7 free questions on Asbestos awareness, from section B. Occupational health. Every question is original and explains why each option is right or wrong.
You are drilling fixings into the ceiling of an office built in 1985. Above the ceiling tiles you find old grey boards that look like insulation.
What should you do?
Choose one answer.
AA. Break off a piece and take it to the office to check
BB. Carry on, as asbestos was banned long before 1985
CC. Stop work and tell your supervisor before going on
DD. Carry on, but open a window to let the dust out
Show the answer and explanation
Answer: C
A. Wrong: Wrong. Breaking it releases fibres into the air. Only a trained person should take a sample.
B. Wrong: Wrong. Asbestos was still used in buildings until 1999. Any building built or refurbished before 2000 may contain it.
C. Right: Right. A building put up before 2000 may contain asbestos. Stop work and ask your employer to check the asbestos survey. Don't carry on until you know it is safe.
D. Wrong: Wrong. Opening a window does not make asbestos safe. You can't see, smell or feel the fibres, and breathing them in can cause cancer decades later.
Explanation
If a building was built or refurbished before 2000 and you find something that might be asbestos, stop work and tell your supervisor. Don't carry on until the asbestos survey has been checked.
During a toolbox talk on asbestos, your supervisor asks the gang what they know about it.
Which two of these are true? (Choose two.)
Choose two answers.
AA. Diseases from asbestos take decades to show and can't be cured
BB. Asbestos is only dangerous if it is blue or brown
CC. Damping it down with water makes it safe for anyone on site to remove
DD. You can't see, smell or feel asbestos fibres in the air
Show the answer and explanation
Answers: A, D
A. Right: Right. Asbestos diseases such as mesothelioma, asbestosis and lung cancer usually take many years to develop. By then it is too late to treat them.
B. Wrong: Wrong. All types of asbestos are dangerous when the fibres are breathed in. You can't tell how dangerous it is from its colour.
C. Wrong: Wrong. Some asbestos work must be done by a licensed contractor. If in doubt, HSE says assume the work is licensed and stop until told otherwise.
D. Right: Right. HSE says you can't see, smell or feel the fibres in the air or on your clothes. That is why you must not rely on your senses to tell if it is safe.
Explanation
Asbestos fibres are invisible, and the diseases they cause take decades to appear and can't be cured. If you think you have found asbestos, stop work and tell your supervisor.
You are about to chase a wall for cables in a 1970s school. Nobody has checked whether there is asbestos where you will be working.
Should you start the job?
Choose one answer.
AA. Yes, because chasing a wall makes less dust than drilling
BB. Yes, because you can stop if you spot something suspicious
CC. No, because the asbestos information must be checked first
DD. No, because only licensed contractors may work in old schools
Show the answer and explanation
Answer: C
A. Wrong: Wrong. Any work that breaks into a material containing asbestos can release fibres. How much dust you can see tells you nothing about the fibres.
B. Wrong: Wrong. Asbestos can be hidden, for example in cavity walls. Your employer must check the asbestos survey before the work starts, not part way through.
C. Right: Right. In a building from before 2000, your employer should check the asbestos register or survey for the area. HSE says not to do any work until that has been done.
D. Wrong: Wrong. Many jobs in older buildings can be done safely once the asbestos information has been checked. A licence is needed for certain asbestos work, not for every job in an old building.
Explanation
Before working on a building from before 2000, find out whether there is asbestos where you will work. If no one has checked, don't start.
An old boiler room has pipes covered in lagging that contains asbestos. The lagging needs to be removed.
Who can remove it?
Choose one answer.
AA. Anyone, as long as no one else is in the building
BB. A contractor with an asbestos licence from HSE
CC. Any plumber, as long as they wear a dust mask
DD. The site's general labourers, if they wet it first
Show the answer and explanation
Answer: B
A. Wrong: Wrong. The fibres can stay in the building and harm people later. It needs a licensed contractor.
B. Right: Right. HSE says work with higher-risk materials, such as lagging and sprayed coatings, can only be done by someone who holds a licence issued by HSE.
C. Wrong: Wrong. Lagging is high-risk asbestos. A dust mask is not enough, and a licence is needed.
D. Wrong: Wrong. Wetting helps reduce dust, but removing lagging needs a licensed contractor.
Explanation
Higher-risk asbestos, such as pipe lagging and sprayed coatings, must only be removed by an HSE-licensed contractor.
Which of these is a common place for asbestos to be found?
Choose one answer.
AA. The plastic window frames fitted last year
BB. The new steel beams delivered today
CC. The lagging on old heating pipes
DD. New plasterboard fitted last month
Show the answer and explanation
Answer: C
A. Wrong: Wrong. New uPVC windows do not contain asbestos.
B. Wrong: Wrong. New materials do not contain asbestos. Old sprayed coatings on steelwork might.
C. Right: Right. HSE lists lagging on plant and pipework as a place asbestos is found, along with insulation boards, sprayed coatings and asbestos cement roofs.
D. Wrong: Wrong. Asbestos has not been used in new building materials in the UK since it was banned.
Explanation
In buildings from before 2000, asbestos may be in pipe lagging, insulation boards, sprayed coatings, cement sheets and other places, some of them hidden.