Asbestos Safety
Asbestos is a widely used,
mineral-based material that is resistant to heat and corrosive chemicals. Typically,
asbestos appears as a whitish, fibrous material which may release fibers that
range in texture from coarse to silky; however, airborne fibers that can cause
health damage may be too small to see with the naked eye. Asbestos is the name of a
class of magnesium-silicate minerals that occur in fibrous form.
Material In the Members Area
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Program Material |
Written Program
Asbestos Control Program
Asbestos Control Program (MS Word file)
Fact Sheet - Asbestos Facts
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Forms & Documents |
Audit - Asbestos Safety Audit Guide
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Training & Awareness |
Articles
Disturbing Asbestos
Asbestos: A Substance to Avoid
Power
Point
Asbestos in construction
Asbestos Hazards & Awareness
General Asbestos Information
- Permissible Asbsetos Exposure
Limit: Time-weighted average limit. The
employer shall ensure that no employee is exposed to an airborne
concentration of asbestos in excess of 0.1 fiber per cubic
centimeter of air as an eight (8)-hour time-weighted average (TWA)
as determined by the method prescribed in the OSHA standard, or by an equivalent method.
Excursion limit. The employer shall ensure that
no employee is exposed to an airborne concentration of asbestos
in excess of 1.0 fiber per cubic centimeter of air (1 f/cc) as
averaged over a sampling period of thirty (30) minutes as
determined by the method prescribed in Appendix A to this
section, or by an equivalent method.
Exposure Monitoring: In
general industry, employers must do initial monitoring for workers who may be exposed
above the "action level" of 0.1 f/cc. Subsequent monitoring must be
conducted at reasonable intervals, in no case longer than six months for employees
exposed above the action level. In construction, daily monitoring must be
continued until exposure drops below the action level (0.1
f/cc). Daily monitoring need not be done where employees are using supplied-air
respirators operated in the positive pressure mode.
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- Methods of
Compliance: In both general industry and
construction, employers must
control exposures using engineering controls, to the extent feasible. Where engineering controls
are not feasible to meet the exposure limit, respirators must be used to achieve
compliance.
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- Regulated Areas:
In general industry and construction, regulated areas must be established where exposures exceed
the 0.1 f/cc limit. Only authorized persons wearing appropriate
respirators can enter a regulated area. In regulated areas, eating, smoking,
drinking, chewing tobacco or gum, and applying cosmetics are
prohibited.
Health Hazard
Asbestos can cause disabling respiratory
disease and various types of cancers if the fibers are inhaled.
Inhaling or ingesting fibers from contaminated clothing or skin
can also result in these diseases. The symptoms of these diseases
generally do not appear for 20 or more years after initial
exposure.
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Asbestos are used in the manufacture of
heat-resistant clothing, automotive brake and clutch linings, and
a variety of building materials including floor tiles, roofing
felts, ceiling tiles, asbestos-cement pipe and sheet, and
fire-resistant drywall. Asbestos is also present in pipe and
boiler insulation materials, and in sprayed-on materials located
on beams, in crawlspaces, and between walls.
The potential for a product containing asbestos
to release breathable fibers depends on its degree of friability.
Friable means that the material can be crumbled with hand
pressure and is therefore likely to emit fibers. The fibrous or
fluffy sprayed-on materials used for fireproofing, insulation, or
sound proofing are considered to be friable, and they readily
release airborne fibers if disturbed. Materials such as
vinyl-asbestos floor tile or roofing felts are considered
nonfriable and generally do not emit airborne fibers unless
subjected to sanding or sawing operations. Asbestos-cement pipe
or sheet can emit airborne fibers if the materials are cut or
sawed, or if they are broken during demolition operations.
- What Are the Dangers
of Asbestos Exposure?
- Exposure to asbestos can cause
asbestosis (scarring of the lungs resulting in loss of lung function that often
progresses to disability and to death); mesothelioma (cancer affecting the
membranes lining the lungs and abdomen); lung cancer; and cancers of the esophagus,
stomach, colon, and rectum.
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- What Protections Are
Mandatory?
- The U.S. (OSHA) has issued revised regulations covering
asbestos exposure in general industry and construction. Both standards set a maximum
exposure limit and include provisions for engineering controls
and respirators, protective clothing,
- exposure monitoring, warning
signs, recordkeeping, and medical exams. Exposure to asbestos has been shown to cause
lung cancer, mesothelioma, and cancer of the stomach and colon.
Mesothelioma is a rare cancer of the thin membrane lining of the
chest and abdomen. Symptoms of mesothelioma include shortness of
breath, pain in the walls of the chest, and/or abdominal pain.
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