffortsever.Thanks to everyone who madethe time to donate, and a spe-cialthankyoutoArlene Siegel-Fishman, Malini Strickland,Paula Miritelloandallofthevol-unteercaptainsforyourcommit-ment to this effort. Let's break500pintsthisfall!

WEEKLY

Michael R. Bloomberg, MayorCas Holloway, Commissioner

With June designatedas National SafetyMonth, the everyday

importanceofasafeandhealthywork environment is not onlycriticaltoDEP’snearly6,000em-ployees and their families, butalso to the 9million people theagencyserves.

That’s why the Office of Envi-ronmental Health and SafetyCompliance (OEHSC), picturedabove, and the EnvironmentalHealthandSafety(EHS)divisionsofeachbureaucontinuetospear-headthisvital function.Throughtheir efforts, DEP has made

huge strides since beingplacedunderthesupervi-sion of a federalmonitorin 2001.Recognizing theextent of DEP’s achieve-ments, the federal moni-toring program ended inDecember2009after theAgencydemonstrated itsrobust and sustainableEHS program. Addition-ally, the agency invested

$160million inupgradingsafetysystemsatitsfacilities.

Although EHS is a “successstory,”saysDoreen Johann, theDirector of Compliance Sup-port for OEHSC, the programcontinues to improve and buildon its successes. Since Janu-ary, OEHSC and EHS directorshavehad“achancetostepbackfrom themandated target datesand milestones, and take stockof the program,” stated BWSOEHS Director Persis Luke. Thishas given DEP the time to de-

Hearing Protection- Part 1

At DEP, everyone is responsible for safety. If you or anyone on your team is concerned about your working conditions, it’s okay to ask your supervisor or your bureau’s EHS liaison how they can help. If you’ve still got questions, you can call the EHS Employee Concerns Hotline. It’s DEP’s responsibility to acknowledge and fix unsafe situations, procedures, and practices. With your help, we’ll not only get the job done, we’ll make it safer for ourselves, our coworkers, our families, and our city.CALL (800) 897-9677 OR SEND A MESSAGE THROUGH PIPELINE. HELP IS ON THE WAY. *

For DEP, Every Month is Safety Month

(Continued on reverse side)

Did You Know?...thattheWardsIslandWastewaterTreatmentPlantproducesenoughdigestergastoheat2,700homes.

Focus on the Field

DEP’sEnvironmentalHealthandSafety(EHS)policiesandguide-linesensurethateveryonestayssafe. These rules apply to in-dividual employees from stan-dard operating procedures, topersonal protective equipment,to the way machinery is oper-ated. EHS policies and guide-linesalsoapplytotheAgency’sfacilities;guaranteeingthateachoneisuptocode,thematerialsthey’rebuiltoutofaresafeandthepropertyaroundthemisfreeofcontamination.

That’s why DEP’s Remedia-tion Specialist Edward Waltersworks tomake sure thatDEP’sbuildingsandlandsmeetallcur-rentEHSstandards.Edworkstomake sure that the older build-ings—thatmayhavelead,PCBs,asbestosormercuryonsite—aresafelyremediated.Hereportsto

Angela DeLillo,theChiefofEnvi-ronmentalEngineering,Charlene Graff, the Director of Compli-ance,andPaul Rush,theDeputyCommissionerfortheBureauofWaterSupply.

Ed also does a variety of workthroughout the watershed. Heinvestigates spills and coordi-nates cleanups to make surethatnothingwindsupinthewa-ter supply. So, there’s no suchthingasanormaldayforEd:“Icouldbeactingasamemberoftheconfinedspacerescueteam,Icouldbesamplingasumpun-derconsentorderinDownsville,I couldbeproviding support toourwatershed spill coordinator,or I could be responding to aspillmyself.”

Ed began working for DEP in2002,andthecertificationshe’scollectedspeaktothevarietyofworkhe’sdoneonbehalfofNewYork City. His certificates andtrainingincludeAsbestosSuper-visor and Inspector; Initial LeadAssessorandInitialLeadInspec-tor. Inhissparetime,EdenjoysplayingbasketballandspendingtimeontheJerseyshorewithhiswifeandthreechildren.

We welcome your feedback! To submit an announcement or suggestion, please email us at:

newsletter@dep.nyc.gov. *

velop “exciting and innovativeimprovements and additions tofurther ensure the sustainabil-ityoftheprogram”accordingtoOEHSCAssistantCommissionerGerould McCoy.Theseenhance-mentswillleadtoaprogramwithbetter performance, thoroughandtimelytraining,andproactivecompliancewith emerging envi-ronmentalrulesandlaws.

Another cornerstone of EHS,communication,hasneverbeenbetter. As BWT EHS DirectorBill Yulinskynotes,“Wearenowworking together more closely;sharing ideas, methods, pro-grams tomake the overall EHSprogrammore consistent.” EHSDirectors and bureaus meetmonthly “to discuss issues anddevelop action plans” accord-

ingtoBWSComplianceDirectorCharlene Graff. But, it’s impor-tant to remember that everyoneatDEPhasaparttoplay–when-everanemployeehasaquestionorconcern, theyshouldcontacttheirEHSBureauDirector.Pipe-lineandWeeklyPipelineare re-sourcestolearnaboutupcomingEHSevents.

Even though federal monitoringisover,DEPhas rededicated it-self to building a world-classEHS program and will continueover the coming months andyears to create a more stream-lined, efficient program thatleads to even higher levels ofenvironmental responsibilityandsafetyforDEPandNewYorkersthroughouttheCity.

(For DEP, Every Month is Safety Month - continued)

Q.AsapartofmyworkhereatDEPIhaveoccasionallybeenaskedbyavendororcontractor,whenthewaterquicklyshutsoffintheirresi-denceorplaceofbusiness,thereisaloudbangfollowedbyavibra-tionofthepipes.Since,I’marepresentativeoftheCity’swaterutility,Ithoughtitwasmyresponsibilitytoanswertheirquestion.Withalittleresearch,Ideterminedthisoccurrencetobesomethingcalled“WaterHammer.”Myquestionis,whatis“WaterHammer,”andhowcanitberesolved?Thomas Baldwin–DeputyDirector-ACCO

A.WaterHammerisapressuresurgeorwaveresultingwhenafluidinmotionisforcedtostoporchangedirectionsuddenly(momentumchange).WaterHammercommonlyoccurswhenavalveisclosedsuddenlyatanendofasystem,andapressurewavepropagatesinthepipe.Thispressurewavecancausemajorproblems,fromnoiseand vibration to pipe rupture.When shutting a water line, valvesshouldbeclosedslowlytoavoidabruptstoppageofwater,whichcausesthepressuresurge.

Ask Cas askcas@dep.nyc.gov *

Hard hats werenotpartofthepictureinthisphotooflaborersinCityTun-nel No. 1, Manhattan, NY(1913).The18-mile-longtun-nel took five years to com-plete.Relyingalmostentirelyonmanuallabor,itsconstruc-tion went almost unnoticedas workers blasted throughbedrockhundredsoffeetbe-lowtheCity’sstreets.

DEP employeesat the Croton Water Filtra-tion Plant construction site.Personal Protective Equip-ment,orPPE,isdesignedtoprotectemployeesfromseri-ousworkplace injuriesor ill-nessesresultingfromcontactwith chemical, radiological,physical,electrical,mechani-cal,orotherworkplacehaz-ards. Besides face shields,safetyglasses,hardhats,andsafetyshoes,PPEincludesavarietyofdevicesandgarmentssuchasgoggles,coveralls,gloves,vests,earplugs,andrespirators.

Then:

Now:

MilestonesCongratulationstoMoein Karim,BWT,andhiswifeShazia,whohadababyboy,Taha KarimonJune9.Allaredoingwell.

Congratulations to Phil Markowitz, BWT, whose grandson, Milton Tenoch Rosales-Markowitz,wasbornonMay17.

DEP: Then & Now

Event Calendar: June is Caribbean Heritage Month at DEP–exhibitsofposters,puz-zlesandrecipesareinthe3rdFloorCorridor.PleaseclickonlinkforeventssponsoredbytheBrooklynBoroughPresident’sOffice. *

Correction:Geneive Hall'snamewasmisspelledintheFocusontheFieldsectionoflastweek'seditionofWeeklyPipeline.