1. Asbestos Awareness Training

2. Proposed Agenda Introductions Asbestos Characteristics & History
Asbestos Health Effects
Identifying Asbestos Containing Material

3. What is Asbestos?
And why should I care?

4. What is Asbestos? A naturally occurring mineral
Principally mined in Canada and S. Africa
Added to building materials because of its good insulating, strength, sound-proofing, fireproofing and corrosion-resistance properties

5. What is Asbestos?

6. What is Asbestos? Two major classes– serpentine and amphibole
Chrysotile (white asbestos) – the only member of the serpentine class
Amosite (brown asbestos), crocidolite (blue asbestos), anthophylite, tremolite, and actinolite - - amphiboles
Chrysotile is over 95% of commercial use
There is scientific / medical disagreement about whether one class is a greater health hazard than the other
Neither class has a recognized “safe” level of exposure

7. What is Asbestos?
All types of asbestos tend to break into very tiny fibers. These individual fibers are so small they must be identified using a microscope. Some fibers may be up to 700 times smaller than a human hair Can remain suspended in the air for up to three days
Because it’s such small particles, it easily spreads throughout a building

8. What is Asbestos?
Usually asbestos is mixed with other materials to actually form the products. Floor tiles, for example, may contain only a small percentage of asbestos.
Depending on what the product is, the amount of asbestos in asbestos containing materials (ACM) may vary from 1%-100%.

9. The History of Asbestos
Ancient Greeks named it - “indestructable” and made into cloth
1st century AD – Romans were aware that slaves who weaved asbestos into cloth often developed respiratory disease
first commercial production of asbestos-containing insulating material.
1899 – first documented case of lung scarring due to asbestos

10. History of Asbestos
1930’s – More than 150 articles on asbestos related disease published in medical literature
’s – Use of asbestos peaked
1989 – EPA banned most ACM
1991 – Ban overturned by courts
2005 – criminal charges against W. R. Grace for Libby, MT asbestos deaths

11. Asbestos Health Effects
Inhalation is most common and damaging pathway into the body
Asbestos-related diseases show dose- response relationship
Diseases are treatable but not curable
There is also some evidence of health damage from ingestion and skin contact but this is less common and less severe.
Most cases come from occupational exposure but asbestos-related diseases among family members and neighbors is also common.
Exposure is cumulative and disease usually progressive

12. Asbestos Health Effects
ASBESTOSIS – fibrotic scarring of the lungs, not a cancer
Symptoms – shortness of breath, rales, clubbing of fingers, chest pain, loss of appetite
Prognosis – can be fatal, increases susceptiblity to other heart/lung problems
Long latency – 15 to 30 years
Common to workers with high exposure over many years
Reduces lung capacity – not a cancer but is progressive and incurable
Rales is a dry, crackling sound in the lungs during inhalation

13. Asbestos Health Effects
Microscopic view of lung tissue with asbestos fibers embedded

14. Asbestos Health Effects – clubbing of fingers

15. Asbestos Health Effects
Lung Cancer – many causes
Symptoms: persistent cough, chest pain, wheezing, labored breathing
Prognosis: slow, painful death
Smoking increases risk 50 to 90-fold
Long Latency: 20 to 30 years
High levels & long term increase risk but there’s no “safe level” of exposure

16. Asbestos Health Effects
Mesothelioma – rare cancer of chest lining
Symptoms: shortness of breath, chest pain, fluid in chest cavity
Prognosis: generally quick (1 year after diagnosis), painful death
Long latency: 30 years or more
Dose-response not as clear, but asbestos is only cause

17. Asbestosis Example
Photos ©
Joe Darabant, 1949, covered with chrysotile asbestos fibers. Worked for 30+ years at the Johns-Manville Plant in New Jersey, cutting asbestos shingles and making asbestos block and pipe- covering materials.
Joe, Forced to retire in 1974 at age 50 from poor health; he died from asbestosis in 1990 at age 66.
Asbestosis is a serious chronic, progressive disease that can eventually lead to disability or death in people exposed to high amounts of asbestos over a long period. Asbestos fibers cause the lung tissues to scar; when the scarring spreads, it becomes harder and harder to breathe. Symptoms include shortness of breath, a dry crackling sound in the lungs while inhaling, coughing, and chest pain. This condition is permanent and there is no effective treatment.

18. Mesothelioma Example
Photo ©
Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer of the pleura, the thin membrane lining the lungs. About 200 cases are diagnosed each year in the U.S. Virtually all cases are linked with asbestos exposure.
The cancer is very invasive and spreads quickly, eventually crushing the lungs so that the patient cannot breathe. It is painful and always fatal. It can be caused by very low exposure and is not directly related to the amount inhaled. This cancer may take years to develop.
Tumors protruding through the right rib cage.
Richard Pankowski, Diagnosed in 1985 with pleural mesothelioma; died 5 months later at age 36. In college, he worked for less than a year at the Manville Plant in N.J. Father also worked at the plant 30+ years and died from asbestosis. Richard’s exposure may have begun when he was a child.

19. Lung Cancer
Lung cancer causes the largest number of deaths from asbestos exposure. The risk greatly increases in workers who smoke.

20. Other Cancers
Evidence suggests that ingesting asbestos can also cause cancers in the:
esophagus
larynx
oral cavity
stomach
colon
kidney
Fibers can enter the mouth and be swallowed. Poor hygiene, leaving food/drinks out in contaminated areas, and carelessness can result in the ingestion of asbestos.

21. Asbestos Containing Building Material (ACBM)
Only ACBM if greater than 1% asbestos
There are three main types:
Thermal System Insulation (TSI)
Surfacing Material
Miscellaneous
And two classes:
Friable
Non-friable

22. Asbestos Containing Building Materials (ACBM)
Thermal System Insulation (TSI)
Pipes
Boilers
Ducts
Includes elbow and joint mudding
Can be subject to significant damage unless protected

23. ACBM – TSI – severely damaged

24. ACBM – TSI – “Aircell” cross-section

25. ACBM – TSI – damaged pipe insulation

26. ACBM – TSI - block

27. Asbestos Containing Building Material (ACBM)
Surfacing Material
Condensation control
Acoustical insulation
Decoration
Fireproofing
Sprayed-on or troweled-on
May be in open sight but often hidden from view as with the fireproofing on structural steel
Maybe very subject to damage unless protected
Even when in inaccessible locations, can still present hazards if in an air plenum or other area where fibers can be released into the ambient air

28. Structural steel & deck coating
ACBM – Surfacing
Popcorn ceiling
Structural steel & deck coating

29. ACBM – Surfacing

30. Asbestos Containing Building Materials (ACBM)
Miscellaneous
Floor and ceiling tiles
Gaskets, mastic, plaster, wallboard
Asbestos/cement products
Fabrics such as stage curtains are not ACBM
Roofing felt, mastic & siding are not covered under AHERA
Can’t differentiate without lab analysis

31. ACBM - Miscellaneous
VAT = vinyl/asbestos tile or earlier asphalt/asbestos tile, the older it is the more likely that it contains asbestos. Not limited to the old 9-inch tiles

32. ACBM - Miscellaneous
Wall board is suspect until sampled – if not sampled then it’s assumed ACBM
Plaster is same situation
Asbestos-cement shingles & siding OK when in good condition – not covered under AHERA

33. ACBM - Miscellaneous Ceiling tiles – can only tell by sampling
Usually very friable
Mastic pads - OK till matrix dries out

34. ACBM Classes
Friable
A material that, when dry, may be crumbled, pulverized or reduced to powder by hand pressure, and includes previously non-friable material after it has been damaged to the extent that it has now become friable

35. ACBM Classes Non-Friable
Category I – packings, gaskets, resilient floor covering and asphalt roofing products
Category II – everything else, eg: asbestos/cement products in good condition
Why is the distinction between friable and non-friable so important?

36. ACBM Classes Non-Friable
Category I – packings, gaskets, resilient floor covering and asphalt roofing products
Category II – everything else, eg: asbestos/cement products in good condition
Why is the distinction between friable and non-friable so important?

37. Asbestos Regulations
National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP)
Requires inspection and abatement prior to renovation or demolition
Established definitions for Category I & II non- friable ACM
Established the “no visible emissions” standard
Requires notification to the State when over certain threshold quantities

38. Asbestos Regulations OSHA Asbestos Regulations
General industry standards cover building occupants
Construction standards apply when working on ACBM e.g.: abatement, renovation or repair
Mandates air sampling, medical monitoring, protective equipment including respirators, safe work practices, etc. in certain circumstances

39. Asbestos Regulations EPA Worker Protection Rule
Extends the OSHA standards to state and local employees who might not otherwise be covered

40. References Center for Disease Control (Asbestos)
ASTDR
EPA