Competent Person

Under OSHA rules, a competent person is someone who can identify existing and predictable asbestos hazards and has the authority to take prompt steps to correct them. OSHA's construction asbestos standard requires a competent person to supervise asbestos work on site.

Origin

The term appears in OSHA's general construction rules and was given specific asbestos duties in the 1994 revision of the construction asbestos standard, 29 C.F.R. 1926.1101. For Class I and II work the competent person must have training equivalent to EPA's accredited asbestos supervisor course; for Class III and IV work, training equivalent to an operations and maintenance course.

Significance in Asbestos Context

The competent person is responsible for setting up regulated areas, checking enclosures and ventilation, making sure workers wear the right respirators, and overseeing air monitoring and decontamination. When asbestos is disturbed without a competent person present, or when the designated person lacks training or authority, it can be evidence that an employer or contractor did not follow the law. That matters most for exposures during renovation, demolition or maintenance from the mid-1990s onward, when the current rules applied. Many older exposures happened before these protections existed. Workers who were never told asbestos was present, or who saw no supervision during removal work, may want to note those facts for their records.

Example Sentence

No competent person was on site when the crew tore out the ceiling, and dust spread throughout the occupied building.

Related Terms

OSHA Asbestos Standard, OSHA Class I–IV Asbestos Work, Abatement, Respirator, Clearance Air Testing, Industrial Hygiene

Notes

• If you worked on asbestos removal, write down who supervised the work and what precautions were taken.
• Keep any asbestos training cards or certificates; they show what the employer knew you were handling.