The evaluation of asbestos in terms of occupational health and safety

Although asbestos, which is called the father of death among all occupational exposures, whose harms have become indisputable in terms of human health today, was banned in Turkey in 2010, it maintains its presence in many structures whose effects will be seen for decades to come. Though asbestos exposure affects all the people around, possibly the construction workers are the people who are affected the most. This is due to the widespread use of asbestos in building materials for many years and the mixing of asbestos fibers into the air we breathe in any kind of demolition, repair and maintenance works. After the rain that continued for 3 days in August 2021 in Kastamonu, Bozkurt city, an unprecedented flood disaster occurred. After the flood, 71 citizens residing in Bozkurt lost their lives, and there are 9 people remain missing. While two structures were completely destroyed during the flood, many structures were reported as heavily damaged after the flood. The immense destructive effects of flood disaster from the asphalt on the roads to the bridges was observed. As Bozkurt city was declared a national disaster area by the government, it was decided to demolish many buildings because of the irreparable damages. As it is known that there were asbestos pipes (actively and passively) in the underground water installations in Bozkurt city before 2010, a questionnaire named 'Evaluation of Knowledge and Awareness of Work Accidents, Occupational Diseases and Asbestos among Construction Workers' was applied to 102 employees working in construction works after the disaster has been applied. The results of the survey showed that the most of the employees did not have an idea about harmful effects of asbestos, did not use any personal protective equipment (PPE) for it and did not receive asbestos training. Many of them have been smokers for many years, did not have a professional qualification certificate, and even if regular health checks were made, lung x-rays were not taken. To minimize the risks, it is necessary to primarily determine the asbestos hazardous places in the region, to provide nonexposed resting and eating places for the employees. Also, providing training to the empoyees about asbestos and other OHS subjests, regulating the work in accordance with the risk assessment methods, providing the empoyees with PPE after they receive a training on the use and the importance of the PPE as well as other necessary vocational training can help minimize the risks. It is considered that this study will be beneficial for the awareness of asbestos hazard in post-disaster areas and the need for necessary precautions. KEYWORDS:Asbestos, Exposure, Occupational health and safety, Post-disaster, Construction material