Circular Letter MSC/Circ.1045
GUIDELINES FOR MAINTENANCE AND
MONITORING OF ON-BOARD MATERIALS CONTAINING ASBESTOS
(adopted
on 21 May 2002)
1.
The Maritime Safety Committee, at its seventy-fifth session (15 to 24 May
2002), approved Guidelines for maintenance and monitoring of on-board materials
containing asbestos, as set out in they Annex.
2.
The guidelines are intended to provide guidance to Administrations, companies,
seafarers and others closely involved with the operation of ships on how to
deal with asbestos on board ships in service, with the principal objective of
minimising exposure to asbestos fibres of passengers, crew, riding crews,
maintenance personnel in port, etc., while the ship is in service.
3.
Member Governments are invited to use the annexed Guidelines when dealing with
asbestos on board ships in service. Member Governments are also invited to
bring the Guidelines to the attention of all parties concerned, in particular
companies, seafarers, ship operators and ship repairers.
Annex.
GUIDELINES FOR MAINTENANCE AND MONITORING OF ON-BOARD MATERIALS CONTAINING
ASBESTOS
1.1
These guidelines aim at providing guidance to Administrations, Companies as
defined in SOLAS regulation IX/1, seafarers and others closely involved with
the operation of ships on how to deal with asbestos on board ships in service.
1.2
They do not intend to address other aspects of asbestos that are already
covered by the work of other international organizations (contact details of
International Labour Organization (ILO) and World Health Organization (WHO) are
indicated in Annex 2).
2.1
These guidelines do not apply to ships which have asbestos aboard as allowed by
SOLAS regulations II-1/3-5.2.1, 3-5.2.2 and 3-5.2.3.
2.2
The purpose of the guidelines is to set up a maintenance and monitoring
programme with the principal objective of minimising exposure to asbestos
fibres of anyone on board passengers, crew, riding crews, maintenance
personnel in port) while the ship is "in service" (i.e., as opposed
to when the ship is in a repair or dry-dock status with minimal crew members or
only shore side personnel on board).
2.3
The present guidelines address the following three situations:
.1 general exposure of
crew/passengers to asbestos which may be present on the ship;
.2 more direct exposure of
crew members working in areas where there is reasonable likelihood that
asbestos is -or asbestos fibres are - present; and
.3 specific exposure of
crewmembers and other workers when they are maintaining or repairing equipment
or systems known to contain asbestos-based insulated materials.
2.4
Planned repairs or removal of such materials should be carried out by
specialist personnel and not normally by crew. In cases where the crew is
involved in urgent repair work at sea, special measures should be observed as
listed in Annex 1. Procedures should be developed for the safe retention of
any waste asbestos on board the ship before it can be transferred and disposed
of ashore.
2.5
The provisions of these guidelines do not apply to any warship, naval
auxiliary, or other ships owned or operated by a State and used, for the time
being, only on government non-commercial service. However, each State should
ensure, by the adoption of appropriate measures not impairing operations or
operational capabilities of such ships owned or operated by it, that such ships
act in a manner consistent, so far as is reasonable and practicable, with
these guidelines.
The
Company should make provisions, including the nomination of a responsible
person to control the maintenance and monitoring program for asbestos, in their
Safety Management System (developed for compliance with the ISM Code) for the
maintenance and monitoring of on board materials containing asbestos in line
with the provisions of the present guidelines.
4. Inventory and condition assessment of
asbestos-containing materials
4.1
The Company should have an initial ship inspection performed by a qualified
professional to investigate the possible presence of asbestos-containing
materials on board the ship and, if any are identified, to locate them and
assess their condition. The inspection should serve as the basis for
establishing an effective maintenance and monitoring programme for dealing with
the asbestos in the ship.
4.2
In the case of flake coatings, lagging or false ceilings containing asbestos,
their condition should be assessed by completing the evaluation checklist
shown in appendix 1, which takes into account, in particular, the accessibility
of the materials and products, their degree of degradation, their exposure to
shocks and vibration and the presence of air currents in the area. Air sampling
of dust measurement may be used as one tool to help provide a more complete
assessment of the ambient conditions on board. The evaluation form contained in
appendix 2 should be used to make the diagnosis on the state of conservation of
these materials.
5. Maintenance and monitoring programme
5.1
If asbestos-containing material is located, a maintenance and monitoring
programme should be developed for that ship, based on the inspection and
assessment data. The programme should be implemented and managed
conscientiously and include the elements contained in Annex 1.
5.2
In the case of flake coatings, lagging or false ceilings containing asbestos,
depending on the diagnosis of paragraph 4.2, the Company should establish
appropriate thresholds and time-scales for undertaking any necessary repairs or
abatement, taking into account any national regulations.
6. Abatement actions, planned repair and
removal of asbestos-containing materials
6.1
Abatement actions should be selected and implemented when necessary. In some
instances, due to the condition of asbestos-containing materials or upcoming
ship repairs or modifications, a Company may decide to take other abatement
actions to deal with asbestos-containing materials in the ship. These response
actions could include: encapsulation (covering the asbestos-containing
materials with a sealant to prevent fibre release), enclosure (placing an
air-tight barrier around the asbestos-containing materials), encasement
(covering the asbestos-containing materials with a hard-setting sealing
material), or repair or removal of the asbestos-containing materials. Qualified,
trained and experienced contractors should be used for any of these actions.
The Company should be aware of any national and local regulations that pertain
to abatement actions to deal with asbestos-containing materials.
6.2
In the event of works requiring the removal of asbestos-containing materials,
they should be unloaded from the ship. On completion of the work, and before
any restoration of the spaces, the Company should carry out dust measurement after
dismantling the enclosing mechanism. If the work does not result in the total
removal of the materials and products listed in these guidelines, the Company
should carry out regular surveillance of the asbestos-containing materials at
intervals identified by the Company as being appropriate, but not exceeding 3
years.
Annex 1.
MAINTENANCE AND MONITORING PROGRAMME
A
successful maintenance and monitoring programme should include the following
elements.
A
programme through which all those affected will be informed where
asbestos-containing material is located, and how and why to avoid disturbing
the asbestos-containing material.
Regular
surveillance of asbestos-containing material to note, assess, and document any
changes in the condition of the asbestos-containing material.
The
maintenance and monitoring programme should include a system to control all
work that could disturb asbestos-containing material.
A
maintenance and monitoring programme should focus on a special set of work
practices. The nature and extent of any special work practices should be
tailored to the likelihood that the asbestos-containing material will be
disturbed and that fibres will be released. In general, four broad categories
of work practices are recognised:
.1 protection programmes to
ensure crew members are adequately protected from asbestos exposure during normal
maintenance;
.2 basic operations and
maintenance procedures to minimise and/or contain asbestos fibres;
.3 special operations and
maintenance cleaning techniques to clean up asbestos fibres on a routine basis;
and
.4 procedures for use during
incidents of asbestos fibre release episodes to minimise the spread throughout
the ship.
In
the latter case, the procedures to be followed will vary according to the site
of the major release episode, the amount of asbestos-containing material
affected, the extent of fibre release from the asbestos-containing material,
the relationship of the asbestos-containing material to the air handling
systems, and whether the release site is accessible to passengers and crew.
All
ship asbestos management documents should be stored in permanent files. In
addition, for crew members engaged in asbestos-related work there may be
national regulations that require employers to retain medical records, health
records, and personal air sampling records for each crew member, and provision
should be made to comply with such regulations.
Training
of maintenance personnel is one of the keys to a successful maintenance and
monitoring programme. Inadequate training of personnel may result in asbestos
operations and maintenance tasks not being performed properly, possibly leading
to higher than necessary levels of asbestos fibres in the air and an increased
risk being faced by crew members and passengers. The level of training may
vary from:
.1 awareness training for
personnel involved in activities where asbestos-containing materials may be
accidentally disturbed;
.2 special operations and
maintenance training for personnel involved in general maintenance and
incidental repair tasks involving asbestos-containing material; and
.3 abatement worker training
for workers who may conduct asbestos abatement. This level of work should not
normally be expected of ship's crew members.
Appendix 1.
EVALUATION CHECKLIST WHERE ASBESTOS IS PRESENT IN FLAKE COATINGS, LAGGING OR
FALSE-CEILINGS
(to
be completed for each compartment)
|
Name of ship |
|
|
Date of check |
|
|
Compartment |
|
|
Stated
destination of compartment |
|
|
Depending
on diagnosis (see Appendix 2) |
|
|
1 |
Periodic check
of state of conservation of materials |
|
2 |
Monitoring of
dust levels |
|
3 |
Works |
|
Characteristics
of protection |
||
|
Watertight |
[] |
1 |
|
Non-watertight |
[] |
As indicated in
Appendix 2 |
TABLE OF
CRITERIA USED IN THE DIAGNOSTIC CHECKLIST:
|
FLAKE
COATINGS |
LAGGING |
FALSE-CEILINGS |
|
Condition
of surface and degradation |
State of
degradation |
Condition
of surface and degradation |
|
Material in poor condition or material unstuck Material coated or uncoated with local degradation Material uncoated nonimpregnated in good
condition Core impregnation in good condition or
surface coating in good condition |
Lagging in poor condition Lagging with local degradation Lagging in good condition |
Product in poor condition Product with local degradation Product in good condition |
|
Reported
protection of the material Physical
protection non-watertight No physical
protection |
|
|
|
Exposure
of product to air currents (including,
depending on the situation plenum, false ceiling, etc.) |
||
|
Low Average High |
||
|
Exposure
of product to shocks and vibrations Low Average High |
||
Appendix 2.
EALUATION OF THE STATE OF CONSERVATION OF FLAKE COATINGS, LAGGING OR FALSE
CEILINGS
