Document 82GqVXbakkby0Xyqyg03D7NrB

OBLIGATIONS OF EMPLOYER - under STANDARDS FOR EXPOSURE TO ASBESTOS DUST ` 29 C.F.R. S 1910.93a I. Fiber Ceilings. The permissible asbestos fiber (longer than 5 micrometers) airborne concentration limits to which any employee may be exposed are: A. _5 fibers per cubic centimeter of air on a time weighted-average (TWA)--over an 8-hour day. B. 10^ fibers per cubic centimeter of air at any one time. Note: References herein to ''limits*' or "fiber limits" refer to the above limits. . II. Methods cf Meeting these Exposure Limits * A. Engineering controls. Compliance must be primarily through engineering controls such as use of exhaust ventilation and dust collection.systems, enclosures, and other such means. . B. Respirators, shift rotation, etc. Respirators and . shift rotation and other such means can be used to meet employee exposure limits only in the very limited situations specified in the regulations. See Paragraph VII of this outline on respirators. III. Local Exhaust Systems A. When required 1. With all hand and oovmr tools which may produce or release asbestos fibers in excess of limits. (Saws, scorers, abrasive wheels, drills, etc.) 2. VThere necessary to keep within the asbestos fiber limits. B. What required. Must be designed, constructed,' installed and maintained in accordance with American National . UCC 007518 A209S i Standard Fundamentals Governing the Design and Operation of Local Exhaust Systems, ANSI Z9.2-1971. Copies can be obtained from: . American National Standards Institute 1430 Broadway New York, H. Y. 10018 IV. Removal from Containers - Cement, etc. A. Products subject to this requirement: asbestos cement ' mortar coating grout plaster similar material containing asbestos B. Procedure. Must be either: 1. wet 2. enclosed, or 3. ventilated ' sufficiently to prevent airborne fibers in excess of the limits. t V. Spraying, Demolition or Removal A. Special equipment and procedures are required for protection of employees engaged in spraying asbestos or removal of asbestos insulation or removal or demolition of equipment or structures insulated with asbestos. The requirements are: 1. Approved respiratory equipment must be used. 2. Special clothing must be supplied and used if the 10 fiber ceiling is exceeded. 3. Change rooms are required in_ some instances. 4. Two separate lockers or containers for each employee s work clothes and street clothes ax*c required. A 203 o r. -2UCC 007519 5 * Special laundering requirements arc imposed. B. The respiratory equipment must be - . 1. continuous flow or pressure demand, supplied-air type, and 2. approved by the Bureau of Mines or NIOSH a. The Committee will obtain a list of presently approved items 3. Employer must also establish a respirator program in accordance with American National Practices for Respiratory Protection, ANSI Z88.2-1969. C. Special clothing requirement. 1. Items required are: . Whole body clothing Head covering Gloves ` Foot coverings (coveralls or shirt and pants) * 2. In view of laundering requirements, use of throw away paper articles should be investigated. See Paragraph IV of this outline for laundering requirements. D. Change rooms and separate clothes lookers or containers may be required. See Paragraph VI of this outline. VI. Change Rooms, Separate Clothes Containers and Laundering A. Change rooms are required 1. At "any fixed place of employment," 2. For "employees working regularly at the place," 3. JTf exposure to airborne asbestos fibers exceeds either the 5 fiber TWA or the 10 fiber limit. Comment: A construction site is not considered to be a "fixed place of employment." _3_ A 20 9 8 0 ' . . UCC 007520 Note that change rooms are required only in the places and under the conditions described above, B, Clothes Containers. Where a change room is required, the employer must furnish a locker or container for the employee's street clothes and a separate locker or container for his work clothes. The separate containers must be sufficiently separated as to prevent contamina tion of the street clothes. Separate plastic clothing bags will meet this requirement. . C. Laundering of "Asbestos Contaminated Clothing" 1. Extent of employer1s obiigation. 0S1IA Office of Standards interprets the regulation to require employer to launder any special clothing he is required to furnish but not any other clothing. 2. Employer laundering of special clothing. Employer must: a. Transport in sealed impermeable bag ' b. Affix`following label to bag: CAUTION Contains Asbestos Fibers Avoid Creating Dust Breathing Asbestos Dust May Cause Serious Bodily Harm . c. Notify laundry that laundering must be done in a manner that will not cause release of . airborne fibers in excess of limits. VII. RcsDirators A. Generally. Respirators cannot be used to obtain compliance with exposure limits unless specifically authorized by regulations. B. When authorized. 1. During time needed to install engineering controls and work practices required by the regulations. -4UCC 007521 A209S7 2. In work situations where-the required engineering controls and work practices are technically not .feasible or feasible to an extent, insufficient to meet, exposure limits . ('Ibis v.'ould include spraying, demolition and removal. See Paragraph V.) 3. In emergencies. C. Kinds to Use 1. Must be approved by: a. Bureau of Mines, or b. NIOSH 2. Air purifying - can be used where concentrations are reasonably expected not to exceed 10 times the limits. ' 3. Powered-air purifying, vbere concentration expected to exceed 10 times but not 100 times exposure limits 4. Snoplied-air, continuous flow or pressure demand. Concentrations above 100 times limits. D. Respirator Program. If use respirators, must establish a program in accord with American National Practices for Respiratory Protection, ANSI Z8S.2-1969. E. Employee with Respirator Problems: Will not be given work requiring respirator if: a. Physician, based on most recent examination, determines: . (1) Employee cannot "function normally wearing a respirator," or (2) Safety or health of the employee or other employees will be impaired by his use of respirator. 2. Will (1) be rotated to a different job or (2) be bo. allowed to transfer to a different position in -5UCC 007522 A209 O O the same geographical area with same seniority, status and rate of pay if such position is avail able and he is able to perform the duties required. (The validity of this requirement should not be assumed. Anyone faced with the problem may want to check with his counsel.) /Ill. Caution Signs and Labe3.s A. Signs . 1. Must be displayed at each location where asbestos fibers "may be" in excess of limits. 2. Must conform to size, lettering and other minute details specified in the regulation. 3. Must be posted at all approaches to area containing excess concentrations. 4. The Committee recommends - that NICA make arrangements whereby signs meeting the requirements of the regulations can.be purchased from a'central source. B. babels . 1. Must be affixed to "all raw materials, mixtures, scrap, waste, debris and other products containing asbestos fibers, or to their containers." 2. Exception: Where fibers have been modified by a , bonding agent, coating or other material "so that - ` during any reasonably forseeable use, handling, storage, disposal, processing or transportation" ' airborne fibers in excess of limits will not be released. 3. .Labels must be in following form: CAUTION Contains Asbestos Fibers Avoid Creating Dust Breathing Asbestos Dust May Cause Serious Bodily Harm -6UCC 007523 4 203s 3 4. The Committee recommend:; that. NICA moke arrangements whereby labels meeting the requirements o the regulations can be purchased from a central source. IX. Moni torinq Amount of Airborne Ashers ios Fibers A. When required 1. By December 6, 1972 2. At least every 6 months thereafter B. Where required ,. . 1. "Every place of employment where asbestos fibers are released." ' ' . ' . 2. ' . Comment: The regulations were apparently drafted with plant operations in mind. , Because it is difficult to apply them to the contracting business, the Committee met with the 09 HA Office of Standards in Washington to obtain a workable interpretation * as applied to a contractor. We-were advised that ...... a contractor would be required to monitor each function. Thus, for example, the cutting of calcium silicate on a particular job would be monitored.. If this contractor had three other jobs in which this same operation was performed, using the same tools, the same material and under substantially the same conditions, it would not be necessary to monitor this same function at each of the other job sites. However, if a contractor has more than one branch or operating unit from which employees were hired and operations conducted, each of these branches or operating units would be considered to be a"place of employment" and the cutting of calcium silicate would have to be monitored on at least one job handled out of each such branch or operating unit. The cutting of calcium silicate is simply an example and the above comments are applic able to every other operation in which asbestos fibers are released. C. Where samples col3ected from - 1 Personal. "within the breathing zone of the employees." ,, A2093C' UCC 007524 2. Environmental. "* * * areas * * * representative of airborne concentrations of asbestos .fibers which ' may reach the breathing zone of the employees." D. Sampling Frequency and Pattern. "such frequency and pattern as to represent with reasonable, accuracy the levels of exposure of the employees." Frequency must be sufficient to show 8-hour time weighted average. E. Method of Sampling. Membrane filter of 0.8 micrometer porosity mounted in an open-face filter holder. F. Practical suggestions on equipment and procedures: 1* Industry program. The Committee is .exploring the possibility of making available, on a purely voluntary basis, a program that would enable contractors to comply with the monitoring requirements. The arrangement under consideration v.ould include (1) conducting a school to train several people in each region or area to opercite the monitoring equipment and take the necessary, samples, (2) identifying an making arrangements with persons (microscopists) qualified to examine and evaluate the'samples, and (3) making this arrangement available to any contractor who wishes to hire the person doing the monitoring . and the microsccpist at the per unit charge each would make. For those contractors who desire to devise their own program, the Committee will furnish, as scon as we can, a list of monitoring equipment and supplies that . are suitable and the names and locations of any microscopists known to the Committee. G. Records 1. Duty to keep. Must keep records of all required personal and environmental monitoring. 2. Time - 3 years. 3. Employee access. Employee and. former employee has access to records showing "employee's own exposure." H. Notice of excess exposure 1. Duty - Employer must give to employee Ad090 1 -8- UCC 007525 .2 Form - written. 3. Time - as soon as practicable but not later than 5 days after employee is found to have been so exposed. 4. Corrective action - must "timely" notify employee what action is taken. Medical Exams A. Furnished by - employer. B. When - 1. Preplacement. Within 30 calendar days of first employment in occupation exposed to airborne asbestos fibers. ' a. How ascertain this? -t 2. Jan. 31, 1973. Every employee on or before this date* 3. Annual. After Jan. 31, 1973, must provide annual exam. 4. Termination of employment. Must have examination with each employer. 5. Exceptions. Examination is not required "if adequate records show that the employee has been examined ' *'* * within the past 1-year period." a. A card signed by the doctor and issued to the employee could serve as the necessary record. C. Medical Records 1. Maintenance. Employer must "cause to be maintained" .2 Period - At least 20 years. 3. Access - -------- a. Assist. Sec. of Labor. A 20302 "9" UCC 007526 b. Director of NI0SI1. c. Authorized medical consultants of above. d. Employee's physician on request of employee. e. Employer. D. Duty of Employee to take Exam 1. While no ruling has been issued on this matter, the Office of Standards has advised that the Act and regulations do not impose a duty on the employee to take an examination. This would be a matter of"employment"policy"and any contractual agreement. E. -Industry - Program-----As indicated in its Report, the Committee recommends that arrangements be.made for a program which would be available to any contractor. This would eliminate the necessity of each contractor setting up his own program, although he could do so t if he wished. Timetable A. Do now - 1. Use necessary engineering controls to comply with 5 fiber TWA and 10 fiber ceiling. Keep in mind that TV7A limit drops to 2 fibers on 7-1-76. 2.. Use local exhaust system with all .saws, etc., that may produce excess fibers. 3. Wet all asbestos containing material for handling, mixing, etc., unless usefulness of product would be diminished. 4. In removing asbestos cement, mortar, coating, grout, plaster or similar material containing asbestos from containers, you must (a) wet, (b) enclose or (c) ventilate sufficiently to prevent fibers above limits. 5. In spraying, removal and demolishing operations: -10UCC 007527 A *0 QQ 3 a. Have employees' use (1) prescribed respirator , and (2) special clothing. b: Furnish special clothing. c. Place special clothing in impermeable bags, attach caution label and comply with laundering requirements d. Have an approved respirator program. ' e. If at a "fixed place of employment," provide change rooms ..and separate clothing lockers or containers for employees "working regularly at the place." 6. Post caution signs at locations where concentrations of fibers may exceed limits. 7. Place caution labels on all raw materials, waste, etc. 8. Keep all external surfaces free of accumulations which, if dispersed, would cause excessive airborne . fibers. . B. When you employ a_worker whom yon have not previously ' employed. 1. , Provide physical within 30 calendar days unless records show he has been examined pursuant to regulations within the preceding year. C. Every time you terminate an employee 1. Provide physical exam unless records show he had one in past year. D. 51 before December 6, 1972. 1. Have completed monitoring of every place of employment where asbestos fibers are released. E. 22L before January 31, 1973 . 1. Provide or make available physical exams for all covered employees. ' a20304 -n~ UCC 007528