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Asbestos Training in Alaska

What is Asbestos Training?

Asbestos training in Alaska is all about equipping workers with the required skills to handle and manage asbestos fibers or equipment made with asbestos.

Asbestos training in Alaska is a law requirement. All employers whose employees are exposed to asbestos as they work are required by Alaskan law to avail some form of certified asbestos training.

Asbestos training in Alaska requires the following bare minimums:

Employers are also responsible for reviewing employees’ asbestos training certifications apart from ensuring they comply with training requirements and guidelines. Failure to comply will earn employers penalties of up to $1000.

Who Is Asbestos Training For?

Asbestos training should be considered by all employers whose workers handle building insulation and general maintenance. Any waste disposal company should have some form of asbestos training for their workers. Others include any workers who work on ferries, ship repair, and those in national parks.

What Can You Expect in Asbestos Training?

With all this in mind, what should you expect during asbestos training in Alaska? There are many topics covered in the courses for asbestos training. But there are a few basic concepts covered in three different levels of training. Here is a list of some of the types of training:

Awareness Training

This is the first level of basic asbestos training. It is for any employee who is managing singular maintenance programs. This training involves:

This training should take around 2 hours. It is short and basic because the workers are not expected to be exposed to significant amounts of asbestos.

O&M Training

O&M training means ‘Operations and Management Training. This training is for workers who will be handling debris containing significant amounts of asbestos and who will be doing frequent maintenance with equipment that has high levels of asbestos.

These tasks include maintenance of damaged thermal system insulation and any activity that involves handling asbestos-containing debris. O&M training involves more in-depth discussions of the topics in asbestos awareness training, and in addition to that it covers:

This training takes longer than awareness training, spanning 14 hours.

Abatement Training

Abatement training is for workers who will be involved in direct and deliberate contact with asbestos. These are workers who are called upon to handle emergencies and fix the damage, which leaves asbestos poisoning an immediate risk to them. Usually, workers who complete this certification will be offered professional accreditation.

This training involves advanced content from the topics covered in the previous types of training. Abatement training in Alaska lasts for 40 hours.

History of Asbestos

Asbestos has been around for a long time, with the first record being nearly 750,000 years ago in the Stone Age. These were asbestos fibers lodged in debris. Asbestos fibers were then believed to have been used in 4000 B.C as candle wicks.

In 1866, asbestos was widely used for heat insulation and by the mid-1870s, asbestos insulation materials were the main product in a booming industry.

It was only in 1899 that English physician Dr. Monatgue Murray started to suspect that asbestos was harmful. By 1906 his suspicions were confirmed with the first-ever confirmed and documented death from asbestos exposure.

By the 1980s, asbestos had been phased out in most parts of the world and mostly replaced by cellulose fiber. However, asbestos is still used in small quantities today, including in Alaska. So, to make sure that no lives are lost, in any places where asbestos is used, workers are trained on proper handling and safety.

Getting Into the Details of Asbestos Training

Are you in a sector that would need to have asbestos training in Alaska for its workers? Contact us today for training and any consultation you would like.

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