This manual was designed to assist chrysotile asbestos product manufacturers in implementing and/or fine-tuning in-house preventive and control programs to ensure the safe use of chrysotile asbestos throughout the product life cycle.
This manual is intended to be used in conjunction with a two-day training program aimed at senior management and safety professionals, to apprise them of the hazards of chrysotile asbestos, raise awareness of the need for corporate commitments and responsibility, and to educate them on the appropriate preventive and control measures, administrative procedures and communication programs necessary to provide a safe working environment. The workshop, in most cases, will be followed by intensive training courses in industrial ventilation for engineers; and air sampling and fibre counting techniques for industrial hygienists. Case studies and plant visits will also be organized in the context of the overall training effort in order to provide "hands-on" training and to develop practical solutions to various problems found in typical work site situations.
A number of reference materials were used in preparing the manual, including published information of the International Labour Office, the Asbestos Institute, the Asbestos International Association, the Quebec Asbestos Mining Association, Instituto Mexicano de Fibro Industrias, A.C. (IMFI) and the Asbestos Information Association/North America (AIA/NA). Various documents of Eternit Belgium and reports prepared by Dr. Gordon Bragg, Dr. Richard Kuntze and Mr. Richard Carothers have also been consulted.
Special thanks must also be given to the following individuals, all of whom made valuable contributions in the development and drafting of this document:
Mr. Luis Cejudo-Alva, IMFI
Mr. André Bernard, JM Asbestos Inc.
Mr. Elphège Thibodeau, JM Asbestos Inc.
Mr. Camille Tremblay, JM Asbestos Inc.
Mr. Mike Williams, JM Asbestos Inc.
Mr. Richard Jauron, LAB Chrysotile, Inc.
Mr. Luc Michel, LAB Chrysotile, Inc.
Mr. Richard Vaillancourt, LAB Chrysotile, Inc.
Mr. Scott Houston, The Asbestos Institute
Dr. Jacques LeBel, The Asbestos Institute