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The Need for Asbestos Training

Asbestos-training programs have become the norm of the day for all members of an awakened society because of the health hazards of asbestos. Asbestos is the name of many naturally occurring fibrous minerals, namely actinolite, amosite, anthophyllite, chrysotile, crocidolite, and tremolite. The flexible, strong, and heat-resistant fibers of asbestos minerals are used in a wide range of industries, such as roofing shingles, ceiling, floor tiles, paper, cement, heat-resistant fabrics, packaging, gaskets and coatings, automobile brakes, clutches, and transmission parts.

Asbestos testing is a necessity because Long-term exposure to asbestos, results in asbestosis and mesothelioma cancers. Asbestosis is a disease wherein scar-like tissues develop in the pleural membrane surrounding the lungs. The main victims of asbestosis are the laborers exposed to asbestos. Common symptoms of asbestosis are cough, difficulty in breathing, and heart enlargement. Even low-level exposure to asbestos results in the thickening of pleural membranes, leading to difficulty in breathing. Proper asbestos training for the employees might help to sidetrack the health hazards of asbestos.

Asbestos Training and Information for Employees

According to asbestos legislations, the employer has to arrange annual asbestos-training programs for the employees exposed to high levels of airborne concentrations of asbestos. Asbestos training is necessary before inducting an employee in the asbestos manufacturing process. It is important that the training should be conducted in an employee-friendly manner. The objective of the training program is to warn the employees about health hazards associated with asbestos exposure. The components include necessary information about the permitted levels of exposure, manner of use, release, location and storage of asbestos, and the specific nature of operations leading to asbestos exposure.

An effective asbestos-training program has to provide information about work practices, engineering controls, protection procedures, emergency plans, clean-up methods and personal protective equipment. The purpose, proper use and limitations of respirators and protective clothing are an important component of employee asbestos training programs. The training program has to provide knowledge about the evil effects of asbestos on health, standard housekeeping requirements, and responding to episodes of fiber release. The employer has to provide the copies of asbestos-training guidelines free of cost to all the employees at risk of asbestos exposure.