5 Reasons You Need Asbestos Awareness Training

5 Reasons You Need Asbestos Awareness Training

Asbestos is a hazardous material whose effects may not be seen or felt until 20 or 30 years after exposure. It is a continuing problem that devastates lives and costs millions each year in medical costs.  For that reason OHS has passed strict laws regarding Asbestos.

Here are 5 reasons why asbestos training is necessary:

1. With new workers coming into the building, plumbing and electrical industry and other careers where asbestos can be a hazard, it is important that every worker in every field where asbestos may be an issue knows the potential sources of asbestos in the workplace so they can approach these areas with care. The also need to know how to recognize asbestos containing material and who they need to inform if that material is present in order to protect themselves and everyone in the vicinity of the asbestos.
2. All workers should also know the health risks that exposure to asbestos poses not only for them but, for anyone in the vicinity where asbestos fibers may have been disturbed. Knowing the health risks results in workers becoming more aware of the importance of informing the right people of the presence of asbestos and of taking the proper steps in insuring that the area is properly closed off so that innocent bystanders are not exposed to any fibers until the asbestos can be removed properly.
3. Asbestos awareness training also informs workers and managers the legal obligations they are under concerning the discovery of asbestos in the workplace and how to minimize the legal risks to themselves and to the company. Asbestos awareness training will teach them their legal obligations as well as making them aware of the penalties that they face if these obligations are not met.
4. Asbestos awareness also teaches employees and management how to work safely in places where asbestos is present without disturbing the material or putting themselves at risk. This includes the wearing of protective clothing and proper clean up procedures to make sure that they are not moving any asbestos fibers to a new location where they will continue to be a hazard to unsuspecting people.
5. Asbestos training also insures that workers are aware of what to do in an emergency situation should an asbestos incident arise and how to deal with such incidents as swiftly and safely as possible to minimize the risk of exposure to everyone concerned. And this training will make sure that the employee is competent to deal with such emergencies before issuing a certificate of completion for the course.

Making sure that anyone concerned with working in the industry where exposure to asbestos may be part of the job has asbestos awareness training and your company has those certificates on file will help to show that your company exercised due diligence under the new Work, Health, and Safety law and will help protect your company and it’s officers from huge fines and possible jail sentences.