Asbestos in 2025: Why Refresher Training Isn't Optional Anymore

If it’s been a year since your last asbestos certification, you're officially out of compliance. In 2025, New York State is doubling down on refresher training enforcement — and contractors caught with expired certs are facing serious penalties. Here's why you can’t afford to skip your annual asbestos refresher and how Environmental Education Associates (EEA) can make it painless.

Quick Refresher on… Refresher Training

Let’s clear the air (pun intended).

If you work in asbestos abatement or inspection, your initial certification is valid for one year. After that, you're required by NYS Department of Health (NYSDOH) and the EPA to complete a refresher course annually to maintain your credentials.

No refresher = no work.

What’s Changing in 2025?

While refresher training has always been required, enforcement is ramping up due to:

  • Increased inspections at construction and renovation sites

  • Tighter documentation reviews from agencies

  • New technology making it easier to check expiration dates on-site

  • Growing concerns about asbestos exposure in aging infrastructure across NY

Whether you’re a contractor, project monitor, air sampling tech, or inspector — you must stay current.

Who Needs an Annual Asbestos Refresher?

Basically, anyone performing regulated asbestos work in New York. That includes:

  • Asbestos Workers

  • Asbestos Supervisors

  • Inspectors

  • Project Monitors

  • Air Sampling Technicians

  • Management Planners

  • Allied Trades & Designers

  • Operations & Maintenance (O&M) staff

Missed your refresher? You're legally not allowed to step onto a regulated asbestos job site.

The Real-World Risks of Skipping Your Refresher

Let’s break it down. Here’s what can happen if you or your team skip a refresher course:

  • Job site shutdowns (yup, mid-project)

  • Fines of up to $10,000+ from NYS DOH or EPA

  • Disqualification from public projects

  • Loss of license

  • Lawsuits from exposure incidents

  • Insurance headaches (or denial of claims)

In other words, skipping your refresher isn't just risky — it's reckless.

What’s Covered in the Refresher Course?

Each asbestos refresher is specific to your role (worker, supervisor, inspector, etc.), but common topics include:

  • Regulatory updates from NYS DOH, OSHA, and the EPA

  • New safety procedures and PPE requirements

  • Updates in air monitoring or sampling tech

  • Health effects and medical monitoring best practices

  • Practical applications and real-world scenarios

Courses are short (usually a full-day or half-day) but pack a punch — and you leave with an updated cert that’s valid for another year.

Why Contractors Choose EEA for Asbestos Refreshers

Environmental Education Associates isn’t new to this — we’ve trained tens of thousands of professionals across New York since 1992. Here’s what makes our asbestos refresher program stand out:

  • Fully accredited by NYSDOH

  • Courses available in English and Spanish

  • Fast-track scheduling across New York State

  • Online registration and reminders before expiration

  • Instructors who actually know what it’s like in the field

Oh, and if you have a whole crew needing refreshers? We can bring training on-site to your company or project location.

Where Can You Take the Refresher?

EEA offers asbestos refresher training at several convenient locations across New York:

  • Buffalo

  • Rochester

  • Manhattan

  • Syracuse (via partnership with MVCC in Utica)

And of course, custom group sessions are available upon request.