Asbestos is the term used to describe a wide variety of inorganic silicates found naturally, having complex compositions, generally fibrous or crystalline in nature. Asbestos fibres are lightweight, abrasive, strong, and durable in adverse conditions like storms, floods, earthquakes etc., and these characteristics led to its wide and unregulated usage in various building and construction projects, apart from vessel building and repair works. Asbestos is known to provide good electrical and heat resistance, and does not deteriorate in fire – which makes it a common component in electrical linings, fireproof coatings and insulation devices etc.
Asbestos becomes harmful when it is broken into pieces, powdered, crumpled or pulverized, as the microfibers stay in the air for a long time, and when breathed can lead to asbestosis, lung cancer, bronchial cancer or mesothelioma, either of which can be fatal. Hence it is necessary for one to bear all the Asbestos health precautions while working on a construction site or vessel building unit. Apart from the construction workers and ship building workers, every person who comes in contact with asbestos microfibers in air is at risk of developing asbestosis, and hence they should take note of Asbestos health precautions as well.
The regulatory department for Asbestos usage in Australia developed a Code of Practice for the Management and Control of Asbestos in Workplaces in 1996, wherein the minimum level of acceptable usage for asbestos is decided for different applications, and appropriate Asbestos health precautions were devised for the employees as well as those who are exposed to asbestos on a daily basis. The usage of Asbestos was divided into two categories, namely friable and non-friable. Friable asbestos takes into account all the materials containing asbestos in powdered and crumbled form, including sprayed asbestos insulation, woven asbestos mats etc. Non-friable asbestos is any other material that contains asbestos locked into a matrix form or in bonded form, like in vinyl boards, tiles, asbestos cement products etc. The Asbestos health precautions were framed according to the above mentioned classification of asbestos materials.
In the past the construction men and workers in paper mills, refineries, cement plants etc. were continuously exposed to asbestos at the workplace, and hence were victims of the occupational diseases caused by prolonged exposure to asbestos. Nowadays however, usage of asbestos requires one to adhere one to strict control measures and regulations, that being one of the primary Asbestos health precautions. Asbestos health precautions start with the setting of an effective exposure standard at the workplaces which deal with asbestos. The present occupational exposure standard for asbestos is 0.1fibre/ml, exposure beyond which is not permitted and against the law.
Asbestos health precautions include the knowledge and awareness about the usage of asbestos- free construction items for one’s workplace or home, and the safe removal of those constructions which contain high asbestos percentages, in accordance with the set guidelines by State legislation. The workers should be educated about the safety guidelines while dealing with asbestos, so that they can be careful about its handling and maintenance.