term or sporadic fibre release. If an activity lasting 5 minutes releases asbestos, it is highly likely that not enough fibres have become airborne to impact the average concentration of the required 4 – 6-hour sampling period.
The changing landscape of asbestos disease is a worrying one, since 1991, Landrigan and others have posited the idea of three waves of asbestos disease. The first wave was seen in countries with asbestos mining operations. The second resulted from the construction and use of asbestos-containing products mainly in the construction industry. The third wave, that we are facing today they suggest, is from exposure to asbestos in the environment often in the workplace.
When we look at the risk posed to employees within the FM world or simply those who work or inhabit in pre-1999 buildings - it is not the long-term exposure experienced in the first two waves that is leading to disease, it is now sporadic exposure over a prolonged period. The Alert PRO enables the asbestos duty-holder and others with responsibility the ability to undertake activity-specific risk assessments to assess what activities within a building, no matter how short the task is, are disturbing and releasing asbestos fibres.
Used in conjunction with existing technologies users can ensure they are adhering to regulatory requirements but with the ALERT PRO they can also better understand the why, the when, the who and the what that may have led to asbestos being in the air. Access to this brand-new data set enables those in FM to identify and remove high-risk activities, or in the scenario that the activity cannot be stopped, then identifying and prioritising where in-situ asbestos must be removed as it cannot be safely managed.
The below graph is taken from the Alert CONNECT portal and illustrates the level of asbestos and general fibre and
particle information available to ALERT users in real-time. Each peak represents a task that has disturbed fibres. Users can use the data to ascertain the why, the when, the who and the what.
The CONNECT portal has not only been designed to provide access to data it also makes the management of asbestos risk easier, more efficient and data driven.
In FM permit to work schemes are common. Unfortunately, so too is the occurrence that contractors will enter an area with known risk and the asbestos data provided is not up to date. With an ALERT PRO and the ALERT CONNECT portal users can schedule and remotely run tests from any internet enabled device, provide real- time data on potential risk without having to enter the area and potentially being exposed to asbestos. The portal also offers real-time remote notifications via SMS, Email and or webhooks, this means the people that need to know about the asbestos risk can be made aware immediately, without delay.
www.alert-technology.com
www.tomorrowsfm.com
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