Talang roof, downpipes, sky-sky, walls, and sheet floors. This is the main area where asbestos and asbestos that contain ingredients or ACM, maybe there. These dangerous materials are not only found at home but also in old buildings that function as offices as well.
To promote the welfare of your employees, you need to identify asbestos in your workplace. You also have to conduct asbestos assessments in various fields and apply plans to prevent employees exposed to these dangerous minerals, ensuring their health and safety website .
Asbestos identification
Personnel who will do Asbestos testing need to gather relevant information to determine where ACM may be in the building. To help carry out the task of identifying asbestos and assessing Potential ACM in the workplace, several factors must be considered.
Building construction date
Asbestos is generally used as an isolation and construction material in the building until the late 1980s when the prohibition of its manufacture and use is applied. However, BANS only entirely existed on December 31, 2003. This means that there is a possibility that the buildings built from the 1980s to 2003 may still have ACM.
Addition, renovation, and extension
Even if the original building built from the 1980s to 2003 does not show signs of asbestos or asbestos-containing material, addition, extension, or renovation that is done during this period can involve the use of asbestos and ACM. Therefore, it is best to check whether your office in your workplace has been repaired and improved during this period.
The type of material used for construction
Wood, steel, cement sheets, and bricks are the main material used for building construction. If the cement sheets and vinyl tiles are installed around the 1990s, there is a possibility that some areas in your building, such as toilets and bathrooms, may contain asbestos that is bound to cement particles. Steel pipes installed throughout the building during this period can also carry water and waste containing asbestos.
Date of building construction; addition, renovation, and extension; And the material used to build a structure is an important factors to help you identify and assess whether your workplace has asbestos or ACM source.
Where is asbestos used?
Because it has heat-resistant properties and isolation, asbestos is used in various products produced. Before 1990, asbestos was mainly used to isolate buildings and houses against cold and noise, and for fireproofing. Asbestos is used by the industrial, construction, and commercial sectors in products such as:
- Building materials (roof shingles, roof sealants, ceiling, and floor tiles, products and paper shades, siding with houses, and cement containing asbestos and plaster products).
- Friction material (car clutch bearings, brake layers, pads and shoes, and transmission sections).
- Fire wear and hot protector.
- Industrial furnace and heating system.
- Asbestos (fabric) textile.
- Isolation of heat, electricity, and sound or wrapping.
- Insulation for hot and cold areas.
- Packaging materials, gaskets, layers, and coatings.
- Strengthening plastic products, thermoset, and thermoplastic resins.
- Fillers of resin, plastic, and digging and asphalt road surfaces.
All forms of asbestos are resistant to heat, fire, chemistry, and biological solutions. These properties mean that asbestos fibers are not burning, do not experience a significant reaction with most chemicals, and are not significantly damaged in the environment. Other properties of asbestos that make it very desirable commercially include the characteristics of wear and friction, its tensile strength, ability, electricity and sound isolation capability, and adsorption capacity. With these properties, asbestos is useful in various products produced such as building materials, friction products, and heat-resistant fabrics.