How to manage asbestos

The risk of contracting an asbestos-related disease depends on the asbestos type, concentration of fibres in the dust, duration of exposure, susceptibility of the individual and time since the first exposure.

Most countries require that people are not exposed to any airborne asbestos fibres, as there is no safe level of exposure. However, countries have different views on what limits to set for occupational exposure values for both eight-hour and short-term (15 minutes) exposure periods.

The asbestos limit values table shows action should be taken to prevent or control asbestos exposure if a limit is reached. In Australia, for example, this is when 0.1 fibres are detected per CM3 of air averaged over a specified period (eight hours). It's important to state that any potential asbestos exposure should, at first, be prevented.

In buildings, in the United Kingdom for example, there must be an asbestos management plan in place if the building that workers are in or going to be carrying out work on is older than the year 2000.