A PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT OF ASBESTOS AWARENESS AND CONTROL MEASURES IN BRAKE AND CLUTCH REPAIR SERVICES IN KNOXVILLE AND KNOX COUNTY, TENNESSEE

The pending OSHA standard revision proposed in 1990 to lower the asbes tos Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) and to mandate effective asbestos control measures (ACM) in brake and clutch assembly work may have a p rofound effect on industries involved in such operations. Health prote ction of workers will be improved and costs of improved control method s and training will increase. Considering these facts, this preliminar y study was designed to assess the level of worker and management awar eness of asbestos hazards associated with brake and clutch repair and to determine what ACM-had been implemented by businesses in Knoxville and Knox County, Tennessee. The study, in a metropolitan area of appro ximately 336,000 people, revealed eight different categories of busine sses conducting brake and clutch repair work with an estimated 363 pot entially exposed employees. Results of the study suggest that managers and employees of the 80 businesses studied were in need of asbestos h azard awareness training and more adequate asbestos control measures.