Safety Level Of Asbestos At Work

For people working in places where there is exposure to asbestos, a certain guidelines have been setup.
These guidelines have been established to help employees and employers to undertake work involving a safe manner and not get exposed to asbestos resulting in them contracting dangerous diseases like mesothelioma.
If an employee or contractor finds out that any material is made of or consists of asbestos, then they can complain to the authorities and need not undertake any activity which might lead to the asbestos release into the atmosphere.
These findings can be complained to the management of the Department who will forward a report to the Chief Building Surveyor in the Environment Department. They will then do the following necessary survey:
• Check the air for presence of asbestos particles
• Sampling the material which might have presence of asbestos
• Arrangement for safety of the employee to avoid any kind of exposure
• Encapsulation
• Elimination by licensed contractor
If the presence of asbestos is proven, the following action would be taken by the company:
• Encapsulate it with a sealant. This process will ensure that the asbestos is not disturbed in the future
• Remove completely from the premise and then replace it with an alternative.
Government's control limits for exposure levels of asbestos has been set up and an unprotected person should not be exposed to asbestos fibre in excess of the limit. All the employees working in the presence of approved asbestos products need to be completely aware of the safety norms and guidelines for usage of asbestos.
They need to comply with all requirements setup in the norms. They should not work on any specific asbestos product unless the kind of asbestos used is known and a "safe system of work" has been established.
The most significant aspect that ensures the way in which asbestos is used in an establishment is the level of asbestos dust released in the atmosphere during the course of work undertaken either to produce an asbestos product or any related work.
The Government has established various maximum levels for the different kinds of fibers exposed in the air.
These levels are as follows:
- For crocidolite or amosite kind of asbestos (these are the most dangerous forms of asbestos)
• 0.2 fibres/ml of air averaged over a continuous period of 4hrs
• 0.6 fibres/ml of air averaged over a continuous period of 10mins
- For asbestos without crocidolite or amosite
• 0.5 fibres/ml of air averaged over a continuous period of 4hrs
• 1.5 fibres/ml of air averaged over a continuous period of 10mins
These figures are the maximum level.
The system of work need to target the lowest level possible of asbestos exposure to safeguard the lives of the people involved. The Health and Safety Executive have suggested an environmental limit of 0.01 fibres/ml of air for the general public and non-asbestos workers. To ensure the above mentioned levels, the employer should regularly carry out air monitoring before, during and on completion of all work involving asbestos products.