Asbestos Safety Tips for Construction Workers

Many industries shrank or struggled to generate any significant growth during the pandemic. However, the market for safety equipment and supplies has grown by about 4.5% each year since 2017. These days, the United States has enough demand for safety equipment and supplies to generate over $21 billion in revenue each year!

It is clear that people place a lot of value on workplace safety. However, when it comes to asbestos safety, the right training can be just as important as the right tools and supplies.

Depending on the kinds of construction jobs you are dealing with, your construction workers might be exposed to significant amounts of asbestos. At the same time, not all construction workers have a clear understanding of how to avoid the dangers that can come with asbestos exposure. That is why it is so important to learn more about asbestos safety tips for construction workers.

Read on to learn all about the top tips for keeping construction workers safe when they are exposed to asbestos!

Know About Asbestos in Construction Sites

When it comes to something as dangerous as asbestos, it is important to have multiple layers of defense. When possible, it is safest to avoid job sites that contain asbestos. When that is not possible, it is essential that workers have a clear understanding of the presence of asbestos.

Many construction workers have a solid understanding of how to protect themselves from asbestos exposure. However, if they do not know that a certain site has asbestos, it is unlikely that they will take the right precautions.

The chance that construction workers encounter asbestos goes up if the construction work involves demolition or renovation.

In most cases, the most reliable way to know if there is asbestos in a structure is to speak with the owner. Owners have the responsibility to advise workers if they will encounter asbestos while working on their building or home.

However, homeowners or building owners may not take the initiative to reach out to you and let you know if their building has asbestos. You may need to make a specific point of asking them about it.

Invest in Asbestos Safety Training

Workers who already know about asbestos safety can always benefit from updated training. That goes double for workers who have never received the necessary training before.

In the past, it has been much more difficult to provide asbestos safety training for workers. It was often necessary to schedule a specific time and place for a safety expert to come and teach about asbestos safety. If some workers were not available at the scheduled time, they might miss out on the training.

However, it is now much easier to find asbestos safety courses online.

In such courses, construction workers can learn how to identify asbestos when they see it. They will also learn about how to minimize how much asbestos they are exposed to while working on a given job site.

Asbestos safety training will also teach them about the dangers of asbestos exposure. It will also cover how to minimize exposure with various tools.

Use Asbestos Prevention Methods

When you are working on a site that contains asbestos, it is vital that you take the extra steps necessary to prevent asbestos exposure. Some people assume that asbestos exposure is inevitable if they work in a building that contains asbestos.

However, that can sometimes lead people to not even try to prevent asbestos exposure. The wet method is a powerful way to keep asbestos exposure down even when working on buildings that contain it.

The wet method consists of applying water to any materials that contain asbestos before demolishing them or otherwise working with them. The water will weigh down the asbestos in these materials. This can keep asbestos fibers from floating in the air where people will be likely to inhale them.

Avoid Unsafe Asbestos Practices

On the other hand, certain mistakes can increase the chance of floating asbestos dust. For example, it can be dangerous to remove materials with asbestos by blasting them with compressed air. This method can fill the airspace with asbestos fibers.

On top of that, dry sweeping of piles of asbestos debris can increase the prevalence of floating asbestos dust.

Even if you avoid these unsafe practices, it is also important to limit how long employees work on a given job site. There is a big difference between a little asbestos exposure and a lot. Avoiding extended work hours on asbestos job sites can go a long way to protecting workers.

Use Asbestos Exposure Tools

Even if there is asbestos in the air, there is a lot you can do to protect workers. In particular, respirators can filter out asbestos fibers. When workers use respirators properly, they will avoid most asbestos exposure, even if there is asbestos floating in the air.

You can also use vacuums to decrease asbestos exposure. Local exhaust ventilation can remove asbestos dust before anyone can breathe it in. That is another powerful way to keep construction workers safe from asbestos.

Follow the Top Asbestos Safety Tips for Construction Workers

Following asbestos safety tips is essential to protect the health of workers. At the same time, it can be difficult for new construction workers to learn about asbestos safety on top of everything else they need to learn. In many cases, the most effective way to protect construction workers is to provide them with professional training courses.

To learn more about how you can provide your construction workers with the best online training courses available, reach out and get in touch with us here at any time!