1. Asbestos Awareness Developed by:
State Safety and Industrial Hygiene Unit
Department of Employee Relations
September 2000

2. Asbestos Awareness Purpose of training:
Provide all employees with basic information about asbestos and its hazards,
Identify typical asbestos-containing materials within employee work areas,
This training does not qualify employees to work with asbestos-containing materials
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Purpose of Training:
Provide all employees with basic information about asbestos and its hazards,
This asbestos awareness training is required for employees who work in buildings where asbestos-containing building materials are present.
Identify typical asbestos-containing materials within employee work areas,
As part of today's discussion we will be discussing which building materials in our building contain asbestos.
This training does not qualify employees to work with asbestos-containing materials
More extensive training requiring hours is necessary to perform the repair, removal, or sampling of asbestos-containing building materials.

3. Asbestos Awareness What is Asbestos????
Naturally occurring fibrous mineral
Six different forms of asbestos
Chrysotile - most common type in US (95%)
Amosite - 2nd most common (2-3%)
Crocidolite - 3rd most common (1-2%)
Actinolite
Anthophyllite
Tremolite
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What is Asbestos????
naturally occurring fibrous mineral
six different forms of asbestos
You need to be able to recognize the different technical terms for asbestos since they are frequently used in asbestos building surveys to report asbestos content. The six different types are:
chrysotile - most common type in US (95%)
amosite - 2nd most common (2-3%)
crocidolite - 3rd most common (1-2%)
actinolite
anthophyllite
tremolite

4. Asbestos Awareness Where does asbestos come from???
Mined from the ground
Contaminant with other minerals (vermiculite)
physical properties ideal for building
materials
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Where does asbestos come from???
Does anyone know where we get asbestos from?
mined for the ground
Major deposits of asbestos exist and are actively mined in Canada, the former Soviet Union, and South Africa. Asbestos deposits exist within the United States but have not been extensively mined.
Why do we use asbestos???
physical properties ideal for building materials
Asbestos has several physical properties which we will discuss in a minute that make it desirable as an additive to building materials.
Why do we use asbestos???

5. Asbestos Awareness What makes asbestos unique? Abundant Cheap
Fibers cleave into smaller fibers
What makes asbestos dangerous?
Extremely small fibers are very aerodynamic
(Fibers can remain airborne for extended periods of time and inhaled into the deep lung)
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What makes asbestos unique?
abundant
cheap
fibers cleave into smaller fibers
Asbestos fibers can be processed from large visible fibers which are extracted from the bedrock and woven into cloth down to small microscopic fibers added to products as a binder to strengthen the finished product.
What makes asbestos dangerous?
Extremely small fibers are very aerodynamic
(fibers can remain airborne for extended periods of time and inhaled into the deep lung)
As the asbestos fibers become smaller and smaller during the manufacturing process, the become more aerodynamic. Asbestos fibers can break down to the micron level and remain airborne indefinitely. One micron is one millionth of a meter.

6. Asbestos Awareness Friable vs. Nonfriable - what’s more hazardous?
Friable - easily crumbled to dust using hand pressure
Spray fireproofing
Pipe insulation
Nonfriable - not easily crumbled by hand but can be crumbled by mechanical means
Floor tile
Roofing products
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Friable vs. Nonfriable - what’s more hazardous?
friable - easily crumbled to dust using hand pressure
spray fireproofing
pipe insulation
Friable materials are of most concern because they can readily become damaged and airborne if not maintained in good condition.
nonfriable - not easily crumbled by hand but can be crumbled by mechanical means
floor tile
roofing products
Most nonfriable materials can be rendered friable through mechanical means such as sanding, chipping, drilling, and grinding.

7. Asbestos Awareness Physical properties Thermal resistance
Forms fibers with high tensile strength
Chemically inert
Absorbs sound
Electrical insulator
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Physical properties
thermal resistance
asbestos has been used as insulation and fireproofing and various other high temperature applications
forms fibers with high tensile strength
used as a binder to strengthen products such as cement and floor tile
chemically inert
used in building materials where chemical exposure is likely to occur such as laboratory counters and fume hoods.
absorbs sound
used in products in areas to absorb sound such as acoustical plaster and ceiling tiles.
electrical insulator
used in old electrical wiring.

8. Asbestos Awareness History of uses:
Used in classical times by greeks and romans
Modern use began in 1880’s
Extensively used by US during WWII
Used in buildings extensively 1940’s-1970’s
Limited asbestos products still available today
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History of uses:
used in classical times by Greeks and Romans
Used as burial shrouds, table cloths, napkins
modern use began in 1880’s
extensively used by US during WWII
Shipping industry used asbestos to insulate boilers and piping on ships
used in buildings extensively 1940’s-1970’s
Initial use primarily associated with pipe insulation. Use expanded to include spray fireproofing, acoustical plaster, floor and ceiling tile.
limited asbestos products still available today
You can still purchase asbestos containing materials today. They are primarily in the form of nonfriable products that can not release asbestos into the air ( e.g. roofing tar) through normal use.
refer to table of asbestos use in US.
asbestos use extensive in developing countries
refer to table of world asbestos use.
asbestos use extensive in developing
countries

9. Asbestos Awareness How do we know if something is asbestos-containing?
Requires laboratory analysis with microscope
Certain products routinely contain asbestos
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How do we know if something is asbestos-containing?
requires laboratory analysis with microscope
People can not explicitly say whether a building material contains asbestos or not without microscopic analysis by a qualified laboratory. Polarized Light Microscopy (PLM) is used to identify asbestos content in building materials.
certain products routinely contain asbestos
Individuals with experience in conducting asbestos building surveys can develop a pretty good idea as to which building materials contain asbestos and which ones do not, however a laboratory analysis is still required.

10. Asbestos Awareness Common asbestos-containing materials
Pipe, boiler and duct insulation
Sprayed or troweled plaster
Spray fire proofing
Cement pipes and panels
Mechanical gaskets and packing
Ceiling tiles
Floor tile and adhesive
Linoleum backing

11. Asbestos Awareness Health hazards of asbestos exposure
Asbestosis - fribrotic scaring of the lungs
10-20 year latency period
Associated with high dose exposure
Smoking creates synergistic effect
Increased chance of other asbestos diseases

12. Asbestosis fatalities
Spray-on use ends
This chart from the 1999 Work Related Lung Disease Surveillance Report by the CDC shows the number of deaths in the United states related to asbestosis. As you can see the number of deaths has been rising since the 1960’s. If you think about asbestosis and its relationship to high does exposure, this graph makes sense. Spray applied application of asbestos-containing fireproofing and acoustical plaster occurred during the 50’s, 60’s, and early 70’s. With the latency of asbestosis we would not expect to start seeing the peak of deaths related to asbestosis through the 80’s and 90’s. Because of today's regulatory restrictions on exposure to asbestos, we should see the trend of asbestosis begin to decline.

13. Asbestos Awareness Health hazards of asbestos exposure
Mesothelioma - cancer of the chest cavity
20-40 year latency period
Not necessarily associated with high dose exposure
Rare
Almost always fatal
Unlike asbestosis, the incidence of mesothelioma is consistent and does not seem to be does related. If you here someone say “one fiber can kill you” they are referring to mesothelioma. When people say this they must keep in mind that mesothelioma is rare and that we all have been exposed to asbestos at some time in our life because of the extensive use of asbestos in our society and the fact that asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral.
Mesothelioma has had a significant amount of press lately associated with the Minnesota US Representative Bruce Vento who was recently diagnosed with mesothelioma.
It is mesothelioma’s apparent lack of dose relationship that has resulted in the extensive asbestos regulations in schools.

14. Asbestos Awareness Health hazards of asbestos exposure Lung cancer
20-30 year latency period
Many other causes of lung cancer
Most frequent form of asbestos disease today
Smoking synergistic effect (50-90 times)
Associated with high doses

15. Asbestos Awareness Asbestos is extensively regulated! Regulated by:
State and federal OSHA
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA)
Minnesota Department of Health (MDH)
Asbestos is one of the most regulated substances today.
Regulated by:
State and Federal OSHA
The OSHA regulations protect employees from excess exposures to airborne asbestos.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
EPA regulations are designed to protect the environment and in turn the general public from asbestos exposure.
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA)
The MPCA is the EPA governing body in Minnesota.
Minnesota Department of Health (MDH)
The MDH directs how asbestos is removed from building and by whom.

16. Asbestos Awareness OSHA Regulations
Requires employee training (i.E. This training)
Exposure monitoring when working with asbestos
Establishes “permissible exposure level” for employees = 0.01 fibers per cubic centimeter (cc) of air (1 cc is approximately a sugar cube)
Identifies work practices
Identifies personal protection requirements
Identifies work practice prohibitions

17. Asbestos Awareness EPA and MPCA regulations
Requires building survey prior to construction work
Removal of asbestos containing materials before renovation or demolition
Establishes notification requirements
Defines proper transport and disposal requirements
EPA regulates asbestos in schools

18. Asbestos Awareness MDH regulations
Requires building survey prior to construction work
Requires building owners to maintain asbestos- containing materials in good condition
Requires certification of people working with asbestos
Identifies notification requirements
Establishes specific removal procedures
Establishes clearance criteria for removal projects

19. Asbestos Awareness Your responsibilities:
Do not damage or disturb any asbestos-containing materials
Immediately report the presence of damaged asbestos-containing or suspect asbestos-containing material to your supervisor or asbestos coordinator
Verify that building materials you will be working with are not asbestos-containing

20. Asbestos Awareness
Asbestos-containing materials in our facility: