{"title":"302 Ensuring effective control of exposure during asbestos removal - The Netherlands","authors":"Suzanne Spaan, Jeroen Terwoert","doi":"10.1093/annweh/wxae035.116","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Asbestos is a recognized carcinogen still causing many thousands of deaths each year. When removing asbestos from buildings or objects, effective control of exposure, preferably at the source, is crucial. In The Netherlands, companies can use a designated, easy-to-use tool (‘SMART-ns’) to assess exposure for a certain work procedure based on the AREAT-model, in which control measures can be taken into account. The tool also provides established safe working procedures, as well as control guidance sheets on specific issues, such as wetting and LEV. Furthermore, exposure can also be assessed by means of available measurements. Alternatively, companies can perform measurements to prove the safety of specific work procedures. Guidance for companies has been developed, based partially on the EN-689, in order to secure the quality of the exposure studies. After evaluation and approval by a national committee of experts (‘Validation & Innovation Point Asbestos’/ VIP-Asbest), the work procedure is taken up in SMART-ns, and can be used without further risk assessment. Challenges in the implementation and in enforcement in practice will be discussed.","PeriodicalId":8362,"journal":{"name":"Annals Of Work Exposures and Health","volume":"42 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8000,"publicationDate":"2024-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Annals Of Work Exposures and Health","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1093/annweh/wxae035.116","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Asbestos is a recognized carcinogen still causing many thousands of deaths each year. When removing asbestos from buildings or objects, effective control of exposure, preferably at the source, is crucial. In The Netherlands, companies can use a designated, easy-to-use tool (‘SMART-ns’) to assess exposure for a certain work procedure based on the AREAT-model, in which control measures can be taken into account. The tool also provides established safe working procedures, as well as control guidance sheets on specific issues, such as wetting and LEV. Furthermore, exposure can also be assessed by means of available measurements. Alternatively, companies can perform measurements to prove the safety of specific work procedures. Guidance for companies has been developed, based partially on the EN-689, in order to secure the quality of the exposure studies. After evaluation and approval by a national committee of experts (‘Validation & Innovation Point Asbestos’/ VIP-Asbest), the work procedure is taken up in SMART-ns, and can be used without further risk assessment. Challenges in the implementation and in enforcement in practice will be discussed.
期刊介绍:
About the Journal
Annals of Work Exposures and Health is dedicated to presenting advances in exposure science supporting the recognition, quantification, and control of exposures at work, and epidemiological studies on their effects on human health and well-being. A key question we apply to submission is, "Is this paper going to help readers better understand, quantify, and control conditions at work that adversely or positively affect health and well-being?"
We are interested in high quality scientific research addressing:
the quantification of work exposures, including chemical, biological, physical, biomechanical, and psychosocial, and the elements of work organization giving rise to such exposures;
the relationship between these exposures and the acute and chronic health consequences for those exposed and their families and communities;
populations at special risk of work-related exposures including women, under-represented minorities, immigrants, and other vulnerable groups such as temporary, contingent and informal sector workers;
the effectiveness of interventions addressing exposure and risk including production technologies, work process engineering, and personal protective systems;
policies and management approaches to reduce risk and improve health and well-being among workers, their families or communities;
methodologies and mechanisms that underlie the quantification and/or control of exposure and risk.
There is heavy pressure on space in the journal, and the above interests mean that we do not usually publish papers that simply report local conditions without generalizable results. We are also unlikely to publish reports on human health and well-being without information on the work exposure characteristics giving rise to the effects. We particularly welcome contributions from scientists based in, or addressing conditions in, developing economies that fall within the above scope.