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Written by administrator
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Friday, 15 July 2011 05:53 |
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The following is a guest post from Ellie South, from the UK. If there any other authors wishing to guest post, please let me know.
When working with asbestos, not only do you have to be extremely careful for your own personal safety, but there are also strict rules and guidelines that you must adhere to. The following bullets points outline the main dos and don’ts of working asbestos. If you follow these guidelines, you will not suffer any personal injury do to asbestos, and can easily stay within the law.
Do:
- Get the area checked out even if you slightly suspect there may asbestos where you live or work. Make sure you get in touch with a licensed contractor so that the work done is legal.
- Ensure that you have taken into consideration all other possible risk in the vicinity such as working at a considerable height.
- Always use the proper safety equipment. This includes items such as a face mask, gloves, and protective covers for the surrounding area.
- Keep the area clean as you are working. This is important as it will stop a build of waste during the work.
- Dispose of the waste correctly. As asbestos is very dangerous, make sure that everything is double bagged so that it is very unlikely to break, and Make sure waste is double-bagged and is properly thrown away at a licensed tip
- Keep yourself clean. Always wash your hands, and any other part of your body that has potentially had contact with the asbestos before ever break and at the end of the day.
Don't:
- Make unnecessary mess. Asbestos is dangerous as a fine dust, so avoid creating dust where possible.
- Leave the dust that is created. Vacuum up any waste as soon as possible, or use a wet rag to ensure everything is cleaned up.
- Use the overalls that have been worn around the asbestos at home, or for other types of jobs; this includes other equipment such as face masks.
- Eat, drink or smoke in the working area. The asbestos can get everywhere, and even very small particles of asbestos are dangerous, so you do not want to risk inhaling it.
What to do if you are in charge?
You must:
- Search around to find any possibilities of asbestos in the working environment, and if so, plan any of your work around the areas to make sure that it is not disturbed.
- Be aware of anyone who tries to work near the materials. Anyone who is work on the asbestos must be properly trained, and constantly supervised.
- Make sure you have the knowledge of what work can be carried out. Also, you must know what is needed for the type of work such as equipment needed, task and method sheets, and how to keep the distribution of the asbestos to a bare minimum.
- Create a plan for yourself and everyone working on the job so that nothing can go wrong and everyone know exactly where and when they are needed.
- Inspect the working area once everything is completed. This will include checking: for waste, you have taken all of your equipment and that the original occupants can re-enter the area.
- Dispose of the waste in the correct manner, and consult with the health and safety representative is possible.
If you follow these simple instructions, you should have no problem in the workplace, and safety should be of no problem to you and your colleagues.
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Last Updated on Friday, 15 July 2011 06:01 |