Asbestos awareness for Craftsman

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Asbestos awareness for Craftsman

• Presented by Bob Miller Andrew Knight

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What do you know about asbestos?

• Outline four things you know about asbestos.

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What could be asbestos here?
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What is asbestos?

• Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral which
  has been in use for over 2,000 years.

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What is asbestos?

• There are three common types of asbestos
• Chrysotile (white asbestos)
• Amosite (brown asbestos)
• Crocidolite (blue asbestos)

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Useful properties

• Fireproofing
• Insulation
• Weather resistance

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Typical applications

• Gaskets
• Fire blankets
• Ropes
• Asbestos Insulation board (AIB)
• Pipes tanks
• Floor tiles
• Textured coatings (Artex)
• Resin composite

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Asbestos legislation

• The Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002
  requires that University of Brighton manages
  asbestos and prevents exposure to persons

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Why worry about asbestos?

• Asbestos is only a problem when it is disturbed
  or in poor condition
• Greatest risk to maintenance operatives is
  accidental disturbance

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Why worry about asbestos?

• It can be hazardous when breathed in
• When an unplanned disturbance occurs microscopic
  fibres are release into the air
• These fibres lodge in the lungs and they cannot
  be expelled

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Why worry about asbestos?

• Any fibres lodged in lung tissue can lead to
• asbestosis
• lung cancer
• mesothelioma

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Asbestosis

• Usually applies to heavy and regular exposure
• It is incurable
• Restricts the lung function
• Increased risk of lung cancer

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Lung Cancer

• Smoking multiplies risk
• A smoker is 15 times more likely to suffer from
  lung cancer
• A smoking asbestos worker is 75 times more likely
  to suffer with lung cancer

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Mesothelioma

• Caused by all kinds of particle exposure but
  particularly blue
• Is a form of cancer
• Exposure level unknown but is low

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Mesothelioma

• Is incurable and painful
• Can develop anytime between 20-40 years from the
  exposure
• Deaths from it are estimated to peak at 2500
  every year between the years 2011 and 2015

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Mesothelioma symptoms

• Chest pain and pain in the lower back
• Difficulty breathing
• Coughing
• Weight loss
• Fever
• Muscle weakness and sensory loss
• Swelling of the face and arms
• Hoarseness
• Coughing up blood

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Why is the exposure to asbestos still a problem
in buildings?

• From the 1950s until the 1980s asbestos was used
  extensively in the UK
• This use continued until 1999
• Thousands of tonnes of asbestos still in
  buildings
• You are likely to find it in any building
  constructed before the year 2000

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Where are we likely to find asbestos?
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Examples of asbestos in buildings

• The panels beneath the glazing are chrysotile
  (white) asbestos

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Examples of asbestos in buildings

• Both ceilings are asbestos
• Note the new panel which is not asbestos
• Crocidolite (blue) Amosite (brown)

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Examples of asbestos in buildings

• Note the damage to asbestos ceiling

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Examples of asbestos in buildings

• Asbestos cement

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Examples of asbestos in buildings

• Asbestos cement (flue infill)

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Examples of asbestos in buildings

• Asbestos insulating board

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Examples of asbestos in buildings

• Sprayed asbestos

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Examples of asbestos in buildings

• Asbestos textiles

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Examples of asbestos in buildings

• Asbestos lagging

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Examples of asbestos in buildings

• Stair nosing

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Examples of asbestos in buildings

• Asbestos rope

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Discovering suspect materials

• If it is not in the asbestos register, and you
  feel it may be asbestos - assume it is!
• Ceiling tiles were removed at this location
  because they were asbestos, this revealed
  asbestos shown in photo

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Suspect material awareness

• Be careful, as other asbestos containing
  materials are not obvious

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Typical examples of suspect materials

• Amosite
  not Asbestos

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Typical examples of suspect materials

• chrysotile
  not asbestos

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Typical examples of suspect materials

• chrysotile not
  asbestos

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Typical examples of suspect materials

• Is this artex asbestos?

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Asbestos check procedure before starting work

• When you receive any work requests, you must
  consider whether the work involved may disturb
  any of the adjoining building materials, which
  could contain asbestos.
• If you feel there is any risk then you must check
  the asbestos register prior to commencing work.

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Asbestos check procedure before starting work

• University of Brighton maintenance operatives are
  not permitted to work with asbestos.
• Only contractors licensed by Health and Safety
  Executive are permitted to undertake work with
  asbestos, under controlled conditions.

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Asbestos check procedure before starting work

• DO NOT ASSUME that asbestos is not present.
• If you have concerns Ask STO / Asbestos
  Co-ordinator / Maintenance Manager

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Emergency procedure

• If anyone suspects that asbestos has been
  disturbed then the following steps should be
  taken IMMEDIATELY
• Stop work
• Evacuate the area, without causing alarm
• Secure the area
• Contact STO and/or Asbestos Co-ordinator
• Do not re-enter the work area

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How to find the asbestos register

• The asbestos register is found on the University
  intranet at http//staffcentral.brighton.ac.uk/asb
  estos/

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Asbestos Co-ordinator

• Andrew Knight is the University Asbestos
  Co-ordinator
• Contact for general advice on
• using the asbestos register
• dealing with suspicious materials
• reporting incidents

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How to use the asbestos register

• Practical demonstration handout

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What could be asbestos here?
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Substitution of asbestos materials

• When you have replaced a section only of AIB with
  a non-asbestos equivalent, could this item be
  useful in obtaining future access? i.e. a single
  tile in an asbestos ceiling?
• See example this section of ceiling was
  replaced to enable safe access to the fitting.
  How can we identify the non-asbestos material
  when the ceiling is painted?

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Procedure to label materials that are not asbestos

• There are two instances where we may wish to
  label non-asbestos material
• 1 Where only a small part of a component is
  replaced, as previous slide and
• 2 Where an item is clearly suspicious, but has
  been tested and confirmed to be non-asbestos, but
  may raise further concerns in the future.

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Procedure to label materials that are not asbestos

• Green discs are available from your STO, these
  are used to label materials that are
  non-asbestos. These should be screw fixed in
  place and adhesive labels should be avoided.

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Substitute material selection

• Look carefully to identify what the original
  material was put in to do
• The non asbestos substitute MUST be able to do
  the same thing
• Extreme care must be taken to ensure that this is
  done
• i.e. replacing asbestos fire stopping with a
  non-fire resistant material

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Assessment

• Course assessment