Asbestos awareness for Craftsman

Presented by Bob Miller & Andrew

Knight

What do you know about asbestos?

• Outline four things you know

about asbestos.

What could be asbestos here?

What is asbestos?

• Asbestos is a naturally

occurring mineral which has

been in use for over 2,000

years.

What is asbestos?

• There are three common

types of asbestos

• Chrysotile (‘white

asbestos’)

• Amosite (‘brown asbestos’)

• Crocidolite (‘blue asbestos’)

Useful properties

• Fireproofing

• Insulation

• Weather resistance

Typical applications

• Gaskets

• Fire blankets

• Ropes

• Asbestos Insulation board (AIB)

• Pipes & tanks

• Floor tiles

• Textured coatings (‘Artex’)

• Resin composite

Asbestos legislation

• The Control of Asbestos at Work

Regulations 2002 requires that

University of Brighton manages

asbestos and prevents exposure to

persons

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

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

Why worry about asbestos?

• Any fibres lodged in lung

tissue can lead to

• asbestosis

• lung cancer

• mesothelioma

Asbestosis

• Usually applies to heavy and

regular exposure

• It is incurable

• Restricts the lung function

• Increased risk of lung cancer

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

Mesothelioma

• Caused by all kinds of particle

exposure but particularly blue

• Is a form of cancer

• Exposure level unknown but is low

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

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

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

Where are we likely to find asbestos?

Examples of asbestos in buildings

• The panels beneath the glazing are

chrysotile (‘white’) asbestos

Examples of asbestos in buildings

• Both ceilings are asbestos

• Note the new panel which is not asbestos

• Crocidolite (‘blue’) Amosite

(‘brown’)

Examples of asbestos in buildings

• Note the damage to asbestos

ceiling

Examples of asbestos in buildings

• Asbestos cement

Examples of asbestos in buildings

• Asbestos cement (flue infill)

Examples of asbestos in buildings

• Asbestos insulating board

Examples of asbestos in buildings

• Sprayed asbestos

Examples of asbestos in buildings

• Asbestos textiles

Examples of asbestos in buildings

• Asbestos lagging

Examples of asbestos in buildings

• Stair nosing

Examples of asbestos in buildings

• Asbestos rope

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

Suspect material awareness

• Be careful, as other

asbestos containing

materials are not obvious

Typical examples of suspect materials

Amosite not Asbestos

• chrysotile not asbestos

Typical examples of suspect materials

• chrysotile not asbestos

Typical examples of suspect materials

Typical examples of suspect materials

• Is this artex asbestos?

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.

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.

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

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

How to find the asbestos register

• The asbestos register is found on the

University intranet at

http://staffcentral.brighton.ac.uk/asbestos/

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

How to use the asbestos register

• Practical

demonstration +

handout

What could be asbestos here?

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?

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.

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.

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

Assessment

• Course assessment