Asbestos Links to More ResourcesEHSO Table of contents
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Recognition  | The following references provide information regarding recognition of asbestos hazards. However, some of them are pre-1994, and their treatment of compliance issues is out of date since the standards were updated in 1994. Check the dates (provided) | | What is Asbestos? University of Minnesota, 1 page. Explains the different mineral forms of asbestos. | | Asbestos Health Effects. University of Minnesota, 1 page. Describes asbestos exposure and disease. | | Asbestos Info. Utah Division of Air Quality, 2 pages. Discusses asbestos minerals, diseases, exposure, and occurrence. |
| Asbestos Report. International Program on Chemical Safety (IPCS), (1988). Provides an international point of view. This summary discusses aspects of asbestos production, use, and disposal, as well as health effects, and sampling and analysis procedures. | | Asbestos: Criteria for a Recommended Standard. NIOSH (1976). This asbestos criteria document provides extensive discussion of asbestos hazards and control measures. Though the material is dated, this is a valuable resource. | | Chrysotile Reference Guide. Asbestos Institute. Provides an extensive overview of asbestos types and health related issues. Explores evidence of lower toxicity for chrysotile. To read why OSHA rejected this concept, use your browser's "find" feature to locate "chrysotile" in the Preamble to the 1994 OSHA Asbestos Standard | | Asbestos in the Home. EPA Region IV, 4 pages. The aim of this booklet is to respond to some frequently asked questions about asbestos and to provide information to help the homeowner make informed decisions about its care and maintenance. | | Asbestos in Your Home. EPA Region III (1997), 1 page. Summarizes information for the homeowner, but is applicable to businesses as well. | | Sample List of Suspect Asbestos-Containing Materials. EPA Region VI (1997), 1 page. Provides a list of 46 materials which may contain asbestos. | | Asbestos Data Sheet, NTP 8th Annual Report on Carcinogens. National Institutes of Health (1994), 2 pages. Lists asbestos as a "Known Carcinogen". This document is a summary of asbestos properties, use, exposure, and regulations. | | Chrysotile Evaluated by Health Experts. World Health Organization (1996), 1 page. This press release summarizes a meeting held in July 1996 which brought together a group of international experts. | | USGS - Minerals Information: Asbestos. Many thousands of tons of asbestos are currently imported, mined, and used every year in the U.S., mostly for roofing, friction products, and gaskets. The references in this link provide information on the amount of asbestos produced by year. | | Other mineral fibers may be hazardous. NTP lists respirable size ceramic fibers and glasswool as "reasonably anticipated" carcinogens. OSHA targeted Synthetic Mineral Fibers as a priority. |
Evaluation | The Asbestos Advisor 2.0. The Asbestos Advisor software is an interactive compliance assistance tool. Once installed on your PC, it can interview you about buildings and worksites, and the kinds of tasks workers perform there. It will produce guidance on how the Asbestos standard may apply to those buildings and that work. NOTE: When queried "to obtain general guidance" (selection 1), the Asbestos Advisor asks if you have any employees. If you respond with "no" (selection 2), the Asbestos Advisor concludes you are "not subject to regulations" under OSHA. This is not accurate! Building owners and managers may be subject to the OSHA Asbestos Standards if employees of any employer work in the building. | | Medical surveillance guidance is provided in the appendices to the OSHA Standards: | | Exposure monitoring samples must be analyzed by Phase Contrast Microscopy (PCM) for OSHA purposes. PCM methods accurately assess fiber exposure levels, but PCM can not differentiate between asbestos and non-asbestos fibers. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) methods can identify fibers, but fiber counting accuracy is unacceptably poor.  | Detailed procedure for asbestos sampling and analysisetailed procedure for asbestos sampling and analysis. OSHA Regulation 1910.1001 App B, 1915.1001 App B, and 1926.1101 App B, Non-Mandatory appendicies. | | NIOSH Manual of Analytical Methods (NMAM) includes asbestos methods 7400 and 7402. Method 7400 is a PCM procedure, equivalent to the OSHA methods. Method 7402 uses TEM to identify fibers (OSHA will accept this TEM procedure, as it uses PCM to determine exposure). These methods are available online as compressed (ZIP) WordPerfect 5.1+ files: |
| | Bulk sample analysis should be done by Polarized Light Microscopy (PLM). Bulk analysis results will likely apply to both OSHA and EPA regulations. | Asbestos (Bulks) -- Polarized Light Microscopy of Asbestos. OSHA Analytical Method ID-191 (1992), 2.8 MB PDF file. | | Polarized Light Microscopy of Asbestos. OSHA Regulation 1910.1001 App J, 1915.1001 App K, and 1926.1101 App K, non-mandatory analytical method. | | NIOSH has published two methods for the determination of asbestos in bulk materials. These methods are available online as compressed (ZIP) WordPerfect 5.1+ files: | | Interim Method for the Determination of Asbestos in Bulk Insulation Samples. U.S. EPA 40 CFR, Part 763, Subpart F, App. A, 408 KB PDF file, pages 48-58. | | Directory of Accredited Laboratories. National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP). This accreditation is required for analyses being performed in compliance with AHERA regulations. | | Compliance with OSHA's Asbestos Standard: Composite Bulk Samples. OSHA Standard Interpretation (1997). Each sample layer must be analyzed separately; "composite" analysis is not acceptable. | | Asbestos NESHAP Clarification Regarding Analysis of Multi-Layered Systems. EPA, Federal Register (1995, December 19), 1 page. Multi-Layer Analysis is required for all samples except "wall systems." | | Point Counting. EPA Determination Detail C112 (1991), 2 pages. EPA rules require "point counting" to improve accuracy when asbestos content is less than 10%. | | ANSI/ASTM E1368-96A Practice for Visual Inspection of Asbestos Abatement Projects This standard establishes accepted practices for evaluating asbestos abatement projects. This standard is available from ANSI. |
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