SECTION 296.291. Recordkeeping

(a) Recordkeeping requirements. Without limiting any federal or state requirement to which a licensee or record may otherwise be subject, a person regulated by this chapter must maintain, retain, and make available to DSHS for inspection or produce, upon request, including for copying on or off-site, records and documents as required by this section and each applicable subsection. For purposes of this chapter, records that are required to be maintained at a central location are not required to be maintained at the licensee’s principal place of business and may be located off-site if the records are readily accessible. A person that ceases to do business must notify DSHS in writing within 30 days after such event and must make appropriate arrangements for retention and maintenance of records, as required under this section. The person must provide DSHS with the details of such arrangement or comply with DSHS’s alternative instructions within 60 days after ceasing to do business or receiving instructions from DSHS, whichever is later.

(b) Asbestos abatement contractors, asbestos O&M contractors, and RFCI contractors.

(1) Central location. A contractor described in this subsection must maintain the following records and documents for any project performed in a public building at a central location for a period of at least 30 years after the date of project completion:

(A) records and documents which comply with applicable recordkeeping requirements under 29 CFR Part 1910 (relating to Occupational Safety and Health Standards), 29 CFR §1926.1101 (relating to Asbestos), NESHAP, and AHERA;

(B) the name, address, and asbestos training certificate number of each employee, past and present, including dates of employment and a description of each employee's involvement in each asbestos project while employed by the contractor; records must include the name, physical address, and duration of each project;

(C) a copy of all regulatory agency correspondence, including each required asbestos abatement/demolition notification form, inspection form, letter, notice, and order;

(D) a copy of each waste shipment record (manifest), including a copy of the manifest, signed in accordance with 40 CFR §61.150(d)(5) (relating to Standard for waste disposal for manufacturing, fabricating, demolition, renovation, and spraying operations) by the owner or operator of the designated waste disposal site and each receipt and documentation of disposal of asbestos waste showing the date, location, and amount of asbestos waste disposed and identifying each source of the asbestos waste and each transporter of the waste, including the company name or driver name, if the driver is an employee of the contractor;

(E) a copy of each laboratory report and sample analysis documenting required air monitoring for the project, including a copy of each consultant report provided to the contractor regarding project monitoring; and

(F) a copy of all contracts and project specifications and plans for each asbestos abatement project.

(2) On-site. Without limiting the retention requirements of paragraph (1) of this subsection, the records and documents described under this paragraph must be maintained on-site at the asbestos project location for the duration of the project. RFCI contractors and DSHS-licensed asbestos abatement and O&M contractors are responsible for their employees’ documents to be on-site. The following records and documents, at a minimum, must be maintained on-site as required in this paragraph:

(A) each current applicable state-issued license or registration for every person conducting an asbestos-related activity for the contractor on the project site and a full-sized copy of each applicable training certificate, that must be current, for each person;

(B) a copy of the current license for the licensed asbestos abatement contractor or O&M contractor;

(C) a current copy of the contractor’s standard operating procedures;

(D) a copy of the asbestos project specifications and plans, or if project specifications and plans are not required, a scope of work that outlines the location and describes operations and abatement procedures for the project;

(E) a listing of each employee working on the project by name and all applicable asbestos license or registration numbers and training certificate numbers for each employee;

(F) name and address of each contractor, project supervisor, consultant, project manager, air monitoring technician project monitor (AMT/PM), waste transporter, waste disposal site, and building owner for the asbestos project;

(G) a daily sign-in/sign-out log for the containment or the regulated area if no containment is present; sign-in/sign-out logs must identify each person by name and the length of time each spent in the containment or regulated area;

(H) results of personal air monitoring samples, as required in §296.211(h) of this chapter (relating to General Requirements for Asbestos Abatement in a Public Building);

(I) a written respiratory protection program that complies with 29 CFR §1910.134(c) (relating to Respiratory protection);

(J) a description of personal safety practices;

(K) a current copy of DSHS’s Physician’s Written Statement form and each respirator fit-test performed within the past 12 months for any individual who enters a regulated area;

(L) a copy of the current asbestos abatement/demolition notification;

(M) a copy of this chapter;

(N) a copy of any federal regulation adopted by reference in §296.2 of this chapter (relating to Reference of Federal Standards) that applies to the asbestos-related activity that is being performed;

(O) the EPA Publication for O&M activities entitled, "Managing Asbestos in Place: A Building Owner's Guide to Operations and Maintenance Programs" (also known as the EPA Green Book) if such activities are being performed;

(P) a copy of the recommended work practices for resilient floor-covering removal published by the Resilient Floor Covering Institute if the project involves removal of resilient floor-covering materials using that method;

(Q) the Violation Notification Procedure poster issued by DSHS, that must be posted and visible to the public at the entrance to the regulated area, as required in §296.211(i) of this chapter; and

(R) a copy of any asbestos-related order issued by DSHS, EPA, or OSHA, that must be posted for 12 months or for a federal asbestos-related order, the period of time required by the federal asbestos-regulating authority from the date the order becomes effective and visible to the public at the entrance to the regulated area, as required in §296.211(i) of this chapter.

(c) Asbestos management planners. A licensed asbestos management planner who undertakes and performs an activity independent of an agency, must maintain each of the licensee’s asbestos survey reports, bulk sampling results, and management plans for that activity for 30 years after the date of project completion. These records and documents must be maintained at a central location.

(d) Asbestos management planner agencies. A licensed asbestos management planner agency must maintain each of its asbestos survey reports, bulk sampling results, and management plans for 30 years from the date of project completion. These records and documents must be maintained at a central location.

(e) Asbestos consultants. A licensed asbestos consultant who undertakes and performs an activity independent of an agency, must maintain for that activity each of the licensee’s asbestos survey reports, assessments, bulk sampling results, asbestos management plans, O&M plans, specifications and plans, air monitoring records, each written designation of a project manager or AMT/PM and the project manager’s or AMT/PM’s responsibilities and authority, and a copy of every other asbestos abatement project document for 30 years after the date of project completion. These records and documents must be maintained at a central location. While a project is in process and until final visual inspection has been completed, all asbestos abatement project documents for the project must be kept at the asbestos project site.

(f) Asbestos consultant agencies. A licensed asbestos consultant agency must maintain each of its asbestos survey reports, assessments, bulk sampling results, asbestos management plans, O&M plans, specifications and plans, air monitoring records, each written designation of a project manager or AMT/PM and the project manager’s or AMT/PM’s responsibilities and authority, and a copy of every other asbestos abatement project document for 30 years after the date of project completion. These records and documents must be maintained at a central location. While a project is in process and until final visual inspection has been completed, all asbestos abatement project documents for the project must be kept at the asbestos project site.

(g) Asbestos air monitoring technicians and asbestos air monitoring technician project monitors. A licensed air monitoring technician (AMT) or asbestos air monitoring technician project monitors (AMT/PM) who performs phase contrast microscopy (PCM) analysis in the field as an employee of a licensed asbestos laboratory must maintain on-site for the duration of the project:

(1) all analyzed slides, each labeled so that the AMT or AMT/PM can provide the project name, date, and time of sample collection and analysis, and sample location;

(2) documentation of the AMT’s or AMT/PM’s relative standard of deviation, in accordance with the NIOSH 7400 method; and

(3) a copy of:

(A) the AMT’s or AMT/PM’s NIOSH 582 or NIOSH 582 Equivalent training certificate and documentation of current participation in the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) Proficiency Analytical Testing Program; or

(B) documentation of current registration with the AIHA Asbestos Analyst Registry (AAR).

(h) Asbestos laboratories. A licensed asbestos laboratory must maintain a copy of all analyses performed and all other records and documents required by this chapter for 30 years after the date of analysis, including the sample identification number and analytical results.

(1) An analyzing laboratory must keep all samples from a public building received for analysis for 30 days following completion of the analysis. Sample grids must be maintained for one year after the date of the analysis.

(2) An analyzing laboratory must maintain a copy of individual records for each analyst to document the individual analyst's relative standard of deviation in accordance with the NIOSH 7400 method for three years after the date the calculation was made. Records must be kept in the laboratory indicating which samples were used to meet the 10% quality-control analysis requirement.

(i) Asbestos training providers.

(1) Central location. The following records and documents must be maintained at a central location for a period of three years after the date of the course:

(A) Training course materials. A licensed training provider must retain a copy of each instructional material used in the delivery of a classroom training, such as student training manuals, instructor notebooks, and handouts. Each instructional material must be kept for three years after the last date of the most recent training for which it was used.

(B) Training courses. Records must indicate the name of the course, date of the course, each instructor who taught the course, and list the students who attended the course.

(C) Instructor qualifications. A licensed training provider must retain a copy of each instructor’s resume and the documents approving each instructor issued by DSHS or EPA for three years after the conclusion of their last classroom training.

(D) Examinations. A licensed training provider must document that each person who receives an accreditation certificate for an initial training course has achieved a minimum passing score of 70% correct on the written examination, as required in §296.73(b) of this chapter (relating to Asbestos Training Courses). These records must include a copy of the exam and clearly indicate the date on which the exam was administered, the training course and discipline for which the exam was given, the name of the person who proctored the exam, and the name, examination answer sheet, and test score of each person taking the exam. All information from the training course and examination, including the topic and dates of the training course, must correspond to the information listed on each person's accreditation certificate. All records required to be maintained in accordance with this section must be maintained for three years after the date of the examination and immediately upon conclusion of the course and administration of the examination, must be made available for DSHS inspection.

(E) Accreditation certificates. A licensed training provider must maintain records that document the names of each individual who has been awarded one or more training certificate, the certificate number applicable to each certificate awarded to an individual, each discipline for which accreditation was conferred, each applicable training and expiration date, and the training location.

(2) Records access. A licensed training provider must allow DSHS reasonable access to all of the records required by the MAP and any other records required by DSHS for the approval of an asbestos training provider or the accreditation of an asbestos training course.

(j) Public building owners. A building owner that meets the mandatory survey requirement using the method described in §296.191(d)(6)(B) of this chapter (relating to Asbestos Management in a Public Building, Commercial Building, or Facility) and uses the certification in lieu of an asbestos survey must maintain the following records;

(1) the Texas-registered architect’s or Texas-licensed professional engineer’s certification; and

(2) copies of the MSDSs or SDSs or both and any previous asbestos surveys reviewed by the Texas-registered architect or Texas-licensed professional engineer to prepare the certification.

Source Note: The provisions of this §296.291 adopted to be effective July 8, 2021, 46 TexReg 3880