Injury Illness Prevention Plan - Flipbook - Page 215
Health and Safety Program Manual
Teamwrkx
Construction, Inc.
Issue Date: 10/16/23
Revision Date: 10/16/23
Asbestos Awareness
Reference: B-1
will come during demolition or old insulation removal. However, asbestos-containing material may be
encountered in the following forms:
x
x
Valves, vessels, piping insulation, cement insulation, mastic, floor and roof tiling, transit wall
siding, caulking, and automobile brake linings.
All asbestos removal must be done by certified technicians who are licensed to remove asbestos.
No worker of The Company is to work on any “asbestos containing materials” unless properly
protected and/or the material is encapsulated and will not fragmentize or peel off when working
on it.
PROCEDURES
The Company workers are not to work on asbestos containing equipment or materials. If workers become aware
of any potential exposure to asbestos, they are to immediately stop work and notify their supervisor/foreman.
The supervisor/foreman is then responsible to inform the office for further information, but in no case allow
work to proceed until the exposure to asbestos has been abated.
Health hazards
Asbestos fibers are carried into the body as airborne particles. These fibers can become embedded in the tissues
of the lung and digestive system. Once the fibers become trapped in the lung’s alveoli (air sacs), they cannot be
removed.
Years of exposure to asbestos can cause several disabling and fatal diseases. Among these is asbestosis, an
emphysema-like condition, lung cancer; mesothelioma, a cancerous tumor that spreads rapidly in the cells of
membranes covering the lungs and body organs; and gastrointestinal cancer which is caused by ingesting
asbestos-contaminated food.
Short term affects (acute)
May cause irritation and itching to the skin, coughing may occur.
Long term effects
Over exposure can result in lung cancer. Common symptoms include difficulty in breathing (e.g., climb a flight
of steps and are out of breath), cough, chest pains, clubbing of the fingers, (in advanced stages), risk for lung
cancer is or multiplied if the worker exposed to asbestos also smokes.
Work practices
2
