Hawaii Administrative Rules › Title 11 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH › Subtitle 1 - GENERAL DEPARTMENTAL PROVISIONS › Chapter 504 - ASBESTOS ABATEMENT CERTIFICATION PROGRAM › Subchapter 4 - ACCREDITATION OF TRAINING COURSES › Section 11-504-52 - Initial course contents and requirements

Current through June, 2024
(a) The
				  initial training course for abatement workers shall consist of a four-day
				  course that shall include lectures, demonstrations, fourteen hours of hands-on
				  training, individual respirator fit testing, course review, and one or more
				  written examinations. The fourteen hours of hands-on training shall permit
				  students to have actual experience performing tasks associated with asbestos
				  abatement. The instructor-to-student ratio shall be no less than 1 to 25 during
				  the hands-on portion of the course. The department recommends the use of
				  audiovisual materials to complement lectures where appropriate. The training
				  course shall adequately address the following topics:
(1) Physical characteristics of asbestos
				  including the identification of asbestos and its aerodynamic characteristics,
				  typical uses, physical appearance, and a summary of abatement control
				  options;
(2) Potential health
				  effects related to asbestos exposure including the nature of asbestos-related
				  diseases, routes of exposure, dose-response relationships and the lack of a
				  safe exposure level, the synergistic effect between cigarette smoking and
				  asbestos exposure, the latency period for asbestos-related diseases, and a
				  discussion of the relationship of asbestos exposure to asbestosis, lung cancer,
				  mesothelioma, and cancers of other organs;
(3) Employee personal protective equipment
				  including the classes and characteristics of respirator types; limitations of
				  respirators and their proper selection, inspection, donning, use, maintenance,
				  and storage procedures; methods for field testing of the facepiece-to-face seal
				  (positive and negative pressure fit checks); qualitative and quantitative fit
				  testing procedures; variability between field and laboratory protection factors
				  that alter the fit of the respirator (e.g., facial hair); components of a
				  proper respiratory protection program; selection and use of personal protective
				  clothing; use, storage, and handling of non-disposable clothing; and
				  regulations covering personal protective equipment;
(4) State-of-the-art work practices including
				  proper work practices for abatement activities with descriptions of proper
				  construction, maintenance of barriers and decontamination enclosure systems;
				  positioning of warning signs; electrical and ventilation system lockout; proper
				  working techniques for minimizing fiber release; use of wet methods; use of
				  negative pressure exhaust ventilation equipment; use of high efficiency
				  particulate air (HEPA) vacuums; proper clean up and disposal procedures; work
				  practices for removal, encapsulation, enclosure, and repair of ACM; emergency
				  procedures for sudden releases; potential exposure situations; transport and
				  disposal procedures; and recommended and prohibited work practices;
(5) Personal hygiene including entry and exit
				  procedures for the work area; use of showers; avoidance of eating, drinking,
				  smoking, and chewing in the work area; and potential exposure, such as family
				  exposure;
(6) Additional safety
				  hazards that may be encountered during the abatement activities and how to deal
				  with them, including electrical hazards, heat stress, air contaminants other
				  than asbestos, fire and explosion hazards, scaffold and ladder hazards, slips,
				  trips and falls, and confined spaces;
(7) Medical monitoring including OSHA and EPA
				  Worker Protection Rule requirements for physical examinations, including
				  pulmonary function tests, chest x-rays, medical history for each employee, and
				  any other tests specified by the physician;
(8) Air monitoring including procedures to
				  determine airborne concentrations of asbestos fibers, focusing on how personal
				  air sampling is performed and the reasons for it;
(9) Relevant federal, state and local
				  regulatory requirements, procedures, and standards with particular attention
				  directed at relevant EPA, OSHA, and state rules concerning abatement
				  workers;
(10) Establishment of
				  respiratory protection programs; and
(11) A review of key aspects of the training
				  course.