Document ba6JoYa3q8eyY51KJoxdanwLy

PLAINTIFF' S EXHIBIT COMMON NAME: CAS NUMBER: ASBESTOS 1332-21-4 DOT NUMBER: UN 2212/UN 2590 HAZARD SUMMARY * Asbestos can affect you when breathed in. * Asbestos is a CARCINOGEN--HANDLE WITH EXTREME CAUTION. * Repeated exposure can cause a disease called Asbestosis to develop some years after exposure begins. Asbestosis causes scarring of the lungs,-changes on chest x-ray, and symptoms of short ness of breath with exertion and pos sibly a dry cough. Progression of As bestosis can lead to disability and death. The earlier exposure is stopped, the better the chance of stopping seri ous disease later. IDENTIFICATION Asbestos is the common name for a group of mineral fibers that range in color from white, green, brown, or blue. It is used as a fireproofing and insulating agent and in brake linings. REASON FOR CITATION Asbestos is on the Workplace Hazardous Substance List because it is regulated by OSHA and cited by NIOSH, IARC, NTP and CAG. * This chemical is also on the Special Health Hazard Substance List because it is a CANCER-CAUSING AGENT. * Definitions are .provided on page 5. WORKPLACE EXPOSURE LIMITS OSHA: NIOSH: The legal airborne permissible exposure limit (PEL) is_ 2.0 fibers/cc averaged over an 8-hour workshift and 10.0 fibers/cc, not to be exceeded during any 15 minute work period. The recommended airborne exposure limit is 0.1 fibers/cc averaged over an 8-hour workshift and 0.5 fibers/cc, not to be exceeded during any work period. * Asbestos is a CANCER-CAUSING AGENT in humans. There may be no safe level of exposure to a carcinogen, so all contact should be reduced to the lowest possible level. HOW TO DETERMINE IF YOU ARE BEING EXPOSED * Exposure to hazardous substances should be routinely evaluated. This may in clude collecting personal and area air samples. You can obtain copies of sam pling results from your employer. You have a legal right to this information under OSHA 1910.20. * If you think you are experiencing any work-related health problems, see a doctor trained to recognize occupa tional diseases. Take this Fact Sheet with you. WAYS OF REDUCING EXPOSURE * Where possible, enclose operations and, use local exhaust ventilation at the site of chemical release. If local ex haust ventilation or enclosure is not used, respirators should be worn. * A regulated, marked area should be es tablished where Asbestos is handled, used, or stored. * Wear protective work clothing. * Wash thoroughly at the end of the work- shift. * Post hazard and warning information in the work area. In addition, as part of an ongoing education and training ef fort, communicate all information on the health and safety hazards of Asbes tos to potentially exposed workers. This Fact Sheet is a summary source of information for workers, employers, and community residents. Health professionals may also find it useful. If this sub stance is part of a mixture, this Fact Sheet should be used along with the manufacturer-supplied Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS). HEALTH HAZARD INFORMATION MEDICAL Medical Testing Before beginning employment and at regular times after that, the following are recom mended: * Lung function tests (annually) * Chest x-ray should be considered every year beginning 10 years after exposure. Acute Health Effects The following acute (short-term) health effects may occur immediately or shortly after exposure to Asbestos: * There are no known acute effects. People who develop serious and fatal disease later in life may feel fine at the time of exposure. Any evaluation should include a careful history of past and present symptoms with an exam. Medical tests that look for dam age already done are not a substitute for controlling exposure. Request copies of your medical testing. You have a legal right to this information under OSHA 1910.20. Chronic Health Effects The following chronic (long-term) health effects can occur at some time after expo sure to Asbestos and can last for months or years: Cancer Hazard * Asbestos is a CANCER-CAUSING AGENT in humans. It has been shown to cause lung cancers (including Mesothelioma) as well as stomach, colon, rectal, vo cal cord and kidney cancers. * Many scientists believe there is no safe level of exposure to a cancer- causing agent. Such substances may also have the potential for causing reproductive damage in humans. Other Long-Term Effects * Repeated exposure to Asbestos can cause the disease Asbestosis. The higher the exposure, and the longer the time of exposure, the more chance there is of serious illness. * Asbestosis develops some years (from seven to thirty) after the period of exposure. It can progress to disabil ity and death. * Symptoms of Asbestosis include short ness of breath on exertion, possibly a dry cough, and changes on the chest xray. Mixed Exposures Because smoking can cause heart disease, as well as lung cancer, emphysema, and other respiratory problems, it may worsen respiratory conditions caused by chemical exposure. Even if you have smoked for a long time, stopping now will reduce your risk of developing health problems. The risk of lung cancer may be as much as 92 times higher for people with Asbestos exposure who smoke than for those without both exposures. WORKPLACE CONTROLS AND PRACTICES Unless a less toxic chemical can be sub stituted for a hazardous substance, ENGI NEERING CONTROLS are the most effective way of reducing exposure. The best pro tection is enclosing operations and/or providing local exhaust ventilation at the site of chemical release. Isolating oper ations can also reduce exposure. Using respirators or protective equipment is less effective than the controls mentioned above, but is sometimes necessary. In evaluating the. controls present in your workplace, consider: (1) how hazardous the substance is; (2) how much of the sub stance is released into the workplace, and (3) whether harmful skin or eye contact could occur. Better controls should be in place for highly toxic chemicals or when significant skin, eye, or breathing expo sures are possible. In addition, the following controls are recommended: should be used, not a standard shop vacuum. * Specific engineering controls are re quired for this chemical by OSHA. Re fer to the OSHA Standard: 1910.1001 also refer to the NIOSH criteria doc ument: Occupational Exposure to Asbes tos #77-169. * Substitute the less toxic mineral wool and fiberglass for Asbestos where pos sible. Many other substitutes are also available. * There are extensive recommended and re quired engineering and procedural regu lations for construction and repair projects involving Asbestos material. Before disturbing any Asbestos contain ing materials you must be properly trained and you must follow the re quired guidelines. Contact the NJ DOH for more information. Good WORK PRACTICES can help to _ reduce hazardous exposures. The following work practices are recommended: * Workers whose clothing has been contam inated by Asbestos must change into clean clothing. * Do not take contaminated work clothes home. Family members could be exposed. * Contaminated, disposable work clothes should be disposed of with asbestos waste. * Wash any areas of the body that may have contacted Asbestos at the end of each work day, whether or not known skin contact has occurred. * Do not eat, smoke, or drink where As bestos is handled, processed, or stored, since the chemical can be swal lowed. Wash hands carefully before eating or smoking. * Ongoing Asbestos abatement projects in sealed areas, become very hot and hu mid. There is a risk of heat stress. You should be trained by your employer to recognize the warning signs and the proper action to take to avoid serious dangerous working conditions. * Do not dry sweep for clean-up. Use a vacuum or a wet method to reduce dust during clean-up. * When vacuuming, a high efficiency particulate absolute (HEPA) filter PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT WORKPLACE CONTROLS ARE BETTER THAN PER SONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT. However, for some jobs (such as outside work, confined space entry, jobs done only once in a while, or jobs done while workplace con trols are being installed), personal pro tective equipment may be appropriate. The following recommendations are only guidelines and may not apply to every sit uation. Clothing * Avoid skin contact with Asbestos. Wear disposable protective gloves and cloth ing. Safety equipment suppliers/manu facturers can provide recommendations on the most protective glove/clothing material for your operation. * All protective clothing (suits, gloves, footwear, headgear) should be clean, available each day,, and put on before work. * TYVEK is recommended as a most effec tive material for protective disposable clothing. Eye Protection * Eye protection is included in recommended respiratory protection. the Respiratory Protection IMPROPER USE OF RESPIRATORS IS DANGEROUS. Such equipment should only be used if the employer has a written program that takes into account workplace conditions, re quirements for worker training, respirator fit testing, and medical exams, as de scribed in OSHA 1910.134. * Asbestos is a known human carcinogen, therefore, for the absolute best pro tection, at any exposure level, use an MSHA/NIOSH approved supplied-air respi rator with a full facepiece operated in the positive pressure mode or with a full facepiece, hood, or helmet in the continuous flow mode, or use an MSHA/ NIOSH approved self-contained breathing apparatus with a full facepiece oper ated in pressure-demand or other posi tive pressure mode. * However, during asbestos abatement projects when it is impossible to use supplied air or self-contained breathing apparatus, use a full facepiece powered air purifying respirator with high efficient particulate filters. Q: Don't all chemicals cause cancer? A: No. Most chemicals tested by scien- tists are not cancer-causing, QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Q: If I have acute health effects, will I later get chronic health effects? A: Not always. Most chronic (long-term) effects result from repeated exposures to a chemical. Q: Can I get long-term effects without ever having short-term effects? A: Yes, because long-term effects can occur from repeated exposures to a chem ical at levels not high enough to make you immediately sick. 0: What are my chances of getting sick when I have been exposed to chemicals? A: The likelihood of becoming sick from chemicals is increased as the amount of exposure increases. This is deter mined by the length of time someone is exposed and the amount of material they are exposed to. Q: When are higher exposures more likely? A: Conditions which increase risk of ex posure include dust releasing opera tions (grinding, mixing, blasting, dumping, etc.), other physical and me chanical processes (heating, pouring, spraying, spills and evaporation from large surface areas such as open con tainers) and "confined space" expo sures (working inside vats, reactors, boilers, small rooms, etc.). Q: Is the risk of getting sick higher for workers than for community residents? A: Yes. Exposures in the community, ex cept possibly in cases of fires or spills, are usually much lower than those found in the workplace. How ever, people in the community may be exposed to contaminated water as well as to chemicals in the air over long periods. Because of this, and because of exposure of children or people who are already ill, community exposures may cause health problems. The New Jersey State Department of Health, Occupational Disease Prevention and Infor mation Program offers multiple services in occupational health. These include: P.ight to Know Information Resources, Public Pre sentations, General References, Industrial Hygiene Information, Surveys and Investi gations, and Medical Evaluation. Consult another Fact Sheet for a more detailed description of these services or call (609) 984-1863. DEFINITIONS ACGIH is the American Conference of Gov ernmental Industrial Hygienists. It recom mends upper limits (called TLVs) for expo sure to workplace chemicals. CAG is the Carcinogens Assessment Group of the federal EPA. A carcinogen is a substance that causes cancer. The GAS number is assigned by the Chemical Abstracts Service to identify a specific chemical. A combustible substance is a solid, liq uid or gas that will burn. A corrosive substance is a gas, liquid or solid that causes irreversible damage to human tissue or containers. DEP is the New Jersey Department of Envi ronmental Protection. DOT is the Department of Transportation, the federal agency that regulates the transportation of chemicals. EPA is the Environmental Protection Agency, the federal agency responsible for regulating environmental hazards. A fetus is an unborn human or animal. A flammable substance is a solid, liquid, vapor or gas that will ignite easily and burn rapidly. The flash point is the temperature at which a liquid or solid gives off vapor that can form a flammable mixture with air. IARC is the International Agency for Re search on Cancer, a scientific group that classifies chemicals according to their cancer-causing potential. A miscible substance is a liquid or gas that will evenly dissolve in another. bg/m^ means milligrams of a chemical- in a cubic meter of air. It is a measure of concentration (weight/volume). MSHA is the Mine Safety and Health Admin istration, the federal agency that regu lates mining. It also evaluates and ap proves respirators. A mutagen is a substance that causes muta tions. A mutation is a change in the gene tic material in a body cell. Mutations can lead to birth defects, miscarriages, or cancer. NCI is the National Cancer Institute, a federal agency that determines the cancercausing potential of chemicals. NFPA is the National Fire Protection Asso ciation. It classifies substances accord ing to their fire and explosion hazard. NIOSH is the National Institute for Occu pational Safety and Health. It tests equipment, evaluates and approves respi rators, conducts studies of workplace haz ards, and proposes standards to OSHA. NTP is the National Toxicology Program which tests chemicals and reviews evidence for cancer. OSHA is the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which adopts and enforces health and safety standards. ppm means parts of a substance per million parts of air. It is a measure of concen tration by volume in air. A reactive substance is a solid, liquid or gas that can cause an explosion under cer tain conditions or on contact with other specific substances. A teratogen is a substance that causes birth defects by damaging the fetus. TLV is the Threshold Limit Value, the workplace exposure limit recommended by ACGIH. The vapor pressure is a measure of'how readily a liquid or a solid mixes with air at its surface. A higher vapor pressure indicates a higher concentration of the substance in air and therefore increases the likelihood of breathing it in. Common Name: ASBESTOS DOT Number: UN 2212/ UN 2590 NFPA Flammability: No Citation NFPA Reactivity: No Citation WARNING CANCER-CAUSING AGENT DOES NOT BURN Health hazards on front page FIRE HAZARDS HANDLING AND STORAGE * Extinguish fire using an agent suitable for type of surrounding fire. Asbestos itself does not burn. * Care should be taken to contain Asbestos materials disturbed in a fire. * If employees are expected to fight fires, they must be trained and equipped as stated in OSHA 1910.156. SPILLS AND EMERGENCIES If Asbestos is spilled or damaged the following steps: take * Restrict persons not wearing protective equipment from area of spill until cleanup is complete. * Proper procedures for repair or removal of the material must be followed by trained personnel. * Spills and damaged Asbestos material MUST be cleaned using wet methods. DO NOT DRY SWEEP, SHOVEL, or VACUUM. * It may be necessary to contain and dis pose of Asbestos as a HAZARDOUS WASTE. Contact the NJ Department of Environ mental Protection (DEP) or your region al office of the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for specific recommendations. FOR LARGE SPILLS AND FIRES immediately call your local Fire Department. You can also request emergency information from the following: * Prior to working with Asbestos you should be trained on its proper han dling and storage. * A regulated, marked area should be established where Asbestos is handled, used, or stored. * Airborne Asbestos dust is very diffi cult to remove. It is therefore essen tial that any area where Asbestos is handled be enclosed and isolated. The material should be kept wet with spe cial surfactants and water. * Enclose operations and use local ex haust ventilation with negative pres sure air filtration and high efficiency particulate filters in areas of Asbes tos removal. If enclosure with con tainment "glove" bags is not used for minor repairs, respirators must be worn and proper procedures must be followed. * All Asbestos materials must be removed il and disposed of according to regulations. The area must be monitored to ensure airborne Asbestos levels are be low limits prior to reoccupation of the area where Asbestos was disturbed. FIRST AID Eye Contact * Immediately flush with large amounts of water for at least 15 minutes, occa sionally lifting upper and lower lids. NJ POISON INFORMATION 1-800-962-1253 DEP HOTLINE: (609) 292-7172 CHEMTREC: (800) 424-9300 Not intended to be copied and sold for commercial purposes. 9 New Jersey Department of Health CN 368 Trenton, NJ 08625 (609) 984-2202 Date preparediNovember 1985 Revision: oes-js AUG 84