OSHA Asbestos Standard

Workplaces can use a variety of solvents, such as methyl ethyl ketone, acetone, and Stoddard solvent. Workers who come into contact with solvents should wear recommended PPE. Most solvents can remove the natural fats and oils from the skin and some pose absorption risks. Organizations must store flammable solvents in approved containers. Provide local exhaust ventilation, and as needed use enclosures to control workplace exposures. When selecting appropriate engineering or other controls, safety personnel must consider the toxicity, flammability, and explosion potential of the material. Remove asbestos using only fully trained personnel adhering to the methods and protective equipment mandated by OSHA and EPA asbestos standards. OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1001 contains standards addressing working in or near in-place asbestos. 

For asbestos removal, the provisions of the OSHA Asbestos Standard 29 CFR 1926.1101 are more protective of worker health and safety than are the more general provisions. The HASP therefore provides that the asbestos removal tasks conducted inside the building will be performed in accordance with the OSHA Asbestos Standard. After the asbestos has been removed, the lead-based paint will be removed. Again, the provisions of the OSHA Standard for lead removal are more protective of worker health and safety than are the more general provisions of 29 CFR 1910.120. Therefore, the removal of the lead-based paint inside the building will be performed in full compliance with the OSHA Lead Standard [1]. 

This training must include topics specified by the OSHA rules. If an employee is exposed at or above the action level for a period of 30 days or more in a calendar year, medical surveillance is required according to the OSHA construction industry asbestos standard. 

Guidance on the minerals and fibers to be counted under the OSHA Asbestos Standard may be obtained by reference to the Federal Register. 

II. Toxic dose. A safe threshold of exposure to asbestos has not been established. Baiancing potentiai health risks against feasibility of workplace control, the current OSHA federal asbestos standard sets a permissible exposure limit (PEL) of 0.1 fibers per cubic centimeter (fibers/cc) as an 8-hour time-weighted average. No worker should be exposed to concentrations in excess of 1 fiber/cc over a 30-minute period. 

Vinyl tile is a commorily used material for the floors in a laboratory because it is easy to maintain and inexpensive to install. Ease of maintenance is not the case for a tile floor in a laboratory using mercury, because of the propensity of the extremely small (20 microns or less) mercury droplets to collect in the cracks. A seamless vinyl or poured epoxy floor should be used instead, with the joints of the floor with the wall being curved or coved. Similarly, the bench top should be curved where it joins the back panel. Existing tile floors, especially the smaller 9 inch X 9 inch size, frequently represent an additional maintenance problem since a large proportion contain asbestos, as may the mastic holding them to the floor. When these tiles need replacing, the work must be done in conformance with EPA and OSHA asbestos standards and can be very costly. One procedure to be avoided at all costs is to grind up the old tile. This can distribute asbestos fibers so widely that the already expensive asbestos removal can be made prohibitively so. 

Air samples taken with a pump that is directly attached to the worker with the collecting filter and cassette placed in the worker s breathing zone (required under Occupational Safety and Health Administration [OSHA] asbestos standards and Environmental Protection Agency [EPA] worker protection rule). 

Asbestos must be removed only by fully trained personnel using methods and protective equipment mandated by OSHA (29 CFR 1910.1001). The OSHA asbestos standard should be consulted along with the appropriate NIOSH and EPA publications. Only workers fully trained in asbestos handling should be allowed in areas where asbestos is exposed. OSHA outlines work practices appropriate for handling asbestos in 29 CFR 1910.1001. Healthcare organizations must outUne OSHA requirements in the facility Asbestos Management Policy. 

Possible physiologic results of respiratory exposure to asbestos are mesothelioma of the pleura or peritoneum, interstitial fibrosis, asbestosis, pneumoconiosis, or respiratory cancer. The possible consequences of asbestos exposure are detailed in the NIOSH Criteria Document or in the OSHA Asbestos Standards 29 CFR 1910.1001 and 29 CFR 1926.1101 and 29 CFR 1915.1001. 

Q. Can direct reading instruments be used during the initial response phase to an emergency reiease of asbestos, and can the results of such real-time monitoring be used for the downgrading of the ievei of personal protective equipment (PPE) in use Does the OSHA asbestos standard apply to an emergency release of asbestos ... 

A. Elements of both the HAZWOPER and asbestos standards would apply to any emergency response to an uncontrolled hazardous substance release involving the presence of asbestos. Further, paragraph 1910.120(a)(2)(i) states that where HAZWOPER overlaps with another OSHA standard, the provision which is more protective of employee safety and health shall apply. 

If there is any material fonnd that is dusty, falling apart, or otherwise questionable, yon mnst err on the side of safety and prevent any further disturbance of the material. Keep facnlty and staff away from the material and try to isolate the area as mnch as possible. OSHA identifies steps for building and facility owners dealing with possible ACM in the communication of hazards section of the asbestos standard, which includes the following ... 

A combination of administrative controls and respirators may be used as interim controis whiie engineering control measures are developed and implemented. However, some of OSHA s substance specific standards (e.g., the asbestos standard) prohibit the use of empioyee rotation as an administrative control. ... 

All suspect materials should be analyzed for asbestos content by a reputable laboratory (in the USA, those certified by the American Industrial Hygiene Association). Museum personnel should not conduct these analyses themselves even if they know how and have the proper facilities. (It should be noted that in the USA, the OSHA Asbestos Standard does not differentiate between blue, brown, and white asbestos, applying to all three a Permissible Exposure Level of 0.2 fibers per cubic centimeter. If the new OSHA Standard s partial stay is lifted, tremolite, actinolite, and anthophyllite will be similarly regulated.)... 

OSHA Asbestos Standard for general industry and constmction passed. 

According to OSHA, this type of work must be evaluated on a case by case basis to determine whether it is covered by the construction asbestos standard (1926.1101). 

The OSHA standards and the USEPA Worker Protection Rule require employers to address a number of items, which are triggered by exposure of employees to asbestos fibers. Exposure is discussed in terms of fibers per cubic centimeter (cc) of air. A cc is a volume approximately equivalent to that of a sugar cube. 

Light Microscopic Method. Phase contrast microscopy (PCM) accurately assesses fiber exposure levels for fibers 5 pm in length and >0.25 pm in diameter. Furthermore, PCM cannot differentiate between asbestos and nonasbestos fibers. Currently, the standard method for the determination of airborne asbestos particles in the workplace is NIOSH Method 7400, Asbestos by Phase Contrast Microscopy (NIOSH 1994a). OSHA considers that sampling and analytical procedures contained in OSHA Method ID-160 and NIOSH Method 7400 are essential for obtaining adequate employee exposure monitoring. Therefore, all employers who are required to conduct monitoring are required to use these or equivalent methods to collect and analyze samples (OSHA 1994). In NIOSH Method 7400, asbestos is collected on a 25 mm cellulose ester filter (cassette-equipped with a 50 mm electrically-conductive cowl). The filter is treated to make it... 

SeidmanH. 1984. Short-term asbestos work exposure and long-term observation. In Docket of current rulemaking for revision of the asbestos (dust) standard. Washington, DC U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Available for inspection at U.S. Department of Labor, OSHA Technical Data Center, Francis Perkins Building docket no. H033C, exhibit nos. 261-A and 261-B. 

OSHA has in the past decade completed a number of rulemakings on occupational carcinogens, including arsenic, benzene, asbestos, ethylene oxide and acrylonitrile. The agency conducted risk assessments and concluded that occupational exposure standards - so-called Permissible Exposure Levels, PELs - were too high and had to be reduced. 

EXPOSURE GUIDELINES ACGIH TLV TWA > 2 mg/m respirable dust (classifiable as a human carcinogen) OSHA PEL No specific value listed for Talc (containing asbestos) in 29 CFR 1910.1000, Table Z-1. Specifics on this standard can be located in 29CFR1910.1001 (Asbestos) NIOSH REL TWA 2m m respirable fraction IDLH 1000 mg/m. ... 

An exposnre of an individual relates directly to the concentration of a hazardous substance as related to the per-unit volume of air. We usually express airborne concentrations in terms of milligrams of substance per cubic meter of air (mg/m ) or parts of substance per million parts of air (ppm). Express asbestos and other airborne fibers by using per cnbic centimeter (f/cc) or fibers per cubic meter (f/m ) of air. OSHA requires consideration of feasible administrative or engineering controls to reduce exposure risks. When these controls prove ineffective, organizations must use PPE or other protective measures to protect employees. Ensure that the use of any equipment and/or technical measures receive approval from a competent industrial hygienist or other technically qnalified person. 29 CFR 1910, Subpart Z, contains exposure limit Tables Z-1, Z-2, or Z-3 for substances not covered by a specific standard. 

The OSHA Construction Standard covers activities such as demolition, removal, repair, or encapsulation of ACM. It also covers building maintenance and custodial tasks. The Construction Standard divides asbestos work into four types ... 

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standard for exposure to asbestos defines a fiber as one at least 5 p,m long with a length/diameter ratio of at least 3.0. The TLV-TWA is 0.1 fibers/cc of air the excursion limit for a 30-min sampling period is 1.0. The standard, published in 29 CFR 1910.1001 specifies sampling methods and fiequencies as well as the analytical procedure (NIOSH Method 7400). Some countries allow higher concentrations of fiber. In Brazil, Canada, and Mexico, for example, the TLV is 2 fibers/ml. In the European Union, the TLV is 0.6 fibers/ml (0.25 in Germany), with an action level of 0.2. 

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (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... 

Most of the diseases related to ACM are cumulative diseases in nature. This means that the disease wiU not show up in a person immediately but rather over an extended period of time. Many past cases of occupational disease forced OSHA to incorporate a medical records standard designed to address how employee exposure records are handled. It is for this reason that all employee exposme records dealing with asbestos must be kept by the employer for thirty years. Any exposure testing of employees dealing with occupational disease must be kept for the employee s duration of employment, plus thirty years. This means that if an employee starts to work at a location that monitors for ACM in 2012 and retires after twenty years of service in 2032, those exposure records need to be kept by the employer until 2062. 

---