Document 82YmGE6Xbxvbq98zdKBq8MgD5

What You Should Know About Asbestos and Health Xi i NORTH AMERICA ASBESTOS INFORMATION ASSOCIATION/NA 1745 Jefferson Davis Highway Arlington, Virginia 22202 "When Handling Non-Friable Asbestos Construction Materials" CAPCO JEN 0010053 Frankly Speaking You are important to your family and loved ones, and you are important to your empioyer/contractar. It makes good sense for your employer/contractor to do everything possible to protect you at your construction job site and for you to take eveiy precaution to avoid possible hazards to your'health. Your work involves the handling of non-friable asbestos-containing materials. You should be aware of: What the health hazards can be. What obligations your employer/contractor has te protect you. What you can do as an individual to protect your own health, your family, and your fellow employees. This pamphlet contains important information and serves as part of your employer's/contractor's asbestos training program. What is Asbestos? Asbestos is a general term used to describe certain minerals commonly found throughout the world which produce very small, thin and light fibers. A microscope and other special equipment is needed to identify and count airborne asbestos fibers. For commercial purposes, the term asbestos applies to three specific minerals referred to by name (and color) as amosite (brown), crocidolite (blue) and chrysotile (white). Amosite and crocidolite belong to the amphibole mineral family; their brittle fibers are thin, long needle-like shapes. Chrysotile is a member of the serpentine mineral family; its silky, tough shorter fibers are spirally in shape. Of the three, chrysotile asbestos is considered safest<and is the most common and widely used, amounting to over 95 percent of U.S. consumption. CAPCO JEN GOTOOS* These Are the Facts The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and many state worker health agencies have determined that breathing asbestos fibers at high levels over long periods of time can increase your risk of developing certain diseases. These determinations are based on studies of shipyard and insulation workers exposed to asbestos at the job site, arid of their families exposed to asbestos found on dusty work clothes carried home. The symptoms of these diseases generally do not appear for 20 or more years after initial exposure. The diseases associated with breathing asbestos fibers are: asbestosis--a non-malignant scarring lung condition; cancer of the lung; cancer of the digestive tract; and, mesothelioma--a rare cancer of the chest or abdominal cavity lining. Although breathing asbestos fibers can be a health hazard, your risk of developing an asbestos-related disease greatly depends on your level of exposure. How many fibers one must breathe to develop disease is uncertain. At very low exposure levels, however, the risk may be zero. Now.. .About Smoking If you smoke cigarettes and are exposed to asbestos fibers, the U.S. Surgeon General has determined that your risk of developing lung cancer increases 10 times. Some risk does exist in nonsmoking workers exposed to asbestos. Products containing asbestos available on the market today fall into two categories. Asbestos cement pipe and asbestos cement siding and roof ing shingles "lock-in" their asbestos fiber in a highdensity Portland cement binder. Asbestos roofing cement and coating, waterproofing, and specialty industrial gaskets "encapsulate" their asbestos fiber in plastic or thick, asphaltic or resinous substances. All these asbestos products are considered non-friable. The potential for non-friable products to release breathable asbestos fibers into the air is minimal. The potential for any asbestos-containing product to release airborne fibers depends on its degree of friability. Friable means that the material can be crumbled with hand pressure and, therefore, it is likely to emit fibers. As necessary, the product manufacturer has provided your employer/contractor with instructions to prop erly handle the material. To ensure minimal, if any, fiber release when installing, repairing or removing a non-friable product, always follow the manufac turer's recommended work practices (application and handling instructions). Following the manufac turer's recommended work practices will ensure you a safe work environment with the lowest possible release of asbestos fiber, far below any documented health risk levels. CAPCO JEN 0010055 Regulations to Protect You Federal OSHA or a state program has established a standard to protect workers like you from excessive exposure to airborne asbestos fibers at the construc tion job-site. The standard is designed to control, minimize or prevent the release of asbestos fibers into the air and the appropriate standard should be carefully observed by your employer/contractor. In working with asbestos-containing products, here's what the typical standard does to protect you at the construction job site: A Safe Job Site Your employer/contractor is required to make sure that you are not exposed to more asbestos fibers than-permitted by the standard. Your employer/ contractor must use every effort to keep airborne asbestos fibers as low as possible--even lower than the standard. The average permissible exposure over eight hours must be below 0.2 asbestos fibers per cubic centimeter (f/cc) and the maximum exposure in 30 minutes is 1.0 asbestos f/cc. Hazard Communication The standard requires employee training, material safety data sheets and the attachment of warning labels on all asbestos products. However, the materials that have the asbestos fibers modified (fixed in place) by a bonding, coating or binding agent (non-friable products which are still being manufactured) can be exempt from hazard commu nication requirements, if the manufacturer can show that asbestos fibers will not be released above the minimum standard when the product is handled or used. Checking the Air Your employer/contractor must conduct air monitor ing at the beginning of every job involving a product containing asbestos, unless the job qualifies as an "exempted operation." When air monitoring is con ducted, you are permitted to observe the activity and review the results. Exempted Operations Your employer/contractor may rely on past experi ence or the manufacturer's objective data to provide an exemption from initial air monitoring and other requirements in the standard. The data must demontrate that any release of airborne asbestos fiber would remain below the minimum standards. The data must closely resemble those work conditions that have the greatest potential to release asbestos fibers into the air. Recommended Work Practices Some of today's asbestos-containing products must be handled following work practices recommended by the manufacturer. Recommended work practices have long been recognized and accepted as a primary method for reducing the possible release, if CAPCO JEN 0010056 any, of airborne asbestos fiber. The work practices recommended by the manufacturer are for your own protection and are designed to achieve a safe job site when working with an asbestos product. Never take shortcuts that may create a health hazard for you or other employees. Also: 1. Do not cut into an asbestos-containing product with a high-speed abrasive disc saw that is not equipped with special dust control equipment. 2. Do not blow compressed air or dry sweep asbestos debris to clean up the job site. And, Most Important On the advice of the U.S. Surgeon General: If you work with asbestos-containing products and you do smoke cigarettes, quit smoking! You can begin to lessen the risk of asbestos and any other lung disease if you stop smoking now. Your family and your employer/contractor need you and your individual abilities. Guard your health in every way, and particularly where cigarette smoking is concerned. If you don't smoke cigarettes now and never have smoked them regularly, don't start. You can obtain important information to help you stop smoking by writing: American Lung Association, 1740 Broadway, New York, NY 10019. What Else Can You Do? Construction safety and health can never be the responsibility of just one person. Both you and your employer/contractor must work together to provide a safe and healthy environ ment at the job site. If you see a possible health hazard that your employer/contractor may have overlooked, please bring it to your supervisor's attention. If you can suggest safer work practices, please do* so. If you are not sure how to handle an asbestoscontaining product or to perform asbestos-related work without releasing fibers, talk with your super visor first. CAPCO JEN 0010057  Remember Government standards and manufacturers' recom mended work practices are designed to prevent the release of airborne asbestos fibers and to protect you from exposure. Please follow them. Although breathing asbestos fiber can be a health hazard, your risk of developing an asbestos-related disease greatly depends on your level of exposure to airborne fiber. Today's asbestos-containing products are non-friable. They do not present a hazard to anyone when in place or when handled in accordance with the manufacturers' recommended work practices. Asbestos is used daily in many valuable products throughout the world.. .products that carry drink-" ing water... products that stop our cars and trucks .. .products that protect our homes and buildings. If these worthwhile products are to continue, it is important that your employer/contractor and you cooperate in maintaining the highest standards of safety and health on the Job. Training Record Please read the questions below and check your response. Tear off this form at the Dotted Line. i Hand in the form to your employer/contractor. Keep this booklet to read again. Your good health is important to your employer/contractor. Have you read the whole booklet? Yes No Do you understand the health risks associated with asbestos? Yes No Do you understand that UJ CE smoking cigarettes does UJ X increase the health risks gX associated with asbestos? Yes No Q Do you understand that you should follow work practices set by the manufacturer and/or employer/contractor to protect you? Yes No Do you have any questions about what you have read in this booklet? Yes No l Please sign your name and put today's date below. NORTH AMERICA ASBESTOS INFORMATION ASSOCIATION/NA 1745 Jefferson Davis Highway Arlington, Virginia 22202 Signed Date_ CAPCO JEN 0010058