Worker exposure to asbestos during removal of sprayed material and renovation activity in buildings containing sprayed material

Our plain-English summary of Worker exposure to asbestos during removal of sprayed material and renovation activity in buildings containing sprayed material, by N.W. Paik, R.J. Walcott, P.A. Brogan (American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal, 1983).

The study

• Authors: N.W. Paik, R.J. Walcott, P.A. Brogan
• Journal: American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal
• Published: 1983;44(6):428-32
• Cited by: 35 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher
• In J-M's library: Johns-Manville's company medical library held a copy (J-M no. 004642).

Abstract

Contents and types of asbestos in fireproofing insulation materials sprayed on ceilings of 127 buildings throughout the U.S. were studied. Asbestos was found to be present in more than 50% of the buildings and chrysotile was the main component identified. Frequency distribution of airborne fiber concentrations was lognormal. During renovation activities by various workers, including sheet-metal workers, carpenters and electricians, average fiber concentrations at workers' breathing zones were less than 2 fibers/cc, but exceeded 0.1 fibers/cc. During removal of sprayed materials, workers were exposed to extremely high concentrations (average 16.4 fibers/cc) when dry methods were used. When wet methods were used during removal, the airborne fiber concentrations were sharply reduced to less than 2 fibers/cc.

In plain English

This study measured asbestos in sprayed ceiling fireproofing in U.S. buildings and in the air workers breathed when it was disturbed. Of 127 office buildings sampled from January 1978 to March 1982, 54% had sprayed material containing 2 to 35% asbestos. In those buildings the asbestos was chrysotile in 94%, amosite in 3%, and both in 3%. From February 1980 to December 1981, the authors studied 278 personal air samples from 11 buildings during renovation and three buildings during removal of sprayed material. During renovation, average (geometric mean) fiber levels were 0.19 fibers/cc for sheet-metal workers, 0.13 for carpenters and electricians, and 0.08 for painters. Eleven of 184 renovation samples showed concentrations above 2 fibers/cc, the level of OSHA's 8-hour time-weighted average limit. During removal, the average was 16.4 fibers/cc with dry methods and 0.5 fibers/cc with wet methods, and 86% of dry-method samples exceeded 2 fibers/cc. The authors concluded that dry removal exposed workers to extremely high concentrations, and that wet methods sharply lowered levels to below the OSHA limit.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Workplace exposure survey: analysis of bulk samples of sprayed fireproofing material plus personal breathing-zone air sampling during renovation and removal work
• Who was studied: 214 bulk samples collected from 127 office buildings across the U.S. from January 1978 to March 1982. 278 personal air samples from workers (carpenters, electricians, sheet-metal workers, painters, removal workers) in 11 buildings under renovation and 3 buildings where sprayed material was removed, during a study conducted February 18, 1980 to December 8, 1981.
• Exposure: Sprayed fireproofing ceiling material containing mainly chrysotile (some amosite), disturbed during renovation work (partitions or walls, air ducts, electrical wires, painting, carpets) and during removal by dry or wet methods
• Main results:
  • Of the 127 buildings, 54% had sprayed materials containing 2 to 35% asbestos. The asbestos was chrysotile in 94% of these buildings, amosite in 3%, and both chrysotile and amosite in 3%.
  • Of the 11 renovation buildings, ten had 2 to 15% chrysotile in the sprayed material and one had 2% amosite.
  • During renovation, the highest average (geometric mean) exposure was among sheet-metal workers, at 0.19 fibers/cc.
  • During renovation, carpenters and electricians both averaged 0.13 fibers/cc and painters 0.08 fibers/cc.
  • During renovation, 11 of 184 samples showed fiber concentrations above 2 fibers/cc. The article identifies 2 fibers/cc as the OSHA 8-hour time-weighted average permissible exposure limit.
  • During removal of sprayed material, the average (geometric mean) concentration fell from 16.4 fibers/cc with dry methods to 0.5 fibers/cc with wet methods.
  • 86% of samples taken during dry-method removal showed fiber concentrations above 2 fibers/cc, the level the article gives as the OSHA limit. Dry-removal samples were short-term samples of 30 to 60 minutes.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that workers removing asbestos-containing sprayed material were exposed to extremely high fiber concentrations when dry methods were used, and that concentrations fell sharply to below the OSHA limit when wet methods were used. They also concluded that renovation workers such as sheet-metal workers, carpenters and electricians were exposed to averages above 0.1 fibers/cc but below the OSHA limit of 2 fibers/cc.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Chrysotile.

Related studies

• Asbestos release from whole-building demolition of buildings with asbestos-containing material — R.A. Perkins, J. Hargesheimer, et al. (2007)
• Asbestos-containing materials in New York City buildings — P. Lundy, M. Barer (1992)
• Respiratory morbidity in workers exposed to asbestos in the primary manufacture of building materials — T.G. Robins, M.A. Green (1988)
• Airborne fiber control in buildings during asbestos material removal by amended water methodology — R.N. Sawyer, A.N. Rohl, et al. (1985)
• Exposure of sheet-metal workers to asbestos during the construction and renovation of commercial buildings in New York City. A case study in social medicine — E. Drucker, D. Nagin, et al. (1987)
• Mesothelioma among employees with likely contact with in-place asbestos-containing building materials — H.A. Anderson, L.P. Hanrahan, et al. (1991)

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