Asbestos Awareness Safety Program

The Asbestos Awareness Safety Program establishes requirements for protecting employees who may encounter asbestos-containing material (ACM) or presumed asbestos-containing material (PACM) during their work. The program focuses on asbestos hazard recognition, employee awareness, exposure prevention, and procedures for avoiding disturbance of materials that may contain asbestos. Employees must understand where asbestos may be present, recognize common asbestos-containing building materials, and know that asbestos fibers can become airborne when materials are damaged, deteriorated, cut, drilled, sanded, removed, or otherwise disturbed.

The program addresses asbestos awareness training, regulated areas, warning signs and labels, exposure assessment, engineering and work-practice controls, respiratory protection, personal protective equipment (PPE), hygiene practices, housekeeping, medical surveillance when applicable, and procedures for responding to damaged or suspected asbestos-containing materials. Employees who are not trained and authorized to perform asbestos work must not disturb suspected ACM or PACM and must stop work and notify supervision when questionable materials are encountered. The program also addresses communication of asbestos hazards to affected employees and contractors, proper documentation, and training requirements to help prevent occupational asbestos exposure and asbestos-related disease.