DOE/EH-0434 --- Issue No. 94-12 --- 12/94

Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) Final Rule:
Occupational Exposure to Asbestos

This notice provides information on a newly promulgated Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) rule which is applicable to Department of Energy (DOE) facilities according to the requirements contained in DOE Order 5480.4, Environmental Protection, Safety and Health Protection Standards. This is an informational notice only and no response is required.

The Occupational Exposure to Asbestos Final Rule, 29 CFR 1910.1001, was published in the Federal Register August 10, 1994 (59 FR 40964). Asbestos is present in many facilities throughout the DOE complex. DOE Order 5480.4 requires DOE contractors to comply with OSHA standards applicable to their operations.

SUMMARY

The new rule replaces the existing standard, Occupational Exposure to Asbestos, 29 CFR 1910.1001, dated September 14, 1988. It regulates general industry exposure to asbestos, including chrysotile, amosite, crocidolite, tremolite, anthophyllite, and actinolite, as well as any of these minerals that have been chemically treated and/or altered.

In general, much of the language and requirements contained in the new standard are identical to those in the existing standard; there are, however, some significant changes. The primary changes are outlined below to assist you in reviewing your existing procedures, and in making the necessary modifications to ensure full compliance with the new requirements.

• OSHA has lowered the maximum Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) from 0.2 fibers/cc to 0.1 fibers/cc. OSHA concluded that accurate measurements lower than 0.1 fibers/cc were inconsistent and difficult to reproduce. Therefore, OSHA has not included an action level for asbestos exposure in the new standard.

• OSHA has included an “excursion” limit for asbestos exposure. It specifies that no employee may be exposed to airborne concentrations of asbestos in excess of 1.0 fibers/cc averaged over a period of 30 minutes.

• The new standard introduces the concept of “presumed asbestos containing material” or PACM. The concept of establishing demarcated regulated areas and the requirements for work in these areas is now extended to airborne concentrations of PACM greater than the PEL. This has the potential for increasing dramatically the number of regulated areas which may need to be controlled. Further, the standard establishes requirements that housekeeping staff members in facilities containing PACM be provided asbestos awareness training.

• The new standard ties the demonstration that PACM does not contain asbestos to the Environmental Protection Agency Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act inspection criteria. In addition, the sampling of PACM must now be performed by a certified inspector or a certified industrial hygienist.

• The window for relying upon historical monitoring data for initial employee monitoring has been shortened in the new standard. The existing standard permitted employee monitoring data collected after 1985 for the PEL and after 1988 for the excursion limit to be used to exclude employees from the initial monitoring requirement. The new standard only allows data collected after March 1992 to be used to exclude potentially exposed employees from initial monitoring requirements.

• Upgrades in respiratory protection now are mandated at airborne asbestos fiber concentrations which are 50 percent lower than the old standard. Regulated areas must be established and demarcated at the new PEL of 0.1 fibers/cc. The lower PEL has the potential for increasing the number or change rooms, showers and lunch rooms associated with asbestos work areas.

• Work practices and engineering controls for automotive brake and clutch repair and service is now included in the standard as a mandatory requirement as opposed to a non-mandatory appendix.

• The requirements for communication of hazards to employees has been substantially rewritten and expanded. The standard expands training requirements to include mechanics (brake and clutch) and housekeeping staff in the asbestos hazard communication program. In addition, locations of both asbestos containing material (ACM) and PACM areas must be included in the training program.

• OSHA has assigned specific information-conveying and records- retention duties to both facility owners (DOE) and to employers (DOE and contractors). The owner must inform employers of locations of ACM and PACM, retain records of these locations for the duration of ownership, and must transfer such records to successive owners.

• The provisions for labels and material safety data sheets (MSDS) have been relaxed for the manufacturers of asbestos-containing products. The old standard exempted materials from the labelling and MSDS requirements if asbestos was present < 0.1 percent. The new standard exempts materials if asbestos is present at < 1 percent.

• The new standard includes a new requirement dealing with the care of asbestos-containing flooring material. The new requirement specifies how asbestos-containing floors are to be buffed and maintained.

• The new standard provides some relief for the requirement of pre- placement medical examinations. The existing standard required pre-placement exams for employees exposed to “airborne concentrations of asbestos fibers.” The new standard requires pre-placement exams only if the employee will be exposed at or above the time weighted average-PEL or excursion limit.

• The standard now permits employers to utilize the services of competent organizations to maintain records required by this standard.

EFFECTIVE DATE

The final standard became effective October 11, 1994. In addition, the standard includes start-up dates for several of the specific elements so that full compliance with all of the elements is required by April 5, 1995.

Copies of this final rule are available without charge from OSHA’s Publications Office, Rm. N3101, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20210 (202) 219-4667. For answers to specific questions pertaining to the final rule, call DOE’s Occupational Safety and Health Standards Interpretations Response Line at 1-800-292-8061.

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