Asbestos in Healthcare Facilities: What Are the Risks?
One of the priorities of every healthcare facility is to ensure a safe environment for the staff, patients, and visitors. However, asbestos materials pose a unique challenge in constructions built before asbestos regulations.
If a hospital is located in a building from between the 1920s and 1980, it most likely contains asbestos, making assessment and abatement necessary during projects. The toxic mineral also complicates renovations or demolitions. Asbestos abatement is problematic enough for homeowners, but it's even more difficult for hospitals, which must protect everyone entering the facility. Asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) can pose such problems that some facilities may forgo renovations altogether.
Asbestos has been heavily used as a construction material in the past decades, so the industry has taken full advantage of its strength and heat resistance. Today, we are aware that longtime exposure to airborne asbestos particles can lead to debilitating respiratory diseases such as:
- lung cancer
- asbestosis
- mesothelioma
Back in the heyday of asbestos use, people working with the mineral and families living in homes filled with products made with it weren't aware of the health risks. However, the presence of ACMs doesn't necessarily mean a building is dangerous. If asbestos is in good condition, appropriately maintained, and not disturbed, the risk of exposure through inhalation is low.
Concerns arise with poorly maintained building materials and improper planning during renovation or demolition. Combined with unawareness, these may pose a significant health risk to those in hospitals, especially during renovations or major construction events.
Asbestos-Contaminated vs. Asbestos-Containing Materials
The EPA defines materials as ACMs if they are composed of more than 1% asbestos by weight. If these materials are in good condition and remain undisturbed, they generally do not pose an immediate exposure risk. Given that a renovation or demolition can potentially release microscopic asbestos particles into the air, ACMs are hazardous materials regulated by OSHA. Asbestos fibers are most commonly found in:
- old insulation
- flooring
- roofing
- wallboard
- joint compound
- popcorn ceiling
Besides ACMs, another potential risk in older buildings, especially in hospitals, is asbestos dust sitting atop non-asbestos materials. Even if some building materials didn't initially contain asbestos, asbestos dust contaminated them with asbestos fibers. It usually happens when ACMs are damaged or disturbed, and asbestos fibers become airborne and settle on surrounding surfaces. An excellent example of this case is when renovation, demolition, or degradation over time disturbs ACMs above the ceiling. The asbestos fibers can then settle on a suspended ceiling grid system, creating an inhalation hazard when an affected ceiling tile is removed.
Having ACMs in a Medical Environment Requires Specialist Expertise
Maintenance works in older hospitals can expose people to asbestos from various areas and sources. One is the furnace room, where boilers may remain insulated with asbestos. Repairing old piping or minor renovations on the piping system can pose health risks, especially without proper precautions. However, removing insulation during renovations is the most common source of asbestos exposure in healthcare facilities, along with disturbing ACMs such as:
- pipe insulation
- boiler insulation
- construction materials
- HVAC duct insulation
- cooling towers
- electrical wiring insulation
In a medical setting, assessing, managing, and abating all ACMs can be tricky, especially while a hospital is occupied. More often than not, there are hidden hazardous materials behind walls, under floors, in plenum spaces, and other hard-to-reach areas. If a project will disturb ACMs, a licensed professional should identify, assess, and abate them before hospital renovations. Working with specialists will minimize or eliminate inhalation exposures for the staff working in the surrounding spaces. Moreover, failure to properly deal with ACMs may lead to fines or penalties from governmental authorities.