GBS310 Occupational Safety and Health Individual Assignment

Assignment Task

Occupational Health And Safety

Individual Assignment

Question 1

Asbestos is frequently used as the main component in construction materials, machinery, transportation, and consumer goods. Asbestos has a long history of use, dating back at least 4500 years ago where it was used to strengthen cooking pots. The word Asbestos is derived from the Greek language meaning “inextinguishable” in other words asbestos is an umbrella term for silicate minerals with a crystalline structure and a fibrous character which occur naturally. Asbestos minerals are said to have a fibrous nature and many desirable properties such as high tensile strength, flexibility, chemical and physical durability. Asbestos minerals are also well known for their valuable insulation and fire protection materials in many industrial applications, especially in the construction industry.

The current use of asbestos dates back to the late 19th century where asbestos was used for insulation, flame and acid-resistant components, and pipe insulation. During World War I there was a rapid increase in the use of asbestos in the shipbuilding industry where asbestos was used as flame retardants for warships. At that time, the health effects of asbestos to shipyard workers were not taken into consideration. World War II further expanded the use of asbestos and increased production from there. There was a massive increase in the production and use of asbestos products in countries such as Western Europe, Scandinavia, North America, and Australia in the year 1970 where global asbestos production exceeded 5 million tons per year. Since then, asbestos mine production has declined significantly but still reached 1.2 million tons in 2020. It was also discovered that asbestos minerals are not only defined mineralogically, but also based on common properties that form the basis of their industrial use.

Health Effects of Asbestos

Adverse health effects of asbestos are mainly caused by inhaling asbestos dust. There is no convincing evidence that other routes of exposure can increase the risk of asbestos-related diseases. However, there is evidence that small amounts of ingested asbestos fibres can enter the gastrointestinal tract. The inhalation of asbestos fibres with an aerodynamic diameter of up to 10 μm can result in the penetration of the lower respiratory tract1. The adverse health effects of asbestos fibres are as follows

• Lung cancer

• Asbestosis

• Mesothelioma

Question 2

The term asbestos refers to six naturally occurring minerals that are discussed below.

Chrysotile (white asbestos) which is the commonly used mineral of the asbestos. It can be found on the roofs, ceilings, walls and floors of homes and businesses. Manufacturers also use chrysotile asbestos in automotive brake linings, gaskets, boiler gaskets, and insulation in pipes and equipment.

Amosite (brown asbestos) which is used mostly in cement sheets and pipe insulation. It can also be found in insulating boards, ceiling tiles and thermal insulation products.

Crocidolite (blue asbestos) which is commonly used to insulate steam engines. It was also used in some spray-on coatings, pipe insulation, plastics, and cement products.

Anthophyllite which is used in limited amounts in insulation and building materials. It also occurs as a contaminant in chrysotile asbestos and vermiculite. Its colour is grey, dull green, or white. 

Tremolite and Actinolite are not used commercially, but they can be found as contaminants in chrysotile asbestos, vermiculite, and talc. These two chemically similar minerals can be brown, white, green, grey, or transparent.

Question 3

MDHS 39/4 stands for "Methods for the determination of hazardous substances 39/4: Asbestos in the Air”. This procedure describes the method used to sample and analyse airborne asbestos lung fibres in the working environment using phase-contrast microscopy (PCM). It is also used to measure the concentration of asbestosis fibres in the air and to assess whether workers have been exposed to asbestosis fibres or not and to encourage employers to take necessary precautionary measures to reduce the risk of exposure.

Asbestos Sampling Equipment

The sampling equipment for asbestosis consists of a personal sampling pump, tubing to connect the components, asbestosis sampling heads as well as the sampling media (filter paper usually placed in the sampling head).

Things To Consider When Taking Asbestos Samples

In order to minimize contamination, filter holders and hoods should be cleaned before use, and filters should be installed, removed, and analysed in areas that are as free of fibre contamination as possible. Always use good quality flat-tipped tweezers to grip the filter and care should be taken to only grip the edge of the filter. The hood entrance should be closed with a protective cap when not sampling. It may be necessary to let the pump run for several minutes for the flow to stabilize. For this reason, separate filters and filter holders should be available for multiple pumps before disposal. A pump must be able to maintain flow for the intended period of time. The sampling pump should be calibrated before use and if reliable electronic instruments are not available, the inverted burrete shall be used as the best available calibration instrument. Particular attention should be paid to short-term samples, as initial flow instability can have a significant impact on the apparent amount collected.

Workers should be informed about the collection of samples. At the beginning of sampling, the protective cap should be removed from the filter holder. The sampling train must be set up with a filter, tubing, and pump. The flow rate should be measured and recorded at the start of sampling, checked periodically (for example hourly) during sampling using a calibrated flow meter, and readjusted to the selected flow rate if necessary. At the end of the sampling time, record the time, stop the pump, and place the protective cap on the filter holder.

Sampling Period, Flowrate, and Volume

For personal sampling to evaluate residential respirators, appropriate strategies should be used depending on the expected airborne fibre concentrations (particularly peak concentrations) and the appropriate fibre density on the filter. The sampling time and flow rate should be changed so that a good time is 10 minutes (although less is acceptable if the accuracy of the measurements is not significantly affected). The flow rate should be >0.2 l/min. Filter-collected fibre densities greater than 1000 f/mm2 can significantly underestimate concentrations in the air.

For sampling related to clearance indicator, background, leak, and sedation samples, the flow rate should be between 1 and 16 litres/minute for a total sample volume of 480 litres for each measurement. Sample volumes greater than 480 litres may reduce filter area counting.

Fibre Counting Requirements

• Maintenance of clean conditions under all circumstances
• The counting environment must be free of dust and asbestos and should be without any air movement.

Reporting Results

• The report should include the following

• An estimate of the enclosure area or volume.

• The number of measurements required.

• The number of samples taken.

• Time started and finished for each sample.

• Flowrate at the start until the end of each sample.

• Volume of each sample.

• The number of fibres counted

Question 4

Asbestosis is carcinogenic to humans, so there may not be a safe exposure level. All contact should be reduced to the lowest exposure level. Employee exposure to asbestos shall not exceed 0.1 fibres per cubic centimetre of air (f/cc) during an average of 8 hours of work. Short-term exposure should also be limited to no more than 1 f/cc he averaged over a 30-minute period. The recommended air exposure limit (REL) is 0.1 f/cc average over a 10-hour shift. Threshold (TLV) averages 0.1 f/cc over an 8-hour work shift. Rotating employees to meet permissible exposure limits (PELs) is prohibited.

Question 5

Asbestos air monitoring is used to measure levels of asbestos fibres in the air. By drawing air through the filter for a predetermined period of time, airborne particles are collected and ready for examination by a qualified asbestos analyst. Airborne monitoring of asbestos is performed to assess risks and ensure effective control measures are in place. The procedure of asbestos air monitoring should be done to

• Confirm that an appropriate level of personal protection equipment (PPE) or respiratory protective equipment (RPE) has been chosen. This can be achieved by undertaking personal air monitoring or sampling on individuals where the works are being carried out.
• Check the effectiveness of dust suppression methods used during the asbestos removal process
• Provide data for employee exposure records.

This Occupational Safety and Health has been solved by our PhD Experts at My Uni Paper. Our Assignment Writing Experts are efficient in providing a fresh solution to this question. We are serving more than 10000+ Students in Australia, the UK, and the US by helping them to score HD in their academics. Our Experts are well-trained to follow all marking rubrics and referencing styles.

Be it a used or new solution, the quality of the work submitted by our assignment experts remains unhampered. You may continue to expect the same or even better quality with the used and new assignment solution files respectively. There’s one thing to be noticed you could choose one between the two and acquire an HD either way. You could choose a new assignment solution file to get yourself an exclusive, plagiarism (with free Turnitin file), expert quality assignment or order an old solution file that was considered worthy of the highest distinction.