Human health risks associated with asbestos abatement

Area of Science:

• Environmental Health
• Occupational Safety
• Risk Assessment

Background:

• Asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) pose health risks, necessitating abatement procedures.
• Regulatory frameworks like EPA's Superfund program guide risk assessment for environmental contaminants.
• Occupational exposure limits (OELs) exist for asbestos, but risk levels vary by activity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To calculate upperbound lifetime excess cancer risks for asbestos abatement activities.
• To compare these risks against established benchmarks, including EPA Superfund criteria and OELs.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of asbestos abatement in reducing risks to building occupants and the public.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a risk assessment framework developed for EPA's Superfund program.
• Calculated upperbound lifetime excess cancer risks for various asbestos abatement scenarios.
• Compared calculated risks to the commonly accepted cancer risk level (1 x 10^-6) and OELs (1 x 10^-3).

Main Results:

• Asbestos removals were associated with worker cancer risks often exceeding 1 x 10^-6.
• Risks to school populations from removals were minimal and did not significantly reduce existing exposure.
• Careless building maintenance posed the highest risk to workers, followed by removals and encapsulation.

Conclusions:

• Under EPA Superfund risk criteria, the 'no-action' alternative might be favored over removal in many cases.
• Asbestos abatement risks to workers and nearby individuals increase during the process.
• Effective asbestos risk management requires considering fiber characteristics, exposure scenarios, and population size.