How to Comply with Asbestos Regulations

Asbestos is a mineral fiber that naturally occurs in rock and soil. Due to its light weight and its fireproof properties, it was once regarded as a miracle building material, and until the 1970s, its use was widespread in the construction, automobile, and shipyard industries. When asbestos is disturbed, its fibers are released into the air. The fibers are small enough to inhale. When sufficient quantities are inhaled for long periods of time, they cause a lung disease called asbestosis and a rare form of lung cancer called mesothelioma. Since asbestos is so dangerous, its use is heavily restricted and its handling is heavily regulated. Because it is so dangerous, penalties for noncompliance are stiff. Therefore, business and property owners need to know exactly what they have to do to stay in compliance with asbestos regulations.

Method 1 - Complying with Employee-Related Asbestos Regulations

1

→ Follow the OSHA guidelines that apply to all employers. Employers have the responsibility to provide a safe workplace. Employers are required to protect workers by furnishing personal protective equipment, by taking steps to reduce the presence of asbestos in the workplace, and minimize their employees’ exposure to asbestos.They are required to:

→ Find and correct safety and health problems.

→ Eliminate or reduce hazards. Employers should not rely solely on the use of personal protective equipment to keep their employees safe.

→ Inform employees about hazards, provide safety training and safety information.

→ When employees are exposed to asbestos in excess of the legal limits, employers are required to pay for medical monitoring of their condition.

→ Non-compliance of asbestos regulations will result in steep penalties, and non-compliance includes discrimination against employees who complain or cooperate with the Department of Labor.

2

→ Learn the types of occupations exposed to asbestos. Most workers in most professions are not exposed to asbestos in the course of their employment. However, since asbestos is such a dangerous material, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has compiled a set of regulations designed to protect workers in various occupational categories.These are:

→ The construction industry.

→ Employment in shipyards, including shipbuilding and shipbreaking.

→ General industrial settings, including building custodians, housekeepers, and auto mechanics.

3

→ Familiarize yourself with asbestos safety standards for the construction industry . Although the use of asbestos as a building material has been restricted in the US since the 1970s, construction workers still come into contact with asbestos. The list of regulations that keep construction workers safe from asbestos is extremely extensive, and if you are in the construction industry, you should read the entire list at https://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3096/3096.html. However, in general:

→ Asbestos removal may only be done by persons licensed to remove asbestos. You may search for licensed personnel at https://cfpub.epa.gov/flpp/pub/index.cfm?do=main.firmSearchAbatement

→ Employers are required to protect employees from asbestos. The level of protection depends on the type of work, but it includes furnishing employees with personal protective equipment like ventilator masks and establishing protective barriers around the asbestos-containing material itself.

→ Employers have a duty to warn individuals on job sites of the presence of asbestos containing material and the dangers those materials pose.

4

→ Limit the exposure to shipwrights, sailors, and ship-breakers . Sailors and shipyard workers are among the most likely persons in the workforce to be exposed to asbestos. While the use of asbestos has been restricted in the US shipbuilding industry for some time, ships are often used for decades and many ships are manufactured abroad (where there is less stringent regulation), creating a high risk of exposure. While the list of regulations for the shipyard industry is even more extensive than the construction industry—the guidebook is more than 300 pages—there are some general rules to be aware of.

→ Asbestos on ships is found from bow to stern and everywhere in between, including engine rooms, tiles, doorways, pipes, walls, sealants, insulation, and mooring.

→ If possible, anyone working with asbestos or around asbestos should wet the material down with oil or water. Doing so makes it much less likely that the particles become airborne.

→ Avoid the use of power tools like grinders, sanders, or power saws around asbestos. Use hand tools instead. They are far less likely to send breathable particles into the air.

→ Workers should use personal protective equipment and any areas where work on asbestos containing material is being conducted should be clearly marked and labeled.

→ Read the complete guidebook at https://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA_shipyard_industry.pdf.

5

→ Take precautions to protect employees in other sectors of the workforce. Although workers in the building and maritime trades are the most likely to be exposed to asbestos, the problem is not unique to those industries. Asbestos exposure is of particular concern to auto mechanics, building custodians, and housekeepers.

→ Asbestos in automobiles is often found in hoodliners, brakes, clutches, and seals. Personal protective equipment should always be worn when working on these components, and effort should be made to wet these materials down as much as possible.

→ While building custodians and housekeepers are not usually exposed to asbestos dust in the regular course of employment, they may still be around material which contains asbestos. These employees should be educated as to where any asbestos in their buildings may be, and how to judge damage or degradation in the materials leading to the release of asbestos dust.

→ Read the complete guidebook for general industrial safety at https://www.osha.gov/Publications/osha3095.pdf.

Method 2 - Complying with Asbestos Regulations for Building Owners

1

→ Notify any relevant state agencies. Many states have more stringent guidelines for the handling of asbestos containing material than the US government. If your building is in a jurisdiction that requires it, you should notify state authorities before you conduct any demolition or renovation work in a building constructed before 1980.

→ You may find a listing of OSHA-approved state plans and their contents at https://www.osha.gov/dcsp/osp/index.html. Be aware that your state may have its own set of regulations that are not approved by OSHA, so be sure to check first.

2

→ Hire a licensed asbestos inspector. Before beginning any demolition or remodeling on a structure built before 1980, hire a licensed asbestos inspector to assess the level of asbestos in the building. Structures built prior to 1980 are presumed to contain asbestos, and thorough testing must be conducted in order to determine otherwise.

→ If your building was built after 1980, unless you have reason to believe material containing asbestos is present, you do not have test as stringently as you would in a building built prior to 1980. In these cases, a survey rather than an extensive test is permissible.

→ A searchable database of asbestos inspectors and abatement companies is at https://cfpub.epa.gov/flpp/pub/index.cfm?do=main.firmSearchAbatement.

3

→ Contract with a licensed asbestos abatement firm. If you do find the presence of asbestos in your building, then you need to hire licensed professionals to conduct whatever type of asbestos abatement is necessary. Asbestos “abatement” is simply the removal or sequestration of the asbestos containing material. If you are demolishing the building, then removal is more likely. If you are remodeling, the abatement contractors may simply construct a protective barrier around the asbestos.

→ In some jurisdictions, you may need to notify authorities such as your state Department of Environmental Quality that you are scheduling an asbestos abatement. However, this requirement is far from universal and many abatement companies will do the notification for you. The abatement firm you contract with should be able to offer you more detailed guidance.

Warnings

→ Secondary exposure to asbestos can cause cancer, too. Asbestos fibers can be carried on hair, skin and clothes. Asbestos fibers are microscopic and can be transferred through physical contact (hugging your spouse; holding your child on your lap). The fibers can also get embedded in furniture fabric, curtains, carpets and linens.

→ Asbestos cancer—mesothelioma—takes decades to manifest. Asbestos fibers work their way deep into your lungs. They cannot be filtered out, so any exposure is too much exposure. If you are concerned about your exposure to asbestos, contact the Mesothelioma Center at www.asbestos.com.