Asbestos Awareness in the Construction Industry

Every employer must make sure that anyone who is likely to disturb asbestos during their normal work, or who controls those employees, gets the exact level of knowledge, guidance, and training so that they can work safely and effectively without any risk to themselves or others.

What are the dangers of asbestos exposure?

Asbestos fibers enter the body when a person breathes or ingests airborne materials that become deposited in the tissues of the respiratory and digestive systems. Exposure to asbestos can make disabling or fatal diseases such as asbestosis, an emphysema-like disease; lung cancer; mesothelioma, a cancerous tumor that develops quickly in the cells of membranes covering the lungs and body organs, and gastrointestinal cancer.

The symptoms of these diseases frequently do not appear for 20 or more years after initial exposure to the asbestos particles in the worksite.

As it is important to take an asbestos awareness course by everyone who handles asbestos in their workplace or in the home. There are many institutions which provide training. After taking an asbestos awareness training each person will receive information about Asbestos Awareness in the construction work environment. This awareness course mainly focuses on areas in which asbestos-containing and materials which have asbestos in it.

The common construction activities on asbestos-containing materials:

-Demolishing or restoring structures where asbestos is present.
-Removing the materials or encapsulating asbestos-containing material (ACM).
-Construction, altering, repairing, reconstructing, or renovating and maintaining asbestos-containing structures or substrates.
-Installing or asbestos-containing products.
-Cleaning up asbestos spills/accidents in the building.
-Transporting, disposing of, storing, containing, and housekeeping involving asbestos or asbestos-containing commodities and good on a construction site.

This online and classroom asbestos safety course is designed to provide you with asbestos awareness to satisfy certification requirements. It is intended for all individually responsible for construction-related projects, including, but not limited to:

Workers in Construction site which contain asbestos
Construction Site Supervisors who control and maintain the work

One in four construction workers states that they have been exposed to asbestos while two-thirds do not know that it can cause cancer.

Course content for asbestos awareness training

-Basics about Asbestos
-Types of Asbestos and how to handle it
-Asbestos Fibers
-Asbestos Exposure
-Asbestos Containing Materials (ACM)
-ACM Inspection
-Health Effects
-Laws and Regulations
-Avoiding Exposure

A worker in a construction site will come across the substance on a fairly regular basis. The best way for workers, to ensure safety is to educate their organization.

Examples of those who affected are listed below. There will be other jobs where asbestos may be disturbed in addition to those listed:

-General maintenance workers
-Electricians
-Plumbers
-Joiners
-Painters and Decorators
-Plasterers
-Construction workers
-Roofers
-Shopfitters
-Gasfitters
-Heating and ventilation engineers
-Demolition workers
-Telecommunication engineers
-Fire/burglar alarm installers
-Computer and data installers
-Architects
-Building surveyors

All the workers who could be exposed to asbestos must undertake a mandatory course in asbestos awareness. The new regulation requires employers and principal contractors to ensure their workers undertake training, which includes a specific session on loose-fill asbestos insulation, by 30 September 2014. The Asbestos Awareness course guides workers so they are confident in distinguishing asbestos and asbestos products, and so they can understand and follow the correct safety guidelines for reporting and communicating the existence of asbestos.