Hazardous Materials Surveys and Contaminated Land Assessment Sydney

Synthetic mineral fibres (SMF) is a term used to describe a number of different fibrous materials made from silica, alumina, rock and glass. These materials have become an important replacement for asbestos within commercial buildings in a variety of products where thermal insulation, or electrical or fire protection is required. SMF is used commercially in construction and residential dwellings as insulation, reinforcement for cement, plaster and plaster materials.

Short-term exposure to SMF can produce skin, eye and upper respiratory tract irritation.

Man made mineral fibres are referred to as MMMF and are also classed as synthetic mineral fibres.

The majority of older SMFs (pre 2000), such as glass wool, rock wool and slag wools, are not currently classified as carcinogens to humans, however refractory ceramic fibre (RCF) products are the only SMF currently classified as being “possibly carcinogenic to humans”. As such RCF products maintain an increased risk profile.

Newer “low bio-persistence” SMFs that comply with Note Q from the European Commission Directive 97/69/EC Official Journal (AIOH, 2016), mainly present from the late 1990’s onwards, are not classified as carcinogens and are not considered hazardous materials by the Safework Australia HCIS or the GHS. The only documented symptoms from exposure to these bio-persistent SMF products remains the irritation to the upper respiratory tract, skin and eyes, common with exposure to all SMF materials.

Bio-persistence equates to the capacity of fibres to persist and conserve their chemical and physical features over time in the lung (AIOH, 2016).

PCB is the common name for polychlorinated biphenyls. PCBs range in appearance from colourless, oily liquids to more viscous and increasingly darker liquids, to yellow then black resins, depending on chlorine content of the PCB. These synthetic compounds are chemically stable, have good insulating properties and do not degrade appreciably over time or with exposure to high temperatures.

These properties made PCBs very useful in electrical devices such as capacitors.

PCBs can enter the body in three ways:

• absorption through the skin;
• inhalation of PCB vapour (at room temperature, the vapour concentrations of PCBs are not     significant)
• ingestion, if there is contamination of food or drink.

The likelihood of becoming sick from PCB exposure increases with the length of time and the amount of material that a person might come in contact with.

The most commonly observed symptom in people exposed to high levels of PCBs is a condition known as chloracne. It is a severe, persistent acne-like rash due to repeated and prolonged contact of PCBs with skin. This condition has also occurred in people who have accidentally ingested PCBs orally. Very high exposure to PCBs may also cause liver damage and damage to the nervous system, resulting in numbness, weakness and tingling in the arms and legs. There is the possibility that PCBs may cause cancers.

The major use of PCBs in the electrical industry has been as an insulating fluid inside transformers and capacitors. These transformers and capacitors have ranged in size from the very large transformers which contain several thousand litres of PCBs and were typically used by electrical supply businesses and heavy industries, to the small capacitors which may only contain several millilitres of PCBs and were used in farming equipment and on commercial premises. Capacitors containing PCBs were installed in various types of equipment including fluorescent light fittings during the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s.

PCB-containing equipment within fluorescent light fittings is likely to have one or more of the following characteristics:

• resonant start;
• a capacitor that is cylindrical or rectangular, encased in
• an aluminium container with a weld running all the way
• around the top edge with two terminals with quick
• connect tags;
• a date mark from the 1950s, 1960s or 1970s1;
• a capacitor encased in a rectangular tin container with
• soldered seams;
• slightly heavier than similar types of capacitors manufactured after the 1970s (which do not to contain PCBs).

Local Council’s will often request that a Hazardous Materials Survey is completed by a trained Occupational Hygienist as part of a Development Applications (DA) when you are renovating a property.  JMB Environmental Consulting Pty Ltd Can assist.