Negative Exposure Assessments apply to OSHA Class III work that disturbs small amounts of asbestos-containing materials.
If the conditions for an NEA are met, the employer may dispense with respirators, protective clothing, decontamination and medical examinations while remaining in compliance with OSHA regulations. (An employer who chooses to do so can still use these protective measures.)
Compliance with both OSHA Permissible Exposure Limits (0.1 f/cc 8-hr Time-Weighted Average and 1.0 f/cc 30-minute Short-Term Exposure Limit) is demonstrated by personal air sampling. Recent changes in the OSHA asbestos regulations refer to Negative Exposure Assessments for respirator selection.
If the asbestos-containing materials and work practices “closely resemble” those of the NEA, if the workers have been trained on the procedures, and if the NEA has been done within the past year, the competent person can certify that an NEA applies.
The program describes and illustrates the duties of the competent person as specified in the OSHA regulations. The competent person (usually a supervisor) is responsible for health and safety at the job site. The prograam instructions include a regulatory analysis of OSHA requirements under which the competent person can determine the duration (at least four hours) of training for Class III work.
The CD contains a complete Powerpoint slide presentation and an illustrated Instructor's Guide with a narrative in Adobe PDF format.* The VHS version includes a professionally-recorded narrative.
The Software Package (on CD only) explains in detail how to conduct the testing required to support a Negative Exposure Assessment, includes forms with which to record the data and an Excel* spreadsheet to perform the calculations. It also includes the forms for the competent person to certify that an NEA applies to a specific job. The software does not include any executable programs and does not change any files on your computer.
* MS Powerpoint, Word, Excel and Adobe Reader are not included on the CD