Document Bym98NddnZK04MkZgq0wL0Bko

Asbestos: Wonder Mineral or Silent Killer Asbestos, dubbed the wonder mineral, has been incorporated into building products since the late 1800's. By the mid-1900's it was being used in over 3000 different products, such as fire proofing, electrical insulation, building ma terials, brake linings, and chemical filters. In 1924, a young women died of a lung disease associated with ex posure to asbestos. Medical docu mentation of health effects oc curring from exposure to asbestos began three years later. Asbestosis was completely defined by 1940 and the association of lung cancer with asbestos was clearly estab lished in 1955. In 1960, scientists noticed alarming increases in the incidence of a rare form of lung cancer known as mesthelioma. This is of particular importance be cause their is no known cure for mesothelioma. It is characterized by the 1981 Attorney General's Re port to Congress as "excruciatingly painful and always fatal." Since the use of asbestos in man ufacturing items has been greatly curtailed, the danger to factory workers is gradually being reduced. The main concern today revolves around the employee, customer, or student who is exposed to increased ambient concentrations of air borne fibers released from deteriorating asbestos containing materials (ACM) installed as little as nine years ago. These fibers are so tiny they must be magnified thousands of times to be seen. Some asbestos fi bers are so light that if left five feet above the floor in a room with ab solutely no air movement it could take up to three weeks to reach the floor. These tiny invisible air borne fibers are the most dangerous. They are called respirable fibers. This means the fibers are so small they are taken into the lungs dur ing the normal breathing process. These fibers become lodged in the lungs and eventually cause one or more of a variety of diseases. In try ing to determine an acceptable dose (exposure) limit for people, the EPA and the Occupational Safety & Health Organization (OSHA) have established a maximum exposure level of 0.2 fibers per cubic centi meter (0.2 f/cc). This is called the permissible exposure level (PEL) which is 0.2 f/cc or 200,000 fibers (continued on page 2) Winston E. Bean, Chief Operations Officer, Asbestos Division, "Applying my skills as a pilot, discipline and resourcefulness, quick response is something I am naturally geared for and enjoy." EAC SWRf/Asbestos 6269 Safety On ALERT The petrochemical industry has long recognized the need for em ployee safety. An industry motto often heard is "Safety First." Work ers are protected at great expense. At Evans, we are definitely safety oriented. In a business as risky as asbestos removal, what is needed is safety first with no sacrifice in speed. That is what pushes Evans to the front of the pack. We minimize business interrup tion to the point that we're often complimented. At a major plant in LaPorte, one unit head stated, "What is nice about Evans is we hardly know they're here, but each morning I walk past and I can't be lieve how much has been done." Each plant and unit is unique, therefore, it takes an innovative company to adapt to special circumstances. Evans American can custom tailor a project to any requirement. Evans' background in high speed catastrophe management was a natural lead-in to the development of our Asbestos Lagging Emergency Response Team (ALERT). We saw a need that was unique to the chemi cal and manufacturing industries. When a problem strikes, unit down time can run into the loss of hun "Pushing to meet the needs of the client." David A. McAllen, Production Manager, Inspection and Compliance Director. dreds of thousands of dollars. The need to get that unit back in serv ice is obvious. NESHAPS compli ance can be a time consuming proposition and non-compliance penalties can run as high as $25,000 per day per violation. Evans can keep you in compliance and do it in the shortest possible time. We provide much more than a pick-up truck full of workers. Immediate response with 24 hour access to management and workers enables Evans to respond quickly and efficiently to all emergency needs. Typical mobilization is 2 to 4 hours from first notice. It includes a force of equipment operators, scaf folding mechanics, engineers, su pervisors, and --- workers. ALERT trucks are equip ped with mobile phones and inven toried daily. They are kept stocked with suits, air dis tribution systems, respirators, hand tools and our own portable air dif ferential system. Each truck carries copies of work er training documentation, OSHA 200 Log and our Safety Manual. Speaking of our safety program, it must work because Evans American has 124,800 accident-free man days. That translates to "Safety First." 6271 SWRfl*sbeSt0S 3