SAFETY MOMENT, SEPTEMBER 19

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Safety moment, September 19

Asbestos is still in many older buildings, in insulation, flooring, roofing and other materials. Disturbing it can release fibers too small to see, and you can breathe them in without knowing it. Those fibers can cause lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis, often many years later, and smoking makes the lung cancer risk worse.

SAFETY MOMENT

September 19

The hazard

Asbestos is still in many older buildings, in insulation, flooring, roofing and other materials. Disturbing it can release fibers too small to see, and you can breathe them in without knowing it. Those fibers can cause lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis, often many years later, and smoking makes the lung cancer risk worse.

The action

Before work begins, building owners must determine where asbestos-containing material is and how much is there, and employers must identify it in the areas where their crews will work (29 CFR 1926.1101(k)(2)(i) and (k)(3)(i)). Ask for that information before you cut, drill, sand or tear out anything in an older building. If you find material that might be asbestos and nobody told you about it, stop and tell your supervisor. Employers who discover asbestos-containing material on a site must tell the owner and the other employers there within 24 hours (29 CFR 1926.1101(k)(4)). (29 CFR 1926.1101(k)(3)(i))

ASK THE CREW

What would you do if you uncovered material that might be asbestos in the middle of a job?

From the talk: Asbestos awareness. Read it in full, free, with the questions and the sign-in sheet.

HOW TO USE IT

How to give a safety moment

Gather the crew where they work, before the shift or the meeting starts. Read the hazard out loud.
Ask the question and let two or three people answer. What they say about their own work counts for more than what you read.
Name the action and point to one place on today's job where it applies, so everyone knows what to do differently.
Write the date and the names on a sign-in sheet.

A safety moment is short and does not replace the full talk. When you want to go through a topic with the crew, pick a free toolbox talk.

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