(1)
General monitoring criteria.
(a)
Each employer who has a workplace or work operation where
exposure monitoring is required under this part must perform monitoring to
determine accurately the airborne concentrations of asbestos to which employees
may be exposed.
(b) Determinations
of employee exposure must be made from breathing zone air samples that are
representative of the eight-hour TWA and thirty minute short-term exposures of
each employee.
(c) Representative
eight-hour TWA employee exposures must be determined on the basis of one or
more samples representing full-shift exposure for each shift for each employee
in each job classification in each work area.
(d) Representative thirty minute short-term
employee exposures must be determined on the basis of one or more samples
representing thirty minute exposures associated with operations that are most
likely to produce exposures above the excursion limit for each shift for each
job classification in each work area.
(2) Exposure monitoring requirements for all
occupational exposures to asbestos in all industries covered by the Washington
Industrial Safety and Health Act except construction work, as defined in WAC
296-155-012,
and except ship repairing, shipbuilding and shipbreaking employments and
related employments as defined in WAC
296-304-01001.
(a) Initial monitoring.
(i) Each employer who has a workplace or
work operation covered by this standard, except as provided for in (a)(ii) and
(iii) of this subsection, must perform initial monitoring of employees who are,
or may reasonably be expected to be exposed to airborne concentrations at or
above the TWA permissible exposure limit and/or excursion limit. The initial
monitoring must be at the initiation of each asbestos job to accurately
determine the airborne concentration of asbestos to which employees may be
exposed.
(ii) Where the employer
or his/her representative has monitored after March 31, 1992, for the TWA
permissible exposure limit and/or excursion limit, and the monitoring satisfies
all other requirements of this section, and the monitoring data was obtained
during work operations conducted under workplace conditions closely resembling
the processes, type of material including percentage of asbestos, control
methods, work practices, and environmental conditions used and prevailing in
the employer's current operations, the employer may rely on such earlier
monitoring results to satisfy the requirements of (a)(i) of this subsection.
(iii) Where the employer has relied upon objective data that demonstrates that
asbestos is not capable of being released in airborne concentrations at or
above the TWA permissible exposure limit and/or excursion limit under those
work conditions of processing, use, or handling expected to have the greatest
potential for releasing asbestos, then no initial monitoring is
required.
(b)
Monitoring frequency (periodic monitoring) and patterns. After the initial
determinations required by subsection (2)(a)(i) of this section, samples must
be of such frequency and pattern as to represent with reasonable accuracy the
levels of exposure of the employees. Sampling must not be at intervals greater
than six months for employees whose exposures may reasonably be foreseen to
exceed the TWA permissible exposure limit and/or excursion limit.
(c) Daily monitoring within regulated areas:
The employer must conduct daily monitoring that is representative of the
exposure of each employee who is assigned to work within a regulated area.
Exception: When all employees within a regulated area are equipped with full
facepiece sup-plied-air respirators operated in the pressure-demand mode
equipped with either an auxiliary positive pressure self-contained breathing
apparatus or a HEPA filter, the employer may dispense with the daily monitoring
required by this subsection.
(d)
Changes in monitoring frequency. If either the initial or the periodic
monitoring required by subsection (2)(a) and (b) of this section statistically
indicates that employee exposures are below the TWA permissible exposure limit
and/or excursion limit, the employer may discontinue the monitoring for those
employees whose exposures are represented by such monitoring.
(e) Additional monitoring. Notwithstanding
the provisions of subsection (2)(a)(ii) and (c) of this section, the employer
must institute the exposure monitoring required under subsection (2)(a)(i) and
(ii) of this section whenever there has been a change in the production,
process, control equipment, personnel, or work practices that may result in new
or additional exposures above the TWA permissible exposure limit and/or
excursion limit, or when the employer has any reason to suspect that a change
may result in new or additional exposures above the TWA permissible exposure
limit and/or excursion limit.
(3)
Exposure assessment monitoring requirements for all construction
work as defined in WAC
296-155-012
and for all ship repairing, shipbuilding and shipbreaking employments and
related employments as defined in WAC
296-304-01001.
(a) Initial exposure assessment.
(i) Each employer who has a workplace or
work operation covered by this standard must ensure that a "competent person"
conducts an exposure assessment immediately before or at the initiation of the
operation to ascertain expected exposures during that operation or workplace.
The assessment must be completed in time to comply with the requirements which
are triggered by exposure data or lack of a "negative exposure assessment," and
to provide information necessary to ensure that all control systems planned are
appropriate for that operation and will work properly.
(ii) Basis of initial exposure assessment:
Unless a negative exposure assessment has been made according to (b) of this
subsection, the initial exposure assessment must, if feasible, be based on
monitoring conducted according to (b) of this subsection. The assessment must
take into consideration both the monitoring results and all observations,
information or calculations which indicate employee exposure to asbestos,
including any previous monitoring conducted in the workplace, or of the
operations of the employer which indicate the levels of airborne asbestos
likely to be encountered on the job. For Class I asbestos work, until the
employer conducts exposure monitoring and documents that employees on that job
will not be exposed in excess of the PELs, or otherwise makes a negative
exposure assessment according to (b) of this subsection, the employer must
presume that employees are exposed in excess of the TWA and excursion
limit.
(b) Negative
exposure assessment: For any one specific asbestos job which will be performed
by employees who have been trained in compliance with the standard, the
employer may demonstrate that employee exposures will be below the PELs by data
which conform to the following criteria:
(i)
Objective data demonstrating that the products or material containing asbestos
minerals or the activity involving such product or material cannot release
airborne fibers in concentrations exceeding the TWA and excursion limit under
those work conditions having the greatest potential for releasing asbestos;
or
(ii) Where the employer has
monitored prior asbestos jobs for the PEL and the excursion limit within twelve
months of the current or projected job, the monitoring and analysis were
performed in compliance with the asbestos standard in effect; and the data was
obtained during work operations conducted under workplace conditions "closely
resembling" the processes, type of material including percentage of asbestos,
control methods, work practices, and environmental conditions used and
prevailing in the employer's current operations, the operations were conducted
by employees whose training and experience are no more extensive than that of
employees performing the current job, and these data show that under the
conditions prevailing and which will prevail in the current workplace there is
a high degree of certainty that employee exposures will not exceed the TWA or
excursion limit; or
(iii) The
results of initial exposure monitoring of the current job made from breathing
zone samples that are representative of the 8-hour TWA and 30-minute short-term
exposures of each employee covering operations which are most likely during the
performance of the entire asbestos job to result in exposures over the
PELs.
(c) Periodic
monitoring.
(i) Class I and Class II
operations. The employer must conduct daily monitoring that is representative
of the exposure of each employee who is assigned to work within a regulated
area who is performing Class I or II work, unless the employer according to (b)
of this subsection, has made a negative exposure assessment for the entire
operation.
(ii) All operations
under the standard other than Class I and II operations. The employer must
conduct periodic monitoring of all work where exposures are expected to exceed
a PEL, at intervals sufficient to document the validity of the exposure
prediction.
(iii) Exception. When
all employees required to be monitored daily are equipped with supplied-air
respirators operated in the pressure demand mode, the employer may dispense
with the daily monitoring required by subsection (2)(c) of this section.
However, employees performing Class I work using a control method which is not
listed in WAC
296-62-07712
or using a modification of a listed control method, must continue to be
monitored daily even if they are equipped with supplied-air
respirators.
(d)
Termination of monitoring. If the periodic monitoring required by (c) of this
subsection reveals that employee exposures, as indicated by statistically
reliable measurements, are below the permissible exposure limit and excursion
limit the employer may discontinue monitoring for those employees whose
exposures are represented by such monitoring.
(e) Monitoring outside negative-pressure
enclosures: The employer must conduct representative area monitoring of the
airborne fiber levels at least every other day at the HEPA machine exhaust and
entrance to the decontamination area.
(f)
Additional monitoring. Notwithstanding the provisions of (b),
(c), and (d) of this subsection, the employer must institute the exposure
monitoring required under (c) of this subsection whenever there has been a
change in process, control equipment, personnel or work practices that may
result in new or additional exposures above the permissible exposure limit
and/or excursion limit or when the employer has any reason to suspect that a
change may result in new or additional exposures above the permissible exposure
limit and/or excursion limit. Such additional monitoring is required regardless
of whether a "negative exposure assessment" was previously produced for a
specific job.
(g) Preabatement
monitoring. Prior to the start of asbestos work, representative area air
monitoring must be conducted for comparison to clearance monitoring as required
by subsection (3)(h) of this section. Preabatement air monitoring is not
required for outdoor work.
(h)
Clearance monitoring. Representative area air monitoring must be taken at the
completion of the asbestos work. Air sample results must be obtained before
removal or reoc-cupancy of the regulated area. Clearance air monitoring is not
required for outdoor asbestos work. The employer must demonstrate by monitoring
that the airborne concentration is below:
(i)
The permissible exposure limit; or
(ii) At or below the airborne fiber level
existing prior to the start of the asbestos work, whichever level is
lower.
(4)
Method of monitoring.
(a) All samples taken
to satisfy the employee exposure monitoring requirements of this section must
be personal samples collected following the procedures specified in WAC
296-62-07735,
Appendix A.
(b) Monitoring must be
performed by persons having a thorough understanding of monitoring principles
and procedures and who can demonstrate proficiency in sampling
techniques.
(c) All samples taken
to satisfy the monitoring requirements of this section must be evaluated using
the WISHA reference method specified in WAC
296-62-07735,
Appendix A, or an equivalent counting method recognized by the
department.
(d) If an equivalent
method to the WISHA reference method is used, the employer must ensure that the
method meets the following criteria:
(i)
Replicate exposure data used to establish equivalency are collected in
side-by-side field and laboratory comparisons; and
(ii) The comparison indicates that ninety
percent of the samples collected in the range 0.5 to 2.0 times the permissible
limit have an accuracy range of plus or minus twenty-five percent of the WISHA
reference method results at a ninety-five percent confidence level as
demonstrated by a statistically valid protocol; and
(iii) The equivalent method is documented
and the results of the comparison testing are maintained.
(e) To satisfy the monitoring requirements
of this section, employers must use the results of monitoring analysis
performed by laboratories which have instituted quality assurance programs that
include the elements as prescribed in WAC
296-62-07735,
Appendix A.
(5)
Employee notification of monitoring results.
(a)
The employer must, as soon as possible but no later than within
five days for construction and shipyard industries and fifteen working days for
other industries, after the receipt of the results of any monitoring performed
under the standard, notify the affected employees of these results in writing
either individually or by posting of results in an appropriate location that is
accessible to affected employees.
(b)
The written notification required by (a) of this subsection must
contain the corrective action being taken by the employer to reduce employee
exposure to or below the TWA and/or excursion exposure limits, wherever
monitoring results indicated that the TWA and/or excursion exposure limits had
been exceeded.
(6)
Observation of monitoring.
(a) The employer
must provide affected employees or their designated representatives an
opportunity to observe any monitoring of employee exposure to asbestos
conducted in accordance with this section.
(b)
When observation of the monitoring of employee exposure to
asbestos requires entry into an area where the use of protective clothing or
equipment is required, the observer must be provided with and be required to
use such clothing and equipment and must comply with all other applicable
safety and health procedures.