Protecting Workers from the Hazards of Asbestos-Containing Flooring Material Maintenance

Many resilient flooring tiles contain asbestos, a mineral fiber used in numerous building materials before its dangerous health effects were discovered. A hazard exists for workers who buff or wax flooring material containing asbestos. Any floor tiles installed prior to 1980 should be presumed to contain asbestos — unless confirmed to be asbestos-free by a laboratory — and the proper protective actions should be taken. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has regulations to protect workers from asbestos.

What is the hazard?
The equipment used during the care or maintenance of asbestos-containing flooring tiles has an abrasive pad which runs at high speeds, and can release tiny asbestos fibers into the air. The airborne fibers can then be inhaled by workers without knowing it, and become trapped in their lungs. Asbestos is a known human carcinogen and can cause chronic lung disease as well as lung and other cancers.

How do I know if there is a hazard?
Airborne asbestos fibers are very small and cannot be seen by the naked eye. Flooring materials installed prior to 1980 should be presumed to contain asbestos and should be treated as such, unless a piece of the material is sent to a reputable laboratory and analyzed for asbestos by transmission electron microscopy and found to contain a concentration of less than 1.0%.

What should be done to protect workers?
Workers caring for asbestos-containing flooring material (general industry) are protected by OSHA’s Asbestos standard, 29 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 1910.1001. OSHA has separate asbestos standards for the construction and shipyard industries due to differing working conditions and asbestos exposures.

Training elements of OSHA’s Asbestos Standard Initial and annual training must be provided in a manner and language that workers can understand. The training must include: health effects of asbestos; locations of asbestos containing and presumed asbestos-containing materials; recognition of damage and deterioration of asbestos-containing materials; and the proper response to fiber release episodes. The following elements should be included in this training:

Care of Asbestos-Containing Flooring Materials
• Do not sand asbestos-containing flooring material;
• Use only low-abrasion buffing pads;
• Operate buffers only at speeds lower than 300 rpm;
• Use wet methods;
• If asbestos-containing flooring material has sufficient finish, brushing or dry buffing is permissible.

If these methods are properly implemented, personal protective equipment (PPE) should not be necessary.

Source: https://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3693.pdf

Glossary:

buff: lustre
wax: cera
airborne: Transportado pelo ar
knowing it: Sabendo que
trapped: Preso
lungs: Pulmões
unless: A menos que
fibers: Fibras
shipyard: Estaleiro
brushing: Escovação

Aluno: Roberto Rodrigues de Moura