Asbestos Awareness for Workers

Presume it until proven otherwise

Asbestos-containing material (ACM) is any material containing more than one percent asbestos. You usually cannot tell by looking, so the rules tell employers and building owners what to presume contains asbestos.

Treat these as asbestos unless shown otherwise

TSI and surfacing material in buildings built no later than 1980 are called PACM, presumed asbestos containing material. An employer or building owner can remove the presumption by determining, in the way the standard sets out, that the material is not asbestos-containing.

Reference: 29 CFR 1926.1101(b) "Asbestos-containing material (ACM)" · 29 CFR 1926.1101(b) "Presumed Asbestos Containing Material" · 29 CFR 1926.1101(b) "Thermal system insulation (TSI)" · 29 CFR 1926.1101(b) "Surfacing material" · 29 CFR 1926.1101(k)(1)(i) · 29 CFR 1910.1001(j)(2) · 29 CFR 1926.1101(k)(5)(i)

Why it matters

When asbestos-containing material is disturbed, fibers can get into the air you breathe. Your employer must give you information on at least these hazards:

Asbestos training must also cover the relationship between smoking and asbestos in producing lung cancer.

The exposure limit is very low: 0.1 fiber per cubic centimeter of air as an 8-hour time-weighted average. That is why the rules focus on not disturbing the material in the first place.

Reference: 29 CFR 1926.1101(k)(1)(ii) · 29 CFR 1926.1101(k)(9)(viii)(C) · 29 CFR 1926.1101(c)(1)

Read the warnings

Mechanical room signs

At the entrance to mechanical rooms or areas that contain ACM or PACM and that employees can be expected to enter, the building owner posts signs that identify the material, its location, and the work practices that will keep it from being disturbed. Read them and follow them.

Regulated area signs

Where asbestos work sets up a regulated area, warning signs mark it:

Where respirators and protective clothing are required inside, the sign adds: WEAR RESPIRATORY PROTECTION AND PROTECTIVE CLOTHING IN THIS AREA. An authorized person is someone authorized by the employer and required by work duties to be in the regulated area. If that is not you, stay out.

Bag and container labels

Reference: 29 CFR 1926.1101(k)(6) · 29 CFR 1926.1101(k)(7)(i) · 29 CFR 1926.1101(k)(7)(ii)(A) · 29 CFR 1926.1101(k)(7)(ii)(B) · 29 CFR 1926.1101(k)(8)(iii) · 29 CFR 1926.1101(b) "Authorized person"

Hands off, and the allowed clean-up methods

What "disturb" means

To disturb asbestos-containing material means to disrupt its matrix, crumble or pulverize it, or generate visible debris from it. Drilling, cutting, sanding, scraping or breaking it all do that. If you are not trained and assigned for that class of asbestos work, do not do it.

Class IV work: contact without disturbing

Maintenance and custodial work where you contact but do not disturb ACM or PACM, and cleaning up dust, waste and debris from asbestos jobs, is Class IV work. It must be done by employees with asbestos awareness training, using wet methods, HEPA vacuums and prompt clean-up of debris.

Construction: prohibited for asbestos work, whatever the measured levels

• Dry sweeping, shoveling or other dry clean-up of dust and debris containing ACM or PACM
• Compressed air to remove asbestos, unless used with an enclosed ventilation system that captures the dust cloud

General industry housekeeping

• Surfaces contaminated with asbestos may not be cleaned with compressed air. This rule has no enclosed-system exception.
• HEPA-filtered vacuums must be used for vacuuming asbestos-containing waste and debris.
• Shoveling, dry sweeping and dry clean-up of asbestos may be used only where vacuuming and/or wet cleaning are not feasible.
• Waste, debris and dust in an area with accessible ACM or PACM, or visibly deteriorated ACM, must not be dusted or swept dry, or vacuumed without a HEPA filter.

Floors

Asphalt and vinyl flooring installed no later than 1980 must be treated as asbestos-containing unless shown otherwise. In construction, the flooring care rules apply to all vinyl and asphalt flooring unless the building or facility owner demonstrates that it does not contain asbestos; in general industry, they apply to asbestos-containing flooring.

• Sanding is prohibited.
• Stripping of finishes must use low abrasion pads at speeds lower than 300 rpm and wet methods.
• Burnishing or dry buffing is allowed only on flooring with enough finish that the pad cannot contact the flooring material.

Reference: 29 CFR 1926.1101(b) "Class IV asbestos work" · 29 CFR 1926.1101(b) "Disturbance" · 29 CFR 1926.1101(g)(10) · 29 CFR 1926.1101(g)(1)(i) · 29 CFR 1926.1101(g)(3) · 29 CFR 1926.1101(g)(3)(ii) · 29 CFR 1926.1101(g)(3)(iii) · 29 CFR 1910.1001(k)(3) · 29 CFR 1910.1001(k)(4) · 29 CFR 1910.1001(k)(5) · 29 CFR 1910.1001(k)(8) · 29 CFR 1910.1001(j)(2) · 29 CFR 1926.1101(l)(3)(i) · 29 CFR 1926.1101(l)(3)(ii) · 29 CFR 1926.1101(l)(3)(iii) · 29 CFR 1926.1101(l)(3)(iv) · 29 CFR 1910.1001(k)(7)(i) · 29 CFR 1910.1001(k)(7)(iii)

New finds, owner duties and training

Before work starts

Building and facility owners must determine the presence, location and quantity of ACM and PACM at the work site before covered work begins. Employers whose employees will do asbestos work must tell the owner, their employees and employers working in adjacent areas where the material is and what precautions will keep airborne asbestos confined to the area.

If you find something new

Any employer who discovers ACM or PACM on a worksite must tell the owner and the other employers on site about its presence, location and quantity within 24 hours. Good practice: stop, do not disturb it, and tell your supervisor right away, so your employer can meet that deadline.

Your training

• Employees who do Class I through IV asbestos work, or are likely to be exposed above a limit, must be trained at no cost, before or at initial assignment and at least annually.
• In construction, Class IV training must be consistent with EPA requirements for maintenance and custodial staff (40 CFR 763.92(a)(1)), include available information on the locations of thermal system insulation and surfacing ACM/PACM, and asbestos-containing flooring (or flooring not yet certified as asbestos-free), and instruction in recognizing damage, deterioration and delamination of asbestos-containing building materials, and take at least 2 hours.
• In general industry, employees who do housekeeping in areas with ACM or PACM get an awareness course at no cost, at least once a year, covering health effects, where the ACM and PACM are in the building, recognizing damage and deterioration, housekeeping requirements, and the proper response to fiber release episodes.

Reference: 29 CFR 1926.1101(k)(4) · 29 CFR 1926.1101(k)(2)(i) · 29 CFR 1926.1101(k)(3)(ii) · 29 CFR 1926.1101(k)(9)(i) · 29 CFR 1926.1101(k)(9)(ii) · 29 CFR 1926.1101(k)(9)(vi) · 29 CFR 1910.1001(j)(7)(iv) · 29 CFR 1926.1101(k)(3)(ii)(B)