Asbestos refers to tiny fibres that are used to make strong, long-lasting, and fire-resistant, building-construction materials. Because of these properties of the material, they are widely used in industries, construction sites, and commercial sectors. To be more specific, asbestos particles are used in these industries for manufacturing raw materials like cement and plaster, industrial furnaces and heating systems, building insulation, house siding, floor and ceiling tiles, car and truck brake pads, and vehicle transmission components, such as clutches.
So, if you are someone who works in any of these industries, it is important that you monitor the presence of asbestos particles in your surrounding air. For that, you can get an air monitoring service. However, it will be better to get an asbestos management plan if your work involves using asbestos-containing material and want to keep the quality of your surrounding air good. If you want to know more about this management plan service, please move on to the next part of the blog.
What is an asbestos management plan?
The presence of asbestos particles in the air you breathe can cause some serious health hazards. As mentioned above, the asbestos particles are really tiny and can easily enter your body through the air you breathe. If you or any of your fellow workers keep breathing this impure for a long period, it can have a negative impact on the body. As the particles are tiny, they get into the body, reach the lungs, and settle over there. Accumulation of these tiny foreign particles and remaining settled there for a prolonged period can cause serious lung diseases like fibrotic lung disease, mesothelioma, and lung cancer. Every year, several such cases are noted in Australia. People get exposed to these harmful particles at their workplaces and end up suffering from a fatal disease. So, it is better to make sure that you have pure surrounding air to breathe and no such harmful particles in the air that can cause any serious issue in your body. To make sure that you have only pure air around you in your workplace, you need to keep the air quality in check. In other words, you have to keep monitoring your air quality with an asbestos monitoring plan.
An asbestos monitoring or management plan refers to the document that offers an outline of how asbestos or asbestos-containing materials are monitored or managed within the premises. Within the document, all the activities that are done to monitor or manage the asbestos in the surrounding are given in a detailed way. In other words, it includes the detailed documentation of the recommended asbestos response actions, the location of the buildings where they are likely to be found, and any action taken to repair or remove the material. Also, these activities are crucial to make sure to protect the occupants against exposure to asbestos fibres.
Do you need an asbestos management plan for your workplace?
Well, protecting you and your fellow workers should be enough for you to understand why you need this plan. After all, the asbestos particles enter the breathing tract with the air and can lead to fatal diseases. So, you need to prioritise your health and your co-workers’ health and take the necessary steps to protect all the human lives working within your premises.
The Bottom Line
So, it must be clear that you need to get an asbestos management plan if you work in maintenance or construction. After all, it is crucial that you check whether the air you are breathing in every day is pure enough for you or your fellow workers. So, no matter what, you should at least conduct air quality surveys once in a while to keep an eye on the air quality. However, it will be better if you get an asbestos management service and have professionals help you to monitor your air and things to do to purify it.