Asbestos Management Program Assessment for Healthcare Facilities

Asbestos is a highly regulated material, making it a target for an inspection or audit by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Asbestos management presents a regulatory risk for hospitals due to a combination of aging infrastructures and increased building construction and renovation activities to meet the demands of modern healthcare. The rise in renovation and expansion work in hospitals in recent years increases the challenges of managing asbestos and limiting its disruption to operations and renovations. EH&E offers an Asbestos Management Program Assessment specifically tailored to healthcare facilities to ensure that your program complies with occupational and environmental regulations and to limit disruption to operations and renovations. The assessment includes the following four phases.

Phase 1: Documentation and Program Review
Our experts review selected asbestos program documentation such as:

• Written asbestos management policy and/or Asbestos Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Manual
• Training materials and records, including licensures
• Asbestos material inventory
• Periodic surveillance and re-inspection results
• OSHA required record-keeping and documentation, such as exposure assessments, respiratory fit testing, and medical surveillance

Phase 2: Interview with Facility and EH&S Management Staff
Interview key facility management and/or environmental health and safety staff to obtain background information such as:

• Established roles and responsibilities for the asbestos management program
• Types of asbestos operations that occur in your facility
• Renovation/construction abatement procedures
• Emergency procedures for asbestos releases

Phase 3: Compliance Assessment and Program Gap Analysis
Based upon the results of Phase 1 and 2, EH&E will identify gaps in compliance and highlight areas for improvement, identifying specific OSHA and/or EPA compliance concerns for asbestos management. EH&E will also highlight recommendations relative to best practices and methods to efficiently manage risks utilizing existing Joint Commission (JC) driven preconstruction risk assessment (PRCA) processes. 

Phase 4: Report Recommendations
EH&E will provide a final report including recommendations to improve the asbestos management program. This information will be summarized in a prioritized action list based on compliance implications.