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Asbestos |
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Exposure |
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Determinations of employee exposure shall be made from
breathing zone air samples that are representative of the 8-hour TWA and
30-minute short-term exposures of each employee.
- The Asbestos Advisor 2.0. OSHA
Expert Systems. 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.
Medical surveillance
Medical surveillance guidance is provided in the appendices to the OSHA
Standards:
- Medical questionnaires
- Interpretation and classification of chest roentgenograms
- Medical surveillance guidelines for asbestos
Exposure monitoring
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 be used to identify fibers, but may not be used to quantify
air concentrations for occupational exposure.
- OSHA (Sampling) Reference Method
- Asbestos in Air. OSHA Analytical Method ID-160,
(1997).
- Detailed procedure for asbestos sampling and analysis
- NIOSH Manual of Analytical Methods
(NMAM) 4th Ed. National Institute for Occupational Safety and
Health (NIOSH), (1994, August). This document 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).
- Asbestos and other fibers by PCM. NIOSH 7400, (1994, August),
137 KB PDF, 15 pages.
- Asbestos fibers by TEM. NIOSH 7402, (1994, August),
40 KB PDF, 7 pages.
Bulk sample analysis
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). This method describes the collection and analysis of asbestos bulk materials by light microscopy techniques including phase-polar illumination and central-stop dispersion microscopy.
- Polarized Light Microscopy of Asbestos
- National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has published two methods for the determination of asbestos in bulk materials.
- Asbestos, Chrysotile by XRD. NIOSH 9000, (1994, August), 44 KB PDF, 6 pages.
- Asbestos (bulk) by PLM. NIOSH 9002, (1994, August), 176 KB PDF, 9 pages.
- Directory of Accredited Laboratories. National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program
(NVLAP), (2003). This accreditation is required for analyses being performed in compliance with AHERA regulations.
- Asbestos NESHAP Clarification Regarding Analysis of Multi-Layered Systems. EPA, Federal
Register, (1995, December 19). Multi-Layer Analysis is required for all samples
except "wall systems."
- ANSI/ASTM E1368-96A, Practice for Visual Inspection of Asbestos Abatement Projects.
Establishes accepted practices for evaluating asbestos abatement projects.
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