Asbestos on Ships
Asbestos on Ships
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Asbestos on ships How to manage it safelyAsbestos on ships – how to manage it safely43Engine room stores – spare partsEngine room stores are some of the commonest areas for new asbestos to get on board ships. The problem is underlined by the IMO Circular, MSC.1/circ.1426. This recognises that it is almost impossible to guarantee that engine room stores do not contain asbestos, and therefore states that asbestos is allowed in engine room stores but that items containing it cannot actually be installed on board the ship.A typical gland packing cupboard on a ship.Without testing, it would be impossible to know whether all the materials in this cupboard were free of asbestos. And with such a large selection its presence is almost inevitable. It would also be impossible for anyone to know where these materials have been used through the life of the ship.Rolls of asbestos containing cardboard gasket material. Gaskets are probably one of the biggest problems on a modern ship. Gasket material is impossible to trace over a whole ship’s lifecycle and therefore on older ships all gaskets should be presumed to contain asbestos. The good news is that, unless disturbed, gaskets present a very low risk. The exposed edge of a gasket may be friable but it is a very small area which is often protected by the flange or is otherwise unlikely to be disturbed. We recommend that all gaskets are managed as if they contain asbestos and not removed unless required by legislation.It is common to find ships which state they have no asbestos onboard and yet have cupboards which contain items clearly marked “asbestos”. On one ship, an LR surveyor was given a long lecture by the Chief Engineer on the dangers of asbestos, only to then find a freshly cut gasket, clearly labelled asbestos, sitting on the cutting bench in the machinery area.Engine roomThe engine room store examples show that you are likely to find asbestos in the engine room itself. Any asbestos there is prone to damage due to the operations taking place and the heat, humidity and vibration.Sprayed blue asbestos on a steel engine room bulkhead. This is blue asbestos sprayed onto an engine room bulkhead. As with the crocidolite penetration on page 40, provided it is in good condition and managed properly it may be considered safe. However, if it has become exposed and friable, effective management can be very difficult. In these cases, properly stabilising the surface is highly recommended, Physical encapsulation is preferable to removal in cases where removal will cause unacceptable disturbance. Asbestos on ships – how to manage it safely44Asbestos laggingAsbestos on ships – how to manage it safely45Asbestos laggingLloyd’s Register EMEAT +44 (0)20 7709 9166F+44 (0)20 7423 2057E emea@lr.org71 Fenchurch StreetLondon EC3M 4BSUKLloyd’s Register AsiaT+852 2287 9333F +852 2526 2921E asia@lr.orgSuite 3501China Merchants TowerShun Tak Centre 168–200 Connaught Road CentralHong KongSAR of PRCLloyd’s Register Americas, Inc.T +1 (1)281 675 3100F+1 (1)281 675 3139E americas@lr.org1401 Enclave ParkwaySuite 200HoustonTexas 77077USAwww.lr.orgMarch 2013Lloyd’s Register is a trading name of Lloyd’s Register Group Limited and its subsidiaries. For further details please see www.lr.org/entities Home
