852 Asbestos Safety

Training for Work in Regulated Areas

Class III Training

Maintenance and repair work where ACM or PACM may be disturbed requires training that includes:

• information regarding asbestos and its various uses and forms;
• the health effects associated with asbestos exposure;
• the location of ACM and PACM identified throughout each building in which the employee works;
• recognition of damage, deterioration, and delamination of ACM and PACM;
• information on respiratory protection; information from 40 CFR 763.91, 40 CFR 763.92, 40 CFR 763.93; and
• information in the Hazard Communication Standard.

The training must include hands-on practice of work practices, control measures, and protective equipment. This training must be at least 16 hours. Employees must have an annual refresher, although there is no specific time duration for the refresher training.

The competent person can decide that this training is inappropriate for workers, in which case employers can use an alternative training method. The training must also include:

• methods of recognizing asbestos,
• the health effects of asbestos,
• the relationship between smoking and asbestos in producing lung cancer,
• the nature of operations that could result in exposure to asbestos, and
• the importance of all protective controls to minimize exposure (including engineering, work practice, PPE, etc).

Training must also include:

• the use and limitations of these controls;
• medical surveillance program requirements;
• the content of the asbestos standard including appendices,
• smoking cessation programs, and
• the requirements for posting signs and affixing labels; and the meaning of any legends on those signs and labels.

Class IV Training

Training for employees performing Class IV operations should be consistent with EPA requirements for training of local education agency maintenance and custodial staff. Conduct two-hour initial and annual refresher training and include information concerning:

• the locations of thermal system insulation and surfacing ACM/PACM, and asbestos-containing flooring material, or flooring material where the absence of asbestos has not yet been certified;
• the recognition of damage, deterioration, and delamination of asbestos containing building materials (such a course shall take at least 2 hours)

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