The asbestos containing materials in Polish building - some observations on the air pollution E. Kazimierczak ProZecfz'ort DeporZmemf,

Transcription

1 The asbestos containing materials in Polish building - some observations on the air pollution E. Kazimierczak ProZecfz'ort DeporZmemf, Abstract The indoor and outdoor air quality problems have been the subject of numerous worldwilde investigations. The air sampling in many buildings has indicated that indoor concentrations of known pollutants often exceed standards set for outdoor air. Many buildings materials and products contain asbestos. In a new building, or where recent removal, construction or decoration work has been undertaken, there can be a lot of asbestos fibres from damaged asbestos containing materials (ACM) dispersing into the indoor air. They can be inhaled by occupants of the buildings and cause the cancer among other. The paper contains a short synthesis of current knowledge on asbestos in building generally, some international data of measurements and recommendations for safety use of ACM. It looks at using of ACM in building in Poland and at polish regulations connected with this problem. Some Polish Standards set for indoor and outdoor airborne asbestos fibres concentrations in Poland and some data of measurements are presented. The short synthesis of general knowledge on asbestos in building, the air pollution and health risk for occupants As we know, the term "asbestos" is used for a group of fibrous, naturally occuring silicate minerals: chrisotile, crocidolite, amosite, actinolite, tremolite, anthophyllite. They have been used in thousands of products and a variety of building materials in the world during the past century thanks to their very useful properties: the high tensile strength, good stability under high temperature, good heat, fire and chemical resistance. The most common asbestos containing materials (ACM) typically found in building in many

2 554 Pollution Control and Monitoring countries are: a) sprayed-asbestos materials used to coat pipes, boilers and steel structural beams, structural concrete and the underside of concrete and steel pay decks (until banned in the 1970s), b) thermal insulation around pipes, ducts, boilers..., c) thefireproofing on structural members, d) other products such as different kind of asbestos cement sheets, roofing felts and shingles, wall and ceiling plasters, ceiling acoustical and floor vinyl tiles, paints, gaskests... Asbestos containing surfacing and fireproofing products usually are friable: they can be easily damaged and release a great number of asbestos fibres into the air of buildings. Strong damaged more hard ACM (like asbestos cement e.g.) can be the source of air pollution too. The concentrations of airborne asbestos fibres in many well-maintained buildings are usually similar to ambient levels found outside and they are considered as low. Generally elevated asbestos fibres concentrations can be found in buildings with ACM damaged by abrasion or by resuspension of released material through human activity. The damage, abnormal wear, or resuspension of dust during the activities of certain occupational groups, including custodians and workers involved in building maintenance or remodelling usually produce locally elevated, great airborne asbestos fibre concetrations. The removal of previously undamaged or encapsulated asbestos can lead to increases indoor air concentrations very much and can create a dangerous situation where none existed before; HEI-AR [1]. The levels of asbestos in the ambient and in the indoor air are some thousand-fold less than concentrations in the occupational environment which is in the range f/ml in the different countries, for different kind of asbestos. It is reported; B.T. Commins [2], that taking account all the available information it would appear that typical long-term outdoor average concentrations of asbestos fibres, representative of many years of exposure, could be in the range of approximately fibres per mililitre (f/ml) to f/ml; long-term overall indoor concentrations - in the range of approximately to around f/ml and typical very long-term value of perhaps o.ooos f/ml. For example in the Paris air the value f/ml was reported (Sebastian et al, 1980), in the New York city air f/ml (Nicholson et al, 1971); HEI-AR [1]. This is a scientific consensus that well-maintained asbestos containing building materials poses little risk to general building occupants, who spend time in buildings but who are unlikely to disturb asbestos in place. But on the other hand "...it can be concluded that it is impossible to come to a reliable quantative assesment of the risk of malignancies for the general public; present evidence does not point to there being a threshold level of dust exposure below which tumors will never occur..."; WHO [3]. But if we remember, that the maintenance, cleaning, repairing or demolition work in the buildings can provide very high, although rather short period of exposure conditions (in no way representative of average exposure), in my opinion no one can conclude

3 Pollution Control and Monitoring 555 that really risk to the health associated with these concentrations is zero. The European Economic Communities (EEC) has been the very first international body to base its asbestos policy on the so-called "controlled use" approach (as opposed to the "banning approach"), in which the basic principle is to allow the use of potentially harmful substances, but to impose at the same time very strict safety precautions for their use. EEC Asbestos Regulations cover three areas: a) Worker Protection - Council Directive 83/477/EEC of 1983 and Council Directive 91/382/EEC of 1991, b) Consumer Protection - Council Directive 83/478/EEC of 1983 and Council Directive 85/610/EEC of 1985, c) Environmental Protection - Council Directive 87/210/EEC of The Convention No 162 and Recommendation No 172 are connected with asbestos problem too. Although limited, the existing international data suffice to support the following generalisations according to asbestos in building: - ACM within buildings in good repair and undisturbed is unlikely to give rise to airborne asbestos fibre concetrations above the levels found outside buildings; accesible ACM has the potential to be damaged; during processes that damage ACM, asbestos fibres can be released into the air and the resulting elevation of fibre levels may persist; - maintenance and removal activities, if improperly done, can result in localised increases in airborne asbestos levels, exposing the workers directly involved and also possibly nearly building occupants; the work should be undertaken by licenced workers using very strict safety procudures; - high density (hard) products e.g. asbestos-cement, of properly controlled and used, do not present risk to the health until strong damaged; friable products were cause to concern and the use of them should be stopped; - immediate removal of ACM is required only when they are damaged beyond repair or disturbance of them cannot be controlled with operations and maintenance procedures; removal should be undertaken at the time of demolition or major renovation of a building to very strict safety procedures. The asbestos containing materials in polish building - some observations on the air pollution Polish standards connected with the environmental protection system are usually worked out in polish research institutes, and finally prepared and implemented by the Polish Committee for Standardization. They relate mainly to the methods of testing and do not include the data on allowable concentrations of different pollutants. This is stated in documents established by our Government: the permissible levels of pollutants are established by the Minister of Health and Social Welfare in regulations related to requirements for drinking water for household use and in regulations related to requirements for human life environment. The maximum allowable concentrations of pollutants inthe ambient air are established by the Minister of Environmental

4 556 Pollution Control and Monitoring Protection, Natural Resources and Forestry. There are no standard test methods for the all ambient air pollutants in Poland up to now. The new programme of standarisation works, within the scope of ambient air is now established in Poland. It will be closely connected with the work of the European Committee for Standarization (CEN) and the International Organisation for Standarization (ISO). Poland takes active part in works of ISO Technical Committee No. 146: "Air Quality" and No. 147: "Water Quality". The test methods elaborated and accepted in that cooperation are gradually introduced into Polish Standards, which since 1st January, 1993 have been existed as no obligatory documents. In the 1980s the value f/ml as the exposure limit for airborne asbestos fibres in the ambient air in all protected areas was established in Poland but any test method was recommended for the measurements at the same document. The Minister of Health and Social Welfare established the same value for asbestos fibres inside inhabited buildings, without recommending the test method too. We have only the fibre concentrations at work places by phase contrast light microscopy based on RTM-1 AIA method. We have no established specific detailed documents according to the safety in the use asbestos containing products in building up to now in Poland. The only one, very short and undetailed, worked out in Building Researcg Institute and National Hygiene Institute, was enforced in 1986 and still exist. The using of ACM inside the kindergarden-, schools-, hospitals- and flatsoriented new buildings was banned in it. It was said that in every new building construction asbestos should no be used. The Building Research Institute in Warsaw is working on the amendment of this document and on preparing very detailed instructions for maintenance and removal workers in building, reffering to the international recommendations. In order to reduce using ACM in building everywhere where it is not necessary becouse from the technological point of view, the Building Research Institute took some decisions as follows: 1. In 1984 the certificate for method using sprayed-on asbestos was invalidated. 2. In 1987 all certificates for methods using full compressed asbestos-cement sheets for weather-boarding were invalidated. 3. In 1988 using the asbestos-cement sheets for covering loggies and balconies, chimneys, areas for rubish inside buildings was banned. 4. The new kind of full-compressed asbestos-cement sheets, containing to maximum 5 % of asbestos was worked out and produced for weatherboarding. 5. In 1991 there were established some important changes related to labelling the a-c products and to conditions of good work with a-c materials to some Polish Standards.

5 Pollution Control and Monitoring 557 There are some Polish standards related to asbestos problem: - PN-74/B-14044: Asbestos-cement products. The full-compressed flat sheets. - PN-80/B-14044: Asbestos-cement products. The full-compressed sheets for weather-boarding. - PN-83/B-14041: Asbestos-cement products. The profiled sheets and gaskets. - PN-75/B-10242: Covering works. The roof-covering works with the profiled asbestos-cement sheets. - PN-75/B-10244: Covering works. The roof-covering works with the fullcompressed asbestos-cement sheets. Requirements and examination during acceptance of the work. Besides the Polish Standards scheduled above there are a lot of standards from a-c products manufactures and some attests of Building Research Institute. Generally, at present in Poland discussion is centered around documents concerned with safety in the use asbestos containing materials in building and around the professional government document which will ban producing, using and importing asbestos containing materials and products. In the nearest future the International Convention No 162 should be signed by Poland. There are no good enough regulations according to responsibilities of the employers and emploees in non-fixed workplaces, such as building sites in Poland up to now. We have no specific recommendations for architects, engineers, contractors, propertyy managers and for building owners and users. There are no exist the specific regulations for asbestos waste disposal and transport. We have any guides on methods and procedures of removal, maintenance and demolition the buildings with asbestos. The evidence of such buildings does not exist. There are no licenced workers for working with ACM up to now in Poland. This situation is not favourable to protect the public and environment against asbestos fibres e.g. from disturbed building materials. The most popular situation is, that no one do not know about ACM in the building until they are damaged. Very often is too late to undertake the safety way of the working procedures. Some measurement data of asbestos fibres in air of different environments in Poland are reported in Tab. 1. The measurements were carried out by Building Research Institute to compare different environments only. Phase Contrast Microscopy combined with Polarized Light Microscopy and Dark Field illumination to determine airborne asbestos fibres concentrations were used.

6 558 Pollution Control and Monitoring Tab. 1. Outside buildings Sample Set Urban traffic and breaking sites Outside building with a-c demolished sheets Inside buildings with ACM Inside buildings after ACM repaired Agricultural shortly Asbestos Fibres Concentratiopn PLM (f/cc) less References: 1. Health Effects Institute - Asbestos Research [HEI_AR]. Asbestos in Public and Commercial Buildings: A Literature Review and Synthesis of Current Knowledge. HEI-AR, Cambridge, MA 02135, B.T. Commins. Scientific Technical Report Str. 2, The Significence of Asbestos and Other Mineral Fibres in Environmental Ambient Air, Commins Associates, June, World Health Organistaion [WHO], Environmental Health Criteria 53, Geneva, 1986.