Asbestos Management and Control Program

Introduction
Fibrous asbestos materials have been used for many years as sprayed coatings, fire protection substances, heat and/or sound insulation products, and asbestos cement pipe products. When these items are in good condition and not disturbed, they do not present a health hazard, however their location must be determined and identified. A suitable notice must also be posted in any work area where such asbestos materials are present. This is necessary to inform the college staff and/or any sub-contract workers who may be operating in the same area. Those sites which are known to contain asbestos must also be regularly inspected to ensure that the materials containing asbestos [MCA] remain in an non-deteriorated state.

Definitions

General Restrictions
No TRU employee/student shall knowingly cut, drill or in anyway alter the condition of suspected or confirmed material containing asbestos without specific training in safe work procedures relating to the handling of this potential health hazard.

All removal or encapsulation operations shall be performed only by asbestos abatement specialists who have proven their ability to safely perform these procedures to the satisfaction of the Workers' Compensation Board [WCB], Occupational Health and Safety or designate and the appropriate Facilities Services Manager.

Reporting and Sampling Procedure
When working with insulating materials, any substance which is obviously not fibreglass or not specifically known to be "asbestos free", and has not been tested for asbestos content shall be treated as if it were a material containing asbestos [MCA].

Reporting Procedure
In those instances where employees/students encounter products suspected of containing asbestos, the following procedure shall be complied with:

1. Post a notice on the suspect materials stating "Material suspected of containing asbestos. Contact Occupational Health and Safety or Facilities Services Manager for details";
2. Promptly notify Occupational Health and Safety and the appropriate Facilities Services Manager of the location and estimated amount of the suspected MCA;
3. Accompany Occupational Health and Safety or designate to the site;

NOTE
No employee/student of TRU shall attempt to remove or take samples of any materials suspected of containing asbestos without proper, specific training.

Sampling - General Precautions
Collection of samples from materials suspected of containing asbestos must be done in accordance with recognized acceptable procedures in order to avoid unnecessary exposure to asbestos fibres. The following precautions are required:

• Do not sample while the area is in use.
• Only personnel required for sampling should remain in the area.
• Where materials differ in appearance, individual samples should be taken of each obviously different materials.
• The person conducting the sample collection shall wear a suitable respirator approved for protection against asbestos dust. The fit of this respirator shall be in accordance with the manufacturers instructions.
• Spray the material with a light mist of water to prevent fibre release during sampling.
• The sample container shall be held away from the face during actual sampling.
• The container used to collect the sample(s) must penetrate to the full depth of the material.
• Do not disturb the material any more than necessary; If pieces break off during sampling, wet-clean the floors and areas where they have fallen.
• Small amounts of this material shall be placed in plastic bags, sealed, labelled as possibly containing asbestos and included with any hazardous waste.
• Excessive sampling should be discouraged to avoid disturbance of the material.

Sampling Procedure
Sampling can only be performed by authorized personnel following these procedures:

• Hold the sampling container away from the face during sampling.
• Use a small container such as a plastic 35mm film canister or small unbreakable jar with a secure lid. The container should be dry and clean.
• Gently twist the open end of the container into the material until a core of the material falls into the container. A sample can also be taken by using a sharp knife to cut or scrape off a piece of material and then placing it into the container. Protective paints, coatings and/or finishes must be penetrated in order to provide an accurate sample.
• Tightly close the container and wipe the exterior with a damp cloth to remove any loose material. Place the cloth in a plastic bag, seal it and label it for possible disposal with hazardous waste.
• Securely tape the container lid to prevent accidental opening during shipping or handling.
• Label the sample container.
  The label should identify the building, sampling site, date collected, who did the collection, and the number of the container used. Each sample number should be a unique number to avoid later confusion.
• Ship the sample to an accredited laboratory for analysis.
• Place duct tape over the sample point to prevent any further fibre release.

Asbestos Abatement Work [Sub-Contract]
Due to the specialized nature of asbestos hazard abatement work, only proposals, bids or tenders from recognized firms shall be considered. Companies wishing to engage in such work for TRU must provide the following information with all tenders, bids or proposals:

• A clearance letter from the Workers' Compensation Board - Assessment Division stating that the payment of all assessment premiums are up-to-date; and
• A certificate of insurance acceptable to the Bursar which covers any damage to the TRU facility during the abatement work; and
• Proof that all personnel involved in the abatement have been properly trained; and
• An asbestos abatement plan including detailed safe work procedures or other information required by all applicable regulations. Copies of these documents shall be supplied to Occupational Health and Safety, Facilities Services Manager and other appropriate personnel as required.

Where work is awarded or directed to a specific contractor, they shall be responsible for completing the necessary Notice of Project - Asbestos [NOPA] form and submitting it to the W.C.B. No work shall be commenced until a copy has been returned from the W.C.B. with their appropriate NOPA No. assigned.

All asbestos abatement work shall be done in accordance with recognized safe work procedures and in strict compliance with the Workers' Compensation Board of B.C. [Industrial Health and Safety Regulations].

The performance of a contractor engaged in asbestos abatement work shall be monitored by a representative of TRU who shall be thoroughly familiar with asbestos abatement work, and shall not be employed by the contractor. The individual(s) involved in monitoring this contract may be a consultant hired by the college specifically for this purpose.

Notice Of Project To comply with the WCB IH&S Regulation 34.16 (3), the W.C.B. shall be notified in writing, before beginning any asbestos abatement work which involves:

• Removing, encapsulating or enclosing asbestos materials in buildings or structures.
• Demolishing, dismantling or repairing any part of a structure or building that contains asbestos insulating material or where asbestos products have been manufactured.

Prepared Notice of Project [NOPA] forms are available from the W.C.B. or from Occupational Health and Safety for this purpose. [A sample form is provided at the end of this procedure].

Should work have been commenced without the required notice, all work shall be ceased until approval to commence has been received from the W.C.B.

Identification / Notification Relating to Work Areas Containing Asbestos
Those TRU facilities and/or work areas in which materials containing asbestos, are known to exist, shall have a booklet posted which contains information on the location of the materials containing asbestos, together with a copy of this procedure.

This booklet shall be accessible to all workers in the area, and to any maintenance personnel, who may be required to service equipment in this work area.

Inspections
Work areas identified as having materials containing asbestos [MCA] shall be inspected at least annually by Occupational Health and Safety or designate to ensure that the materials have not deteriorated.

Should deterioration of the MCA's be noted, suitable corrective measures shall be taken immediately to control and/or remove the hazard.

Personal Protective Equipment [PPE]
Should it be necessary for any employee or student of the college to cut, repair, remove, or otherwise handle any MCA, suitable personal protective equipment [PPE], appropriate for the hazard shall be worn by all persons involved. The following table is provided as a guide:

Procedures
The booklet entitled Safe Handling of Asbestos - A Manual of Standard Practice [6th Printing - January 1992], produced by the W.C.B., shall be consulted prior to any TRU staff being required to handle any Material Containing Asbestos.

Disposal
Disposal of any MCA, shall be placed in impervious [heavy gauge plastic] bags, effectively sealed and suitably labelled as containing asbestos materials. These bags shall be subsequently transferred to a suitable disposal site in compliance with all applicable legislation.

The disposal of such materials shall be coordinated by the Occupational Health & Safety Department.

REFERENCES
Ministry of Labour 1983. The Control and Management of Friable Asbestos Materials. Province of B.C., Ministry of Labour, Occupational Environment Branch. Victoria, B.C.

W.C.B. 1978. Industrial Health & Safety Regulations including all revisions to July 1, 1990. Workers' Compensation Board of B.C., Richmond, B.C.

W.C.B. 1992. Safe Handling of Asbestos - A Manual of Standard Practices Sixth Printing. Workers' Compensation Board of B.C., Richmond, B.C.