1. A Holistic Approach to Managing Asbestos Hazards
and
Facts and Myths about Asbestos Cement
Andrew F. Oberta, MPH, CIH
The Environmental Consultancy
Austin, Texas, USA
Presented at the
Asian Asbestos Conference
Hong Kong – April 26, 2009
© 2009 The Environmental Consultancy. All rights reserved.

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3. Disclaimer
Some of the photographs in this course show work practices that may not reflect the use of proper health and safety precautions. The use of these photographs does not endorse such work practices. The photographs have been selected either to convey other important information or to call attention to the improper work practices for instructional purposes.

4. Managing asbestos hazards
Government regulations
Contracts and tenders for work
Health and safety policies
Voluntary consensus standards
Developed by affected parties
Accepted through a rigorous balloting process
Standards, regulations and guidance documents are listed in an appendix to this paper in the published conference proceedings

5. ASTM International
ASTM International is the world’s largest producer of voluntary consensus standards
ASTM is not a government agency – it is a non-profit organization
Voting in ASTM is by individual members, not by governments

6. ASTM standards discussed
ASTM E2356 Comprehensive Building Asbestos Surveys -- Baseline Surveys, Sampling, Exposure Assessments, Project Design Surveys
ASTM E1368 Visual Inspection – removal project management
ASTM E2394 Asbestos Cement – work practices for installed materials
ASTM Manual on Asbestos Control: Surveys,
Removal and Management – Second Edition

7. Installed asbestos products
This presentation neither endorses nor encourages the installation of new or re-used asbestos products

8. Using the ASTM Standards

9. Baseline Survey -- ASTM E2356
Provide a general sense of the location, type, quantity and condition of asbestos-containing materials (ACM) in the building or facility
Provide information for long-term management
Collect and analyze bulk samples of materials
Quantify and assess asbestos-containing materials

10. Inspection and sampling
All accessible locations are inspected unless excluded for specified reasons
All suspect materials are sampled for analysis to determine the type and percent of asbestos they contain

11. Analysis
Polarized Light Microscopy
Chrysotile fibers

12. Assessment of ACM
Assessment data are used to assist in making decisions about removing ACMs or managing them in place
Current Condition: Status of the ACM today based on damage and debris
Potential for Disturbance: What could happen to the ACM tomorrow considering physical and environmental factors

13. Prioritizing removal of ACM

14. Operations and Maintenance
Cleaning up debris

15. Operations and Maintenance
Repairing
valve insulation
Making holes
in floor tile

16. Project Design Survey
Provides information for plans and specifications to remove the ACM in an abatement project
Design issues including
Estimation of ACM quantities
Utilities for contractor
Emergency exits
Inaccessible ACM
Hazardous locations
Maintaining essential services

17. Concealed spaces

18. Asbestos removal
ASTM E1368 Visual Inspection of Asbestos Abatement Projects
Work done to contract requirements
Surveillance by owner’s representative
Thorough inspections during project
Completeness of removal and clean-up
Air sampling for final clearance

19. Asbestos removal
Friable asbestos
Non-friable asbestos

20. Final clearance Visual inspections Clearance air sampling
Removal and cleanup
Clearance air sampling

21. Consumption of asbestos fiber in 11 countries (metric tons)
Asbestos fiber use
Consumption of asbestos fiber in 11 countries (metric tons)
2000
2004
2006
954,340
1,516,870
1,339,975
Total world consumption
2,043,517
Source: United States Geological Survey
“Chrysotile cement represents between 85% and 90% of the market for chrysotile asbestos...,”
“Saving lives with chrysotile asbestos!” The Chrysotile Institute, Montreal, Quebec

22. Asbestos Cement
ASTM E2394 Maintenance, Renovation and Repair of Installed Asbestos Cement Products
Small-scale work
Hand tools
Wet methods
Training and supervision
Procedures in appendices

23. Typical operations Drilling Cutting Breaking Sanding Grinding Filing
Dismantling
Surface cleaning
Scraping

24. Dust, debris and fiber control
Wet methods
Water (with surfactant)
Thickened substances
Liquid adhesives
Wet wiping
Tools and equipment
Hand tools
Low-speed power tools

25. Prohibited operations
Cutting with high-speed power saws
Burnishing with high-speed wire brushes
Cleaning with compressed air
High pressure water blasting
Re-use and re-cycling

26. Dismantle before demolition
Source: U S Environmental Protection Agency

27. Infrastructure

28. Facts and Myths about Asbestos-Cement

29. Myth: Fibers are firmly locked in a cement matrix Fact: Fibers are readily released from deteriorated or weathered surfaces

30. Myth: Asbestos-cement cannot be crumbled to powder by hand pressure Fact: Products such as this piece of corrugated siding become friable from damage

31. Myth: Asbestos-cement products present no exposure hazard to building occupants Fact: Asbestos roofing and siding can release fibers inside as well as outside the building

32. Myth: Asbestos-cement pipes presents no health or environmental hazard Fact: Fibers are released when pipes are dug up and broken and crushed. Pressure pipe for water distribution was made with crocidolite and amosite as well as chrysotile.

33. Myth: Paint and encapsulants offer permanent protection against asbestos fiber release Fact: Paint and encapsulants deteriorate and take asbestos fibers with them when they peel off
Optical microscope
Scanning electron microscope

34. Conclusions
Consensus standards provide a framework for managing asbestos materials
To use this holistic approach an infrastructure involving the public and private sectors is needed
Asbestos cement is not the innocuous material that its purveyors portray it to be

35. Andrew F. Oberta, MPH, CIH
Andy Oberta holds the unique combination of Aeronautical Engineering and Master of Public Health degrees and is Certified in Comprehensive Practice by the American Board of Industrial Hygiene. He is an internationally-recognized expert on asbestos control, a field in which he has specialized since 1980, having consulted and lectured in several countries. He holds US Environmental Protection Agency accreditations and is licensed as an asbestos consultant in Texas. Mr. Oberta provides a wide range of consulting and training services for problems related to asbestos-containing materials and also produces and distributes training and information technology products for asbestos control. As Chairman of the ASTM Task Group on Asbestos Management, Mr. Oberta is responsible for three standards on asbestos control. He is the author of the ASTM Manual on Asbestos Control: Surveys, Removal and Management, which describes the use of these standards, and is the instructor for the ASTM Standards for Asbestos Control courses. Mr. Oberta has served as President of the Environmental Information Association , a multi-disciplinary organization dedicated to the control of asbestos hazards.