Asbestos containing material friable

Asbestos. EPA issued a proposed rule concerning identification and correction of friable asbestos-containing materials in schools. Based on data voluntarily submitted, EPA estimated that at least 8,600 public schools attended by over 3 million children contain such materials. However, EPA reportedly has no information on another 44,000 schools. Classroom concentrations of asbestos fibers in some schools have been found to approximate concentrations in homes of asbestos workers who do not have shower or laundry facilities at work. Since children exposed to asbestos will live long enough to allow the cancer latency period to elapse, the presence of friable asbestos materials in schools represents a potentially enormous public health problem. The final asbestos rule will reportedly be promulgated in the near future. (The rule was published May 27, 1982.) No other regulations regarding asbestos have been issued. 

Guidance for Controlling Friable Asbestos-Containing Materials in Buildings," U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1983, EPA 560/5-83-002. 

Some asbestos materials can break into small fibers that can float in the air, and these fibers can be inhaled. These tiny fibers are small, cannot be seen, and can pass through the filters of normal vacuum cleaners and get back into the air. Once inhaled, asbestos fibers can become lodged in tissue for a long time. After many years, cancer or other sickness can develop. In order to be a health risk, asbestos fibers must be released from the material and be present in the air for people to breathe. A health risk exists only when asbestos fibers are released from the material or product. Soft, easily crumbled asbestos-containing material, previously defined as friable asbestos, has the greatest potential for asbestos release and therefore has the greatest potential to create health risks. 

The only way to determine if a material contains asbestos is to have it tested and analyzed by qualified professionals. In addition to requiring technical expertise to test for asbestos, when samples are incorrectly taken there maybe an increased health risk if fibers are released. Asbestos materials that are intact and in good condition generally do not pose a health risk. The potential for an asbestos containing material (ACM) to release harmful fibers depends primarily on its condition. Dry material that can be crumbled by hand pressure, often referred to as friable ACM, is more likely to release fibers, particularly when damaged. Materials considered nonfriable ACM, such as vinyl-asbestos floor tile, can also release harmful fibers when sanded, sawed, or otherwise disturbed. ... 

The term friable asbestos-containing material meems any asbestos-containing material applied on ceihngs, walls, structural members, piping, duct work, or any other part of a building which when dry may be crumbled, pulverized, or reduced to powder by hand pressme. The term includes non-friable asbestos-containing material after such previously non-friable material becomes damaged to the extent that when dry it may be crumbled, pulverized, or reduced to powder by hand pressure. 

Circumstances in which friable asbestos-containing material or its covering is damaged, deteriorated, or delaminated. 

C) A detailed description of measures to be taken to respond to any friable asbestos-containing material pursuant to the regulations promulgated under subsections (c), (d), and (e) of this section, including the location or locations at which a response action will be taken, the method or methods of response action to be used, and a schedule for beginning and completing response actions. 

F) With respect to the person or persons who inspected for asbestos-containing material and who will design or carry out response actions with respect to the friable asbestos-containing material, one of the following statements ... 

The local educational agency shall, within 720 days after October 22, 1986, develop and begin implementation of an operation and maintenance plan with respect to friable asbestos-containing material in a school building under its authority. Such plan shall provide for the education of school service and maintenance personnel about safety procedmes with respect to asbestos-containing material, including friable asbestos-containing material. 

A) the presence of airborne asbestos or the condition of friable asbestos-containing material in a school building governed by a local... 

B) the local educational agency is not taking sufficient action (as determined by the Administrator or the Governor) to respond to the airborne asbestos or friable asbestos-containing material, the Administrator or the Governor of a State is authorized to act to protect human health or the environment. 

Chapter 14) and personal care products such as shampoos (Chapter 15). More recently, foams are being used in the decontamination of hazardous substances, such as radionuclides and asbestos, from surfaces and facilities (see, for example. References [36, 37]). Foams such as polyurethane foam have been used to enclose and isolate friable asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) to prevent the spread of hazardous dusts during demolition activities. 

In addition, the technology should not be used on materials containing friable asbestos, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) or lead-based paints, galvanized sheet metal (when heated above 700°F), electrical wiring, wood, vermin excrement, or highly concentrated explosives (e.g., explosives conflned within a pipe). 

In accordance with the Federal Toxic Substance Control Act, the EPA is to be reported at least 10 days before any asbestos abatement project that contains >1% by weight of friable asbestos material in an area of >3 ft (linear) or 3 ft. Flooding, fire, or any other emergency projects are to be reported 48 hours after the project begins (U.S. EPA... 

Friable Asbestos Materials materials that contain more than one percent asbestos by weight and that can, by hand pressure, be crumbled, pulverized, or reduced to powder, thus allowing for potential release of asbestos fibers into the air. 

Employers of employees who clean up waste and debris in, and employers in control of, areas where friable thermal system insulation or surfacing material is accessible, shall assume that such waste and debris contain asbestos. 

Asbestos comes in two forms friable and nonfriable. Thermal insulation and wall plaster are examples of the former flooring is an example of the latter. It is the friable form of asbestos that poses the greatest safety concern. It is defined as a material that contains more than 1 % asbestos and that can be crumbled, pulverized, or reduced to powder by hand pressure. Its fibers can cause serious disease if inhaled. (The nonfriable form is often treated as friable because, once it is exposed, it can start to crumble.)... 

---