Glossary

• Pages: 70-71

E. Glossary

In this code of practice the following terms have the meaning shown:

adequate or suitable: quantitatively or qualitatively appropriate method used to protect

the worker;

asbestosis: a fibrosis (thickening and scarring) of the lung tissue which develops slowly,

usually after many years of exposure;

competent authority: minister, official service or any other public authority having the

power to issue, approve or implement decrees, orders, regulations or other provisions having

the force of law concerning the prevention of airborne asbestos in the working environment;

contamination: the air pollution of the working environment by a harmful substance or

agent;

dust: airborne solid particulate matter, the particle size being greater than a fume; dusts

are usually produced by the mechanical cutting, abrasion or erosion of a solid; asbestos dust:

airborne or settled fibrous particles which may become airborne; total dust: all types of

airborne dust particles which are collected during sampling; respirable dust: the fraction of the

total inspirable dust which can enter the respiratory tract; respirable fibres: any organic or

inorganic structure with a geometric diameter less than 3 µm and of which the length is at least

three times the diameter;

exposure limit: that concentration in air, commonly expressed in terms of 8 hours/day

and 40 hours/week, which is considered acceptable by the competent authority responsible for

setting such limits and is considered to minimise or to prevent the hazard to health. The

exposure limit does not constitute an absolute dividing line between harmless and harmful

concentrations. This term covers the various expressions employed in the national lists such as

"maximum allowable concentration", "threshold limit value", "permissible level", "limit value",

"average limit value", "permissible limit", "time-weighted average", etc.;

forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1): volume of gas which can be exhaled

from the lungs in one second by forced expiratory effort starting from a position of full

inspiration;

forced vital capacity (FVC): volume of gas which is exhaled during a forced expiration

starting from a position of full inspiration and ending at complete expiration;

hazard: probability of impairment of health following exposure to a harmful substance or

agent; occupational hazard: probability of impairment to health following exposure to a

harmful substance or agent in the working environment;

health: state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely an

absence of disease or disablement;

lung cancer (cancer of the bronchial tubes): this is a similar type of cancer to that

associated with cigarette smoking and there is evidence to suggest that the two factors of

asbestos exposure and cigarette smoking are synergistic;

mesothelioma: this is a cancer of the pleura or peritoneum which, while rare in the

general population, is much more common among asbestos workers after a latency period of 20

to 40 years or longer. No relationship has been found between mesothelioma and the smoking

habit;

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