OSHA Asbestos Regulations
In an effort to protect workers from the dangers associated with asbestos exposure, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) established separate Asbestos Standards for General Industry under 29 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 1910, Construction Industry under 29 CFR 1926 and Shipyards under 29 CFR 1945.
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Identification
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Classified worldwide as a carcinogenic substance, asbestos is regulated by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration to protect workers who may be exposed in the workplace. Its strong, durable, fibrous properties have its use in several common products, including building materials, paper products, talc-containing crayons, cement products, textiles, gaskets and reinforced plastics.
Asbestos is defined under the Occupational Safety and Health Act as a mineral composed of one of the following: chrysotile, amosite, crocidolite, tremolite, anthophyllite, actinolite. These minerals share a characteristic that enables their deadly effects: long, thin, separable fibers.
Function
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Asbestos is universally recognized as a public health concern that carries the potential to cause lung disease and lung cancer with chronic exposure. The Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry (ATSDR), in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, warns that "significant exposure to any type of asbestos will increase the risk of lung cancer, mesothelioma and nonmalignant lung and pleural disorders, including asbestos, pleural plaques, pleural thickening and pleural effusions."
According to the ATSDR, these conditions are caused by the permanent lodging of asbestos fibers in the lungs, which cause inflammation, scarring and changes in the lining of the lung. -
Regulation
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OSHA regulates asbestos under three standards based on the sector of industry in which a worker is employed. Each standard defines asbestos in the same way and requires employers to take steps to ensure the protection of employees exposed to the dangerous substance, including providing adequate training, respiratory protection and medical surveillance.
For general industry, the applicable OSHA Standard on Asbestos covers workers outside of the construction industry, not working in shipyards. Shipyard and construction workers are covered under special sections.
All three Asbestos Standards set a permissible exposure limit (PEL) for airborne concentrations of asbestos at 0.1 fibers per cubic centimeter over an eight-hour time weighted average with an excursion limit of 1.0 fiber per cubic centimeter averaged over a sampling time of 30 minutes.
Controversy
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Following the collapse of the World Trade Center towers on Sept. 11, 2001, ATSDR conducted an air-quality survey of Manhattan to respond to concerns that asbestos exposure may pose a lasting public health danger. Between November 2001 and December 2001, ATSDR sampled indoor and outdoor locations across Manhattan. While the study validated a low level of concern of chronic asbestos exposure in Manhattan following the collapse, ATSDR concluded that the study vastly underestimated the acute asbestos exposure experienced by workers and victims on September 11 and the days immediately thereafter.
Lung-related diseases and conditions experienced by September 11 rescue, recovery and clean-up workers as a result of acute exposure are covered under OSHA's provisions on exposure to Toxic and Hazardous Substances.
Resources
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OSHA provides extensive resources and materials on its website to aid the understanding and implementation of the asbestos standard in their relevant industries (see Resources section). Additionally, OSHA rates many states on their implementation of OSHA-approved standards.
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