Wash. Admin. Code § 296-62-07721

Current through Register Vol. 24-21, November 1, 2024

Section 296-62-07721 - Communication of hazards

(1)

(a) Communication of hazards to employees - Introduction. This section applies to the communication of information concerning asbestos hazards in general industry to facilitate compliance with this standard. Asbestos exposure in general industry occurs in a wide variety of industrial and commercial settings. Employees who manufacture asbestos-containing products may be exposed to asbestos fibers. Employees who repair and replace automotive brakes and clutches may be exposed to asbestos fibers. In addition, employees engaged in housekeeping activities in industrial facilities with asbestos product manufacturing operations, and in public and commercial buildings with installed asbestos-containing materials may be exposed to asbestos fibers. It should be noted that employees who perform housekeeping activities during and after construction activities are covered by asbestos construction work requirements in WAC 296-62-077. Housekeeping employees, regardless of industry designation, should know whether building components they maintain may expose them to asbestos. The same hazard communication provisions will protect employees who perform housekeeping operations in all three asbestos standards; general industry, construction, and shipyard employment. Building owners are often the only and/or best source of information concerning the presence of previously installed asbestos-containing building materials. Therefore they, along with employers of potentially exposed employees, are assigned specific information conveying and retention duties under this section.

(i) Chemical manufacturers, importers, distributors and employers must comply with all requirements of the Hazard Communication Standard (HCS), WAC 296-901-140 for asbestos.

(ii) In classifying the hazards of asbestos at least the following hazards are to be addressed: Cancer and lung effects.

(iii) Employers must include asbestos in the hazard communication program established to comply with the HCS WAC 296-901-140. Employers must ensure that each employee has access to labels on containers of asbestos and to safety data sheets, and is trained in accordance with the requirements of HCS and WAC 296-62-07722.

(b) Installed asbestos-containing material. Employers and building owners are required to treat installed TSI and sprayed-on and troweled-on surfacing materials as ACM for the purposes of this standard. These materials are designated "presumed ACM or PACM," and are defined in WAC 296-62-07703. Asphalt and vinyl flooring installed no later than 1980 also must be treated as asbestos-containing. The employer or building owner may demonstrate that PACM and flooring materials do not contain asbestos by complying with WAC 296-62-07712(10)(a)(ix).

(c) Duties of employers and building and facility owners.

(i) Building and facility owners must determine the presence, location, and quantity of ACM and/or PACM at the worksite. Employers and building and facility owners must exercise due diligence in complying with these requirements to inform employers and employees about the presence and location of ACM and PACM.

(ii) Before authorizing or allowing any construction, renovation, remodeling, maintenance, repair, or demolition project, an owner or owner's agent must perform, or cause to be performed, a good faith inspection to determine whether materials to be worked on or removed contain asbestos. The inspection must be documented by a written report maintained on file and made available upon request to the director.

(A) The good faith inspection must be conducted by an accredited inspector.

(B) Such good faith inspection is not required if the owner or owner's agent is reasonably certain that asbestos will not be disturbed by the project or the owner or owner's agent assumes that the suspect material contains asbestos and handles the material in accordance with WAC 296-62-07701 through 296-62-07753.

(iii) The owner or owner's agent must provide, to all contractors submitting a bid to undertake any construction, renovation, remodeling, maintenance, repair, or demolition project, the written statement either of the reasonable certainty of nondisturbance of asbestos or of assumption of the presence of asbestos. Contractors must be provided with the written report before they apply or bid to work.

(iv) Any owner or owner's agent who fails to comply with (c)(ii) and (iii) of this subsection must be subject to a mandatory fine of not less than two hundred fifty dollars for each violation. Each day the violation continues must be considered a separate violation. In addition, any construction, renovation, remodeling, maintenance, repair, or demolition which was started without meeting the requirements of this section must be halted immediately and cannot be resumed before meeting such requirements.

(v) Building and facility owners must inform employers of employees, and employers must inform employees who will perform housekeeping activities in areas which contain ACM and/or PACM of the presence and location of ACM and/or PACM in such areas which may be contacted during such activities.

(vi) Upon written or oral request, building or facility owners must make a copy of the written report required in this section available to the department of labor and industries and the collective bargaining representatives or employee representatives of any employee who may be exposed to any asbestos or asbestos-containing materials. A copy of the written report must be posted conspicuously at the location where employees report to work.

(vii) Building and facility owners must maintain records of all information required to be provided according to this section and/or otherwise known to the building owner concerning the presence, location and quantity of ACM and PACM in the building/facility. Such records must be kept for the duration of ownership and must be transferred to successive owners.

(2) Communication of hazards to employees. Requirements for construction and shipyard employment activities.

(a) Introduction. This section applies to the communication of information concerning asbestos hazards in construction and shipyard employment activities. Most asbestos-related construction and shipyard activities involve previously installed building materials. Building/vessel owners often are the only and/or best sources of information concerning them. Therefore, they, along with employers of potentially exposed employees, are assigned specific information conveying and retention duties under this section. Installed Asbestos Containing Building/Vessel Material: Employers and building/vessel owners must identify TSI and sprayed or troweled on surfacing materials as asbestos-containing unless the employer, by complying with WAC 296-62-07721(3) determines it is not asbestos containing. Asphalt or vinyl flooring/decking material installed in buildings or vessels no later than 1980 must also be considered as asbestos containing unless the employer/owner, according to WAC 296-62-07712(10)(a)(ix) determines it is not asbestos containing. If the employer or building/vessel owner has actual knowledge or should have known, through the exercise of due diligence, that materials other than TSI and sprayed-on or troweled-on surfacing materials are asbestos containing, they must be treated as such. When communicating information to employees according to this standard, owners and employers must identify "PACM" as ACM. Additional requirements relating to communication of asbestos work on multiemployer worksites are set out in WAC 296-62-07706.

(b) Duties of building/vessel and facility owners.

(i) Before work subject to this section is begun, building/vessel and facility owners must identify the presence, location and quantity of ACM, and/or PACM at the worksite. All thermal system insulation and sprayed on or troweled on surfacing materials in buildings/vessels or substrates constructed no later than 1980 must be identified as PACM. In addition, resilient flooring/decking material installed no later than 1980 must also be identified as asbestos containing.

(ii) Before authorizing or allowing any construction, renovation, remodeling, maintenance, repair, or demolition project, a building/vessel and facility owner or owner's agent must perform, or cause to be performed, a good faith inspection to determine whether materials to be worked on or removed contain asbestos. The inspection must be documented by a written report maintained on file and made available upon request to the director.

(A) The good faith inspection must be conducted by an accredited inspector.

(B) Such good faith inspection is not required if the building/vessel and facility owner or owner's agent assumes that the suspect material contains asbestos and handles the material in accordance with WAC 296-62-07701 through 296-62-07753 or if the owner or the owner's agent is reasonably certain that asbestos will not be disturbed by the project.

(iii) The building/vessel and facility owner or owner's agent must provide, to all contractors submitting a bid to undertake any construction, renovation, remodeling, maintenance, repair, or demolition project, the written statement either of the reasonable certainty of nondisturbance of asbestos or of assumption of the presence of asbestos. Contractors must be provided the written report before they apply or bid on work.

(iv) Any building/vessel and facility owner or owners agent who fails to comply with WAC 296-62-07721(2)(b)(ii) and (iii) must be subject to a mandatory fine of not less than two hundred fifty dollars for each violation. Each day the violation continues must be considered a separate violation. In addition, any construction, renovation, remodeling, maintenance, repair, or demolition which was started without meeting the requirements of this section must be halted immediately and cannot be resumed before meeting such requirements.

(v) Upon written or oral request, building/vessel and facility owner or owner's agent must make a copy of the written report required in this section available to the department of labor and industries and the collective bargaining representatives or employee representatives of any employee who may be exposed to any asbestos or asbestos-containing materials. A copy of the written report must be posted conspicuously at the location where employees report to work.

(vi) Building/vessel and facility owner or owner's agent must notify in writing the following persons of the presence, location and quantity of ACM or PACM, at worksites in their buildings/facilities/vessels.

(A) Prospective employers applying or bidding for work whose employees reasonably can be expected to work in or adjacent to areas containing such material;

(B) Employees of the owner who will work in or adjacent to areas containing such material;

(C) On multiemployer worksites, all employers of employees who will be performing work within or adjacent to areas containing such materials;

(D) Tenants who will occupy areas containing such materials.

(c) Duties of employers whose employees perform work subject to this standard in or adjacent to areas containing ACM and PACM. Building/vessel and facility owner or owner's agents whose employees perform such work must comply with these provisions to the extent applicable.

(i) Before work subject to this standard is begun, building/vessel and facility owner or owner's agents must determine the presence, location, and quantity of ACM and/or PACM at the worksite according to WAC 296-62-07721(2)(b).

(ii) Before work under this standard is performed employers of employees who will perform such work must inform the following persons of the location and quantity of ACM and/or PACM present at the worksite and the precautions to be taken to insure that airborne asbestos is confined to the area.

(A) Owners of the building/vessel or facility;

(B) Employees who will perform such work and employers of employees who work and/or will be working in adjacent areas;

(iii) Upon written or oral request, a copy of the written report required in this section must be made available to the department of labor and industries and the collective bargaining representatives or employee representatives of any employee who may be exposed to any asbestos or asbestos-containing materials. A copy of the written report must be posted conspicuously at the location where employees report to work.

(iv) Within 10 days of the completion of such work, the employer whose employees have performed work subject to this standard, must inform the building/vessel or facility owner and employers of employees who will be working in the area of the current location and quantity of PACM and/or ACM remaining in the former regulated area and final monitoring results, if any.

(d) In addition to the above requirements, all employers who discover ACM and/or PACM on a worksite must convey information concerning the presence, location and quantity of such newly discovered ACM and/or PACM to the owner and to other employers of employees working at the worksite, within 24 hours of the discovery.

(e) No contractor may commence any construction, renovation, remodeling, maintenance, repair, or demolition project without receiving a copy of the written response or statement required by WAC 296-62-07721(2)(b). Any contractor who begins any project without the copy of the written report or statement will be subject to a mandatory fine of not less than two hundred fifty dollars per day. Each day the violation continues will be considered a separate violation.

(3) Criteria to rebut the designation of installed material as PACM.

(a) At any time, an employer and/or building/vessel owner may demonstrate, for purposes of this standard, that PACM does not contain asbestos. Building/vessel owners and/or employers are not required to communicate information about the presence of building material for which such a demonstration according to the requirements of (b) of this subsection has been made. However, in all such cases, the information, data and analysis supporting the determination that PACM does not contain asbestos, must be retained according to WAC 296-62-07727.

(b) An employer or owner may demonstrate that PACM does not contain asbestos by the following:

(i) Having a completed inspection conducted according to the requirements of AHERA (40 C.F.R. Part 763, Subpart E) which demonstrates that the material is not ACM;

(ii) Performing tests of the material containing PACM which demonstrate that no asbestos is present in the material. Such tests must include analysis of bulk samples collected in the manner described in 40 C.F.R. 763.86, Asbestos-containing materials in schools. The tests, evaluation and sample collection must be conducted by an accredited inspector. Analysis of samples must be performed by persons or laboratories with proficiency demonstrated by current successful participation in a nationally recognized testing program such as the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP) of the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) or the Round Robin for bulk samples administered by the American Industrial Hygiene Associate (AIHA), or an equivalent nationally recognized Round Robin testing program.

(4) Warning signs.

(a) Warning signs that demarcate the regulated area must be provided and displayed at each location where a regulated area is required to be established by WAC 296-62-07711. Signs must be posted at such a location that an employee may read the signs and take necessary protective steps before entering the area marked by the signs.

(b) Sign specifications:

(i) The warning signs required by (a) of this subsection must bear the following information:

DANGER

ASBESTOS

MAY CAUSE CANCER

CAUSES DAMAGE TO LUNGS

AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY

(ii) In addition, where the use of respirators and protective clothing is required in the regulated area under this section, the warning signs must include the following:

WEAR RESPIRATORY PROTECTION AND PROTECTIVE CLOTHING IN THIS AREA

(c) The employer must ensure that employees working in and contiguous to regulated areas comprehend the warning signs required to be posted by (a) of this subsection. Means to ensure employee comprehension may include the use of foreign languages, pictographs, and graphics.

(d) At the entrance to mechanical rooms/areas in which employees reasonably can be expected to enter and which contain TSI or surfacing ACM and PACM, the building/vessel and facility owner or owner's agent must post signs which identify the material which is present, its location, and appropriate work practices which, if followed, will ensure that ACM and/or PACM will not be disturbed. The employer must ensure, to the extent feasible, that employees who come in contact with these signs can comprehend them. Means to ensure employee comprehension may include the use of foreign languages, pictographs, graphics, and awareness training.

(5) Warning labels.

(a) Labeling. Labels must be affixed to all raw materials, mixtures, scrap, waste, debris, and other products containing asbestos fibers, or to their containers. When a building owner or employer identifies previously installed ACM and/or PACM, labels or signs must be affixed or posted so that employees will be notified of what materials contain ACM and/or PACM. The employer must attach such labels in areas where they will clearly be noticed by employees who are likely to be exposed, such as at the entrance to mechanical room/areas. Signs required by subsection (1) of this section may be posted in lieu of labels so long as they contain the information required for labeling.

(b) Labels must be printed in large, bold letters on a contrasting background.

(c) Label specifications. In addition to the requirements of subsection (1) of this section, the employer must ensure that labels of bags or containers of protective clothing and equipment, scrap, waste, and debris containing asbestos fibers include the following information:

DANGER

CONTAINS ASBESTOS FIBERS

MAY CAUSE CANCER

CAUSES DAMAGE TO LUNGS

DO NOT BREATHE DUST

AVOID CREATING DUST

(6) The provisions for labels and for safety data sheets required by subsection (1) of this section do not apply where:

(a) Asbestos fibers have been modified by a bonding agent, coating, binder, or other material, provided that the manufacturer can demonstrate that during any reasonably foreseeable use, handling, storage, disposal, processing, or transportation, no airborne concentrations of fibers of asbestos in excess of the excursion limit will be released; or

(b) Asbestos is present in a product in concentrations less than 1.0 percent by weight.

(7) Safety data sheets. Employers who are manufacturers or importers of asbestos, or asbestos products must comply with the requirements regarding development of safety data sheets as specified in WAC 296-901-14014, except as provided by subsection (6) of this section.

(8) When a building/vessel owner/or employer identifies previously installed PACM and/or ACM, labels or signs must be affixed or posted so that employees will be notified of what materials contain PACM and/or ACM. The employer must attach such labels in areas where they will clearly be noticed by employees who are likely to be exposed, such as at the entrance to mechanical rooms/areas. Signs required by subsection (4)(a) of this section may be posted in lieu of labels so long as they contain information required for labeling. The employer must ensure, to the extent feasible, that employees who come in contact with these signs can comprehend them. Means to ensure employee comprehension may include the use of foreign languages, pictographs, graphics, and awareness training.

Wash. Admin. Code § 296-62-07721

Amended by WSR 14-07-086, filed 3/18/14, effective 5/1/2014

Amended by WSR 19-01-094, Filed 12/18/2018, effective 1/18/2019

Statutory Authority: RCW 49.17.010, [49.17].040, and[49.17].050 . 01-11-038, § 296-62-07721, filed 5/9/01, effective 9/1/01. Statutory Authority: RCW 49.17.040, 49.17.050, 49.26.040 and 49.26.130. 99-17-026, § 296-62-07721, filed 8/10/99, effective 11/10/99. Statutory Authority: RCW 49.17.040, [49.17.]050 and [49.17.]060. 97-19-014, § 296-62-07721, filed 9/5/97, effective 11/5/97; 97-01-079, § 296-62-07721, filed 12/17/96, effective 3/1/97. Statutory Authority: Chapter 49.17 RCW. 93-01-005 (Order 92-20), § 296-62-07721, filed 12/2/92, effective 1/15/93; 91-03-044 (Order 90-18), § 296-62-07721, filed 1/10/91, effective 2/12/91; 89-21-018 (Order 89-10), § 296-62-07721, filed 10/10/89, effective 11/24/89; 89-11-035 (Order 89-03), § 296-62-07721, filed 5/15/89, effective 6/30/89; 87-24-051 (Order 87-24), § 296-62-07721, filed 11/30/87. Statutory Authority: RCW 49.17.050(2) and 49.17.040. 87-10-008 (Order 87-06), § 296-62-07721, filed 4/27/87.