29 CFR 1910 · General Industry

1910.1001(j)(7): Asbestos Training in General Industry

By Black Belt Safety Editorial Team Official text as of octubre 15, 2026 Data updated octubre 20, 2026 5 min read

In plain words:

Employers must train each employee exposed to airborne asbestos at or above the PEL and/or excursion limit, before or at initial assignment and at least annually after that, in a way the employee can understand. Training must cover health effects, smoking and lung cancer, where and how asbestos is used, controls and work practices, protective procedures, respirators and protective clothing, medical surveillance and the standard itself.

Key takeaways

  • 1910.1001(j)(7) is part of OSHA's general industry standards (29 CFR Part 1910).
  • OSHA cited it 133 times in the last 3 years, in 132 inspections, with $303,432 in current penalties.
  • Most citations: MI (41), NJ (26), CT (16).
  • Related part: 1910.1001(j) Communication of hazards to employees—Introduction (467 citations).
  • Free 5-minute toolbox talk for your crew below.
133citations, 3 years
$303,432current penalties
132inspections
0linked injury cases
In this article
  1. What this rule covers
  2. Official text
  3. Where and how often it was cited
  4. Free toolbox talk
  5. OSHA interpretation letters
  6. Related parts of this rule
  7. Get your crew competent
  8. Frequently asked questions
  9. About this page

What this rule covers

29 CFR 1910.1001(j)(7) ("Employee information and training") is one requirement inside 1910.1001 Asbestos, an OSHA general industry standard (Part 1910). It includes 18 sub-paragraphs. The official text below is copied word for word from the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR). The numbers, injury cases and training on this page show how OSHA enforces it on real job sites.

Official text

(7) Employee information and training. 133 citations

(i) The employer shall train each employee who is exposed to airborne concentrations of asbestos at or above the PEL and/or excursion limit in accordance with the requirements of this section. The employer shall institute a training program and ensure employee participation in the program. 3 citations

(ii) Training shall be provided prior to or at the time of initial assignment and at least annually thereafter. 3 citations

(iii) The training program shall be conducted in a manner which the employee is able to understand. The employer shall ensure that each employee is informed of the following: 2 citations

(A) The health effects associated with asbestos exposure;

(B) The relationship between smoking and exposure to asbestos producing lung cancer:

(C) The quantity, location, manner of use, release, and storage of asbestos, and the specific nature of operations which could result in exposure to asbestos; 1 citations

(D) The engineering controls and work practices associated with the employee's job assignment;

(E) The specific procedures implemented to protect employees from exposure to asbestos, such as appropriate work practices, emergency and clean-up procedures, and personal protective equipment to be used; 1 citations

(F) The purpose, proper use, and limitations of respirators and protective clothing, if appropriate;

(G) The purpose and a description of the medical surveillance program required by paragraph (l) of this section;

(H) The content of this standard, including appendices.

(I) The names, addresses and phone numbers of public health organizations which provide information, materials, and/or conduct programs concerning smoking cessation. The employer may distribute the list of such organizations contained in appendix I to this section, to comply with this requirement.

(J) The requirements for posting signs and affixing labels and the meaning of the required legends for such signs and labels.

(iv) The employer shall also provide, at no cost to employees who perform housekeeping operations in an area which contains ACM or PACM, an asbestos awareness training course, which shall at a minimum contain the following elements: health effects of asbestos, locations of ACM and PACM in the building/facility, recognition of ACM and PACM damage and deterioration, requirements in this standard relating to housekeeping, and proper response to fiber release episodes, to all employees who perform housekeeping work in areas where ACM and/or PACM is present. Each such employee shall be so trained at least once a year. Open (j)(7)(iv) 125 citations

(v) Access to information and training materials.

(A) The employer shall make a copy of this standard and its appendices readily available without cost to all affected employees.

(B) The employer shall provide, upon request, all materials relating to the employee information and training program to the Assistant Secretary and the training program to the Assistant Secretary and the Director.

(C) The employer shall inform all employees concerning the availability of self-help smoking cessation program material. Upon employee request, the employer shall distribute such material, consisting of NIH Publication No. 89-1647, or equivalent self-help material, which is approved or published by a public health organization listed in appendix I to this section.

Source: eCFR, text current as of 2026-10-15. Read all of 1910.1001.

Where and how often it was cited

YearCitations
20239
202455
202534
202635

Top states: MI (41), NJ (26), CT (16), NY (10), OR (9)

Largest penalties

EmployerLocationPenalty for this rule
U.S. POSTAL SERVICEVANCOUVER, WA$42,561
U.S. POSTAL SERVICE - EASTONEASTON, PA$20,000
DAIKIN APPLIED AMERICAS INC.VERONA, VA$14,660
UNION COUNTY DIVISION OF FACILITIES MANAGEMENTELIZABETH, NJ$7,000
NEW ANNEX BUILDINGELIZABETH, NJ$7,000

Free toolbox talk

A 5-minute crew talk on 1910.1001(j)(7), plus alerts when this rule changes. Free.




OSHA interpretation letters

Related parts of this rule

Get your crew competent

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Frequently asked questions

Who must receive asbestos training in general industry?

Each employee exposed to airborne asbestos at or above the PEL and/or excursion limit.

How often is asbestos training required?

Prior to or at initial assignment and at least annually thereafter.

Does training cover smoking?

Yes. It must cover the relationship between smoking and asbestos exposure in producing lung cancer.

About this page

Sources

3-year window. Federal OSHA only; state-plan rules are not counted. Plain-language text is a summary, not legal advice; the official text controls. Black Belt Safety is not part of OSHA or the Department of Labor.

Written and reviewed by

Black Belt Safety Editorial Team

Site Safety Officer and Safety Professional

OSHA 30 · CPR · USACE CQM

Written and reviewed by the Black Belt Safety team. Every post is checked against the OSHA standard or agency source it cites.

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