Studies on Occupational Asbestos in Lithuania: Achievements and Problems

Abstract

One of the most dangerous chemical factors throughout industry in the developed countries is asbestos. An adequate legislative basis has been created in Lithuania and there are in force legislation documents that set forth the requirements for work with asbestos as well as the measurements that need to be made in the work environment. In Lithuania the technique used for determination of the concentration of asbestos fibres (as f·cm 3) is by the method of phase-contrast optical microscopy. Mostly, measurements of asbestos exposures in the work environment have been made in the chemical industry, industry concerned with the production of machinery, the construction industry, transport and the energy sector. The average concentration of asbestos fibres in workplace atmospheres was found to be highest in the chemical industry, namely, 0.07f·cm 3. It is now necessary to harmonise the legislative base according to the requirements of the EU Directive 2003/18/EC and put them in practice.

Comparative characterization of particle emissions from asbestos and non-asbestos cement roof slates

“…Asbestos fibre concentrations during demolition by removal of whole sheets averaged from 0.3 to 0.6 f ml À1 for roofs and less than 0.1 f ml À1 for walls [13]. Average values for the concentration of asbestos in the workplace atmosphere were 0.1 f ml À1 [14]. Surface corrosion was found to be an important factor in fibre emission [15].…”