What PPE is required for work likely to emit asbestos fibres?

Asbestos, commonly known as asbestos (in old French) is a term that refers to highly refractory fibrous rocks. This substance is widely used in different sectors of activity, yet it represents a real health hazard. Some measures should therefore be taken into account if your work is likely to emit asbestos fibres. Moreover, this guide will help you in the choice of PPE.

What are the risks associated with asbestos?

Asbestos fibers are very fine, in particular 2,000 times thinner than a human hair. They are therefore very dangerous to health when inhaled. Indeed, these fibers can lead to serious diseases such as fibrosis, cancer, pleural plaques..., when they manage to attack the lungs.

Some reasons can cause this risk:

• The size of the asbestos fibers: they have the ability to penetrate deep into the lungs when they are really very fine.
• Concentration of asbestos fibers in the air
• Type of asbestos
• The amount of fiber aspirated by the nose
• Duration of exposure to asbestos
• The frequency of exposure to asbestos fibres

Be aware that the effects of asbestos on health are sometimes felt with a long latency period (even several years after exposure).

How to protect yourself from asbestos

If asbestos is present in your workplace, you must provide certain personal protective equipment (PPE) to ensure your health.

Protective clothing against asbestos (coveralls)

Here are the characteristics of the waterproof suits, in particular the protective suits adapted to the use of asbestos:

• Single-use or disposable CAT.3 TYPE 5/6 specially designed for protection against asbestos
• Equipped with Type 5 hood with taped or taped seams
• Closed at ankles, wrists and neck

Waterproof gloves and shoes

You should invest in handling gloves (chemical protective gloves ) high performance and waterproof in nitrile, flocked cotton and in green. They comply with CE EN 420 standards.

Shoes

Choose single-use overshoes or decontaminable safety boots fitted with non-slip soles.

Respiratory protection (masks)

These are breathing masks, so you will have the choice between:

• The FFP3 half-mask, they are mainly intended for operations with short exposure time
• Half-mask equipped with P3 particle filters Standard EN 140 Special asbestos
• The filtering mask, equipped with an assisted ventilation system with helmet or hood. It belongs to the TM3 classification specially made for asbestos risks

These respiratory protective equipment must be chosen according to the level of dustiness of the place and the 'Risk Assessment. These relate to physical effort, temperature, hygrometry, duration, visibility, other pollutants�. However, fit tests must be done on each user to check if the respiratory protection is well suited to the circumstance.

Specific equipment for asbestos work

Other specific equipment is also available to supplement the PPE protecting against asbestos. These are protective glasses offering good impact resistance, adjustable headbands, hearing protection and headphones.;

How to work with asbestos?

You must opt ??for quality materials that can withstand extreme conditions and ensure better safety:

• Asbestos bin or rubble bag with dimensions: 80�110 cm and thickness: 45 Micron
• Adhesives in many sizes: 50 mm x 33M or 75 mm x 33M
• A vacuum cleaner for hazardous dust
• Pneumatic equipment for stripping asbestos: Scrapair Pneumatic scraper equipped with an anti-vibration system, an ergonomic handle ensuring more comfort.

Responsibilities and legal/regulatory obligations for asbestos removal

The Public Health Code requires asbestos files to be kept up to date (DTA or DAPP) and diagnostics to be carried out, failing which the operators of a constructed building or at the expense of the owners:

• A asbestos diagnosis (DAPP) of the private areas of a collective residential building
• An asbestos technical file (DTA) for the common areas of a collective building for residential use
• A technical asbestos file for buildings used in addition to housing
• An asbestos diagnosis in the event of the sale of a building for residential use or summary sheet of the DTA for buildings for use other than residential.

As for the Construction and Housing Code (CCH), it is mandatory for project owners to carry out a diagnosis of waste resulting from demolition work. This concerns buildings with a floor area greater than 1000 m�.