Safety and Health Topics: Asbestos: Evaluation

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. 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 guidance is provided in the appendices to the OSHA Standards: Medical questionnaires. OSHA Regulation 1910.1001 App D, and 1915.1001 App D. Mandatory appendices. Interpretation and classification of chest roentgenograms. OSHA Regulation 1910.1001 App E, and 1915.1001 App E. Mandatory appendices. Medical surveillance guidelines for asbestos. OSHA Regulation 1910.1001 App H, and 1915.1001 App I. Non-Mandatory appendices. 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. OSHA Regulation 1910.1001 App A, and 1915.1001 App A. Mandatory appendices. Asbestos exposure sampling and analysis must meet these minimal requirements. Asbestos in Air. OSHA Analytical Method ID-160 (1997), 12 pages. Detailed procedure for asbestos sampling and analysis. OSHA Regulation 1910.1001 App B, and 1915.1001 App B. Non-Mandatory appendices. NIOSH Manual of Analytical Methods (NMAM) 4th Ed. NIOSH (1994, August), 1 page. 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). NIOSH 7400, Asbestos and other fibers by PCM, (1994, August), 137 KB PDF, 15 pages. NIOSH 7402, Asbestos fibers by TEM, (1994, August), 40 KB PDF, 7 pages. 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. OSHA Regulation 1910.1001 App J, and 1915.1001 App K. Non-mandatory analytical methods. NIOSH has published two methods for the determination of asbestos in bulk materials. NIOSH 9000, Asbestos, Chrysotile by XRD, (1994, August), 44 KB PDF, 6 pages. NIOSH 9002, Asbestos (bulk) by PLM, (1994, August), 176 KB PDF, 9 pages. Directory of Accredited Laboratories. National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP) (2003), 1 page. 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), 3 pages. Multi-Layer Analysis is required for all samples except "wall systems." ANSI/ASTM E1368-96A Practice for Visual Inspection of Asbestos Abatement Projects This standard establishes accepted practices for evaluating asbestos abatement projects. This standard is available from ANSI.

Revised: 07 July 2003