Hello World! Welcome Friends! Depending on the age and construction type of your building, some materials could potentially contain asbestos. Examples include insulation, cement, and floor tiles. Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral with fireproof and corrosion-proof properties, once widely used in commercial properties but now linked with health concerns like mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis.
How to Identify Asbestos in Your Commercial Building
A professional asbestos management survey is the best way to identify it in any material. Chrysotile asbestos, the most prevalent variety, has a light brown hue and emits an unpleasant scent when dry; you may also come across white or amber colored varieties which do not produce such strong odors when wet.
It should always be identified in your building so you can take necessary precautions against its presence. In most cases, this involves a company like Bison Melbourne coming in after having a sample examined under a microscope by trained personnel. This also makes hiring an accredited abatement service an advisable move.
It can often be found hiding in the ceiling and floor voids of most offices. While its size and accessibility will differ depending on where it’s found, in general these voids will be hidden beneath plasterboard or timber floors or covered by non-asbestos products.
Some drywall and plasterboard in these voids may contain asbestos-contaminated drywall and plasterboard; however, this material is typically covered with another product during maintenance and repair work to protect it from being disturbed and released into the atmosphere.
Searching service and heating ducts for asbestos should also be a top priority, particularly those located in mechanical areas of a building and connected to boiler rooms or similar spaces. Some ductworks may contain asbestos-containing insulation boarding; additional materials could potentially pose threats to employees and tenants in a building if these materials are left exposed or aren’t properly managed or contained.
Russia first opened crocidolite and chrysotile asbestos mines in the 1800s, followed by Canada (https://www.asbestos.com/asbestos/history/). By the end of the 19th century, it had become widespread throughout public and commercial buildings built in the US – from wallboard, paint, joint compounds and plaster to pipes, roof shingles and cement sidings; even being used to wrap electrical wiring or protect breaker boxes!
It remains present in some commercial buildings and its presence can present a risk to visitors or employees, especially if it has not been properly handled or maintained, leading to fibres being released into the air. There are two categories of asbestos: friable and non-friable products; with non-friable types such as pipe insulation, lagging or cement sheeting not considered hazardous until disturbed; while friable asbestos poses risks immediately upon disruption.
Warehouse Asbestos Removal
It is a toxic material that poses a severe threat to building occupants when airborne, potentially leading to serious health concerns, including mesothelioma. Cleaning it regularly is crucial to creating a safe environment for building residents while simultaneously helping preserve building structures from further damage and decreasing liability risks for owners.
Asbestos inspection and handling guidelines from the asbestos.vic.gov.au website (which you can click here to learn about) generally apply to both commercial spaces as well as residential ones; however, when working on large industrial spaces there are specific rules that must be observed.
Most importantly are not disturbing asbestos-containing material – even damaged material poses exposure risks that should only be handled by trained professionals. Building owners planning any changes which might alter asbestos-containing material should contact local health, environmental or regulatory agencies prior to initiating any projects which affect it so they may learn proper handling and disposal procedures.
It can often be found in large commercial buildings via ceiling and floor voids that may be hard to access; older structures may make this task even harder; nevertheless, it’s worthwhile checking these spaces. It could also be present in roof or wall insulation sprayed onto buildings as well as damp slurry used as fireproof sealant on brickwork surfaces.
These products pose a grave danger when they become friable, which allows asbestos fibers to escape and release into the environment. This may happen due to wear-and-tear, vibration, maintenance work or renovation projects, inhaling these fibers can cause respiratory illnesses in those exposed.
Asbestos-containing material needs to be kept separate from other areas in a building and under negative pressure for safe handling, and exhaust units with HEPA filters can help ensure this happens. Signs should also be displayed to alert unwelcome visitors of its presence, while workers performing work that could disturb it should wear respirators masks while performing any type of task that disturbs it.
Slightly damaged materials should be covered with plastic sheeting and tape for temporary protection, and heating and ventilation systems shut off. A decontamination room equipped with impermeable bags should also be provided to hold any clothing or equipment that becomes contaminated during work.
Before undertaking renovations or repairs to spaces containing it, it is recommended to consult an industrial hygiene firm. Their experts will identify all the materials present and assess their condition before planning to remove those that pose high levels of exposure risk to occupants.
Asbestos fibers released when asbestos is disturbed enter the air and can be inhaled, leading to various health conditions including lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis – symptoms may appear over 15-30 years, and may not become evident until they have reached severe levels.
Commercial spaces containing potentially asbestos-containing materials should be regularly inspected to ensure they remain in good condition and do not release microscopic asbestos fibres into the atmosphere. All maintenance activities should therefore be handled by certified/licensed professionals.
Maintenance workers should wear disposable gloves and wash their hands after handling asbestos material, shutting off heating and cooling systems as a precaution, wetting asbestos with water containing several drops of detergent prior to taking samples; this allows cleaner materials that do not float as freely into the air to be collected more easily.
Consider having a discussion with your management team regarding asbestos-containing materials found in commercial buildings to allow them to plan ahead for renovations that might disturb these materials and keep a written record of any testing performed for asbestos testing results.
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