What to Know about Asbestos Safety and Exposure

What is asbestos?
Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral fiber that is strong, flexible and resistant to electricity and heat. Asbestos fibers are very fine and are easily inhaled. They can penetrate the lung’s airways and become trapped, causing life-threatening illnesses.

The effective properties of asbestos have made it popular in the past across the construction, mining, shipping and automotive industries. Once commonly found in materials like insulation, sheeting, roofing, tiles, textiles, adhesives, piping, brake pads and gaskets, its use in industry has been significantly reduced or stopped all together.

There are two types of asbestos-containing materials.

• Bonded (non-friable) asbestos materials are made by combining asbestos fibers with a bonding agent or material. Bonded materials will not release airborne fibers unless damaged or mishandled.
• Friable (loosely bonded) asbestos materials contain asbestos fibers that can be easily crumbled and turned into powder by hand when dry. These materials are most dangerous since fibers can quickly become airborne and inhaled.

Is the use of asbestos legal?
Asbestos has been completely banned in 61 countries, including a ban from all products in Australia in 2003. All other OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries have banned asbestos, except for the United States and Mexico.

Health Effects of Asbestos Exposure
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 125 million people in the world are currently exposed to asbestos in the workplace. Approximately half of the deaths from work-related cancer are estimated to be caused by asbestos.

Asbestos can affect employee health if it is not properly maintained, handled or removed safely.

Breathing in asbestos fibers can cause:

• Asbestosis
• Pleural disease
• Mesothelioma
• Cancer of the lung, ovaries and larynx

Common signs of asbestos-related disease include:

• Shortness of breath
• Wheezing
• Crackling sound when breathing
• Coughing up blood
• Chest pain or tightness
• Swelling of the face and neck
• Difficulty swallowing
• Weight loss
• Excessive tiredness

In most cases, symptoms from asbestos exposure will not begin to show until 20-30 years after first contact with the fibers.  The risk of disease increases with the level of exposure and varies depending on several factors:

• Length of time exposed to asbestos fibers
• Amount of fibers inhaled
• Frequency of exposure to fibers
• Time since exposure occurred
• Age that exposure occurred
• Type and size of asbestos fibers
• Whether the person is a smoker

Best Practices for Working with Asbestos
If you are required to work with asbestos-containing materials, ensure all necessary precautions are taken to protect everyone from exposure to asbestos fibers. If you are unsure if the product you are working with contains asbestos, assume that the product does contain asbestos and exercise appropriate precautions.

Safe Work Australia has developed documents including, How to Manage and Control Asbestos in the Workplace and How to Safely Remove Asbestos. These documents outline best practices to mitigate asbestos risks. A summary of best practices is listed below:

• Implement an asbestos management plan to identify and control asbestos risks
• Engage a licensed asbestos professional to identify, assess and remove asbestos
• Keep an up-to-date register of the location of asbestos
• Where possible, do not work on dry asbestos
• Prevent and/or minimize airborne asbestos fibers by using surfactants, wetting agents, pastes, gels or shadow vacuuming, depending on whether there is an electrical hazard present
• Perform work in a controlled environment to isolate the area (e.g. use assembly enclosures, close doors/windows if inside, display warning signs, install barricades and notify others of asbestos work in the area)
• Use manually operated or battery-operated powered tools with exhaust dust extractors. Do not use high powered tools
• Wear appropriate PPE, including respiratory protection, disposable coveralls, single use gloves and safety footwear. Decontaminate and/or dispose PPE as required.
• Monitor the health of workers working with, or exposed to asbestos

Benefits of an Asbestos Awareness Policy and Procedures
Asbestos is an ongoing risk to the community. Those managing a workplace have a responsibility to protect their employees from the risks of asbestos. For companies whose workers may be exposed to or involved in the removal of asbestos, documented asbestos awareness and asbestos removal policies and procedures provide great value to both Hiring Clients and contractors. Effective policies and procedures provide the foundation for practical implementation of safe work procedures and controls in the workplace.

Let ISN Help
ISN’s RAVS Plus Assessment is the next level of due diligence in managing contractor health and safety information. Our team gathers evidence to show the level of implementation of contractors’ safety policies and procedures in work practices. Our program illustrates how well contractor employees retain their training, identifying gaps in knowledge and safety procedures and areas for improvement. Adjustments may be recommended to company procedures or re-training workers on specific asbestos topics.

If you are an existing ISNetworld subscribing Hiring Client, contact your ISN account representative to inquire about RAVS Plus and other programs to help bolster your written programs.

To discuss ISNetworld’s resources, RAVS Plus and additional benefits for both clients and contractors, request a demo of our contractor management platform.