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Issues | |||
Asbestos
AFSCME has played a major role in shaping federal asbestos laws to protect maintenance, custodial, and other building service workers and occupants. These laws give workers the right to know if the buildings they work in contain asbestos-containing materials (ACM) and require strict work practices to prevent exposure. What OSHA and EPA rules protect workers from asbestos?The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has two asbestos standards:
These standards cover private sector workers and state and local government workers in the 23 states with federally approved state OSHA laws. A few other states have OSHA programs for public employees that are not federally approved which also adopt and enforce OSHA standards. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Asbestos Worker Protection Rule (40 CFR Part 763 Subpart G) extends the OSHA asbestos protections to state and local government workers not covered by OSHA laws. The law became effective December 15, 2000. What "right to know" do workers have about asbestos hazards?Federal laws give workers the right to know about possible asbestos hazards in their workplaces. Except for primary and secondary schools, there is no requirement to inspect buildings for asbestos. However, the following materials are "presumed asbestos-containing material" (PACM) and must be handled accordingly if they were installed in buildings built before 1980.
These materials must be treated as ACM unless they are tested (bulk sampling) and are found not to contain asbestos. There are other ways that employers must inform workers and occupants about asbestos:
How much asbestos can workers be exposed to legally?OSHA permissible exposure limits (PEL) are the maximum levels that workers may be exposed to for particular substances. These are the limits that OSHA compliance officials can enforce. The PEL for asbestos is one-tenth of an asbestos fiber per cubic centimeter of air, or 0.1f/cc averaged over an eight-hour shift. In addition, no employee may be exposed above the excursion limit, which is an airborne concentration of asbestos over one fiber per cubic centimeter of air (1f/cc) averaged over a 30 minute period.
What must employers do to protect workers?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, each with its own set of requirements:
Measuring Worker Exposure In general, employers must determine how much asbestos that workers might be exposed to before the work begins (initial exposure assessment) unless they have reliable information that workers will not be exposed above the PEL. For Class I and II work, the employer must conduct daily monitoring (periodic monitoring) of each employee who works within the regulated area, unless a negative exposure assessment has been made. For Class III or IV work, the employer must monitor all work where exposures are expected to exceed the PEL, unless workers are wearing supplied-air respirators operated in the positive-pressure mode. Employer must also perform clearance sampling after Class I jobs to make sure that the area is safe to reenter. Before the plastic sheeting around an asbestos job is taken down, air measurements must be taken after stirring up the air with a leaf blower. Required Work Practices All Class I, II, and III asbestos work must be conducted within regulated areas. These are marked areas that only trained and authorized personnel wearing respirators and other protective equipment may enter. Other work, such as an emergency cleanup, must also be conducted in a regulated area when airborne asbestos levels are over or are likely to exceed the PEL. Engineering controls: employers must use ventilation and other methods to keep asbestos fibers from getting airborne. Power tools such as drills, saws, abrasive wheels must be equipped with ventilation systems in order to capture the fibers. Whenever possible, wet methods must be used to keep asbestos moist to keep fibers from getting into the air. Housekeeping and floor care: Employers must provide workers with a vacuum cleaner that is equipped with high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters, or use wet methods such as mopping. Stripping floor finish must be done by wet methods or using low abrasion pads at lower than 300 rpm. Brake and clutch repair: In addition to housekeeping, the OSHA General Industry Standard covers vehicle maintenance. Employers must provide equipment to enclose the brake or clutch and catch fibers during repairs (negative pressure enclosure/HEPA vacuum system). Employers may also use low pressure/wet cleaning method or other methods if exposures can be kept below the PEL. Respiratory Protection The least protective respirator that OSHA allows for asbestos work is a half-mask, air- purifying respirator with HEPA filters. Dust masks are NOT allowed. The employer must provide a powered, air-purifying respirator whenever an employee chooses to use this type of respirator and the respirator will provide adequate protection. Other Requirements The OSHA and EPA rules also contain requirements for protective clothing, laundering work clothes, medical tests, and keeping records.
What other EPA laws protect workers and others from asbestos?
January 2001 For more information about protecting workers from workplace hazards, contact the AFSCME Health and Safety Program at (202) 429-1228, or 1625 L Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20036. |
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