The Environmental Protection Agency requires that workers and contractors in public, commercial or school buildings carefully handle asbestos materials to minimise disruption of them and safeguard children. Schools also have specific regulations in place designed to safeguard these substances.
Disturbing asbestos can increase your risk of lung cancer and mesothelioma. Public buildings asbestos testing Adelaide is available to test materials or air for asbestos before starting any projects that might disturb it.
Background
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations on buildings with asbestos to safeguard public safety. Maintenance workers performing repairs or service must follow these rules, so they do not disturb asbestos materials and create airborne contamination, while school buildings also have specific EPA guidelines to keep children safe.
AHERA (the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act of 1986) sets forth requirements for schools to inspect and manage asbestos. While these guidelines do not pertain directly to non-public schools or private schools, they provide useful guidelines when maintaining older structures.
An inspection team should be hired in schools to detect asbestos and determine its presence or absence within their building, before either encapsulating or removing according to an action plan in place by the school. According to AHERA guidelines, schools may encase asbestos materials that will not be disturbed during renovation or demolition activities and would therefore preferentially retain them in place.
Methods
Before any asbestos management program can begin, its condition must first be assessed. There are various approaches available, and testing should preferably be completed by an outside party independent from asbestos-correction firms.
When sampling, public buildings asbestos testing Adelaide uses a plastic sheet to be spread over the area to be sampled, before wetting with water mixed with detergent to reduce fibre release during sampling. A small sample should then be collected from the surface and placed into an appropriate container such as a 35mm film canister, glass vial, or high-quality resealable plastic bag; after taking your sample you should discard your plastic sheet.
Depending on the results of sampling, the best course of action depends on contacting a reputable industrial hygiene firm for assessment and corrective actions if needed. Should corrective steps be necessary, an action plan outlining each step must be drawn up detailing these measures – which include monitoring procedures, decontamination areas and work practices to be considered in any remediation effort.
Results
Studies of asbestos-related cancer risks have demonstrated that even when all ACM is intact and in excellent condition, removal alone will likely only reduce occupant exposures by a small percentage. This is likely because most occupant exposure comes from sources other than ACM alone such as ventilation systems, radon emissions or smoking.
If the survey yields positive exposure assessments, employers must conduct regulated area air sampling to confirm that there are no airborne fibres present before entering a regulated area. They must also provide workers with respirators protection and ensure the workplace has an effective control system in place.
Public buildings asbestos testing Adelaide conducts periodic reviews of ACM in regulated areas to verify that it is in good repair and that control systems are functioning as expected. A record must also be made whenever an event arises in which a control system fails or appears out-of-service for extended periods.
Conclusions
School officials must ensure all asbestos management and abatement activities comply with Federal requirements, specifically AHERA (the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act). They should hire professionals trained in proper removal procedures. Furthermore, they should document results from asbestos surveys as well as any corrective actions taken.
Prior to beginning any major renovation or demolition project, an asbestos survey and sampling should also be conducted by a certified and licensed asbestos professional. This survey should identify various types and locations of asbestos-containing material (ACM), its condition and how much will be disturbed during renovation/demolition activities. Air sampling may also be beneficial.
Survey results should include documentation of recent quality control testing results. Furthermore, any firm hired to inspect and assess corrective action should be independent from those providing corrective actions; this helps avoid conflict of interest issues as well as miscommunication between these two firms.