Asbestos Services
The Health & Safety Executive has required all non-domestic premises to hold an asbestos register on site as part of a Health and Safety Policy. The HSE can inspect company premises at any time and this register will need to be shown to be suitably managed, inspected and maintained. In order to produce asbestos registers it is usually necessary to carry out surveys to identify the asbestos-containing materials (ACMs).
"Asbestos, a category 1 human carcinogen, is subject to a specific set of regulations, CAR 2006. These regulations cover work with asbestos, prohibitions on the importation, supply and use of asbestos, and licensing of asbestos-removal activities. Regulation 4 of CAR 2006 contains an explicit duty on the owners and occupiers of non-domestic premises, who have maintenance and repair responsibilities, to assess and manage the risks from the presence of asbestos (the duty is summarised in Figure 1). The risks will vary with circumstances and can arise from normal occupation of a building or from inadvertent disturbance during the repair, refurbishment and demolition of premises. The risk assessment will be used to produce a management plan which details and records what actions to take to manage and reduce the risks from asbestos." HSG 264
The requirements as set out by the HSE refer to non-domestic properties. However, ACMs are present in domestic properties as well. Dwellers, builders, buyers/sellers, maintenance workers and the insurance industry are instructing surveys to be carried out on domestic properties. The presence of common ACMs such as a garage roof, an "Artex" textured coated ceiling or an asbestos cement water tank would all have an impact on works being carried out or the value of the property. Most buildings surveys will only list potential ACMs, sampling and identification of the materials will specifically address any issues arising. The requirements do apply to common parts of premises, including housing developments and blocks of flats, Examples of common parts would include foyers, corridors, lifts and lift shafts, staircases, boiler houses, vertical risers, gardens, yards and outhouses.
Raeburn Group Asbestos Division can offer a wide range of asbestos surveying, sampling and management products all carried out with experienced qualified staff to P402 certification.
Our Asbestos Services Include:
- Asbestos Surveys
- Asbestos Contaminated Sites
- Domestic Properties
- Sampling and identification of ACM's
Asbestos Surveys: These fall into two categories as specified in HSG 264.
· Management survey
" to locate, as far as reasonably practicable, the presence and extent of any suspect ACMs in the building which could be damaged or disturbed during normal occupancy, including foreseeable maintenance and installation, and to assess their condition. ?.Management surveys will often involve minor intrusive work and some disturbance. The extent of intrusion will vary between premises and depend on what is reasonably practicable for individual properties, ie it will depend on factors such as the type of building, the nature of construction, accessibility etc. A management survey should include an assessment of the condition of the various ACMs and their ability to release fibres into the air if they are disturbed in some way. This 'material assessment' will give a good initial guide to the priority for managing ACMs as it will identify the materials which will most readily release airborne fibres if they are disturbed. The survey will usually involve sampling and analysis to confirm the presence or absence of ACMs. However a management survey can also involve presuming the presence or absence of asbestos. A management survey can be completed using a combination of sampling ACMs and presuming ACMs or, indeed, just presuming. Any materials presumed to contain asbestos must also have their condition assessed (i.e. a material assessment). All areas should be accessed as far as reasonably practicable.... Any areas not accessed must be presumed to contain asbestos" HSG 264
· Refurbishment and demolition surveys to be carried out in unoccupied premises
"A refurbishment and demolition survey is needed before any refurbishment or demolition work is carried out. This type of survey is used to locate and describe, as far as reasonably practicable, all ACMs in the area where the refurbishment work will take place or in the whole building if demolition is planned. The survey will be fully intrusive and involve destructive inspection, as necessary, to gain access to all areas, including those that may be difficult to reach. A refurbishment and demolition survey may also be required in other circumstances, e.g. when more intrusive maintenance and repair work will be carried out or for plant removal or dismantling. Refurbishment and demolition surveys are intended to locate all the asbestos in the building (or the relevant part), as far as reasonably practicable. It is a disruptive and fully intrusive survey which may need to penetrate all parts of the building structure. Aggressive inspection techniques will be needed to lift carpets and tiles, break through walls, ceilings, cladding and partitions, and open up floors." HSG 264
Raeburn Group: Asbestos Division will produce a survey report that will form part of the client's asbestos register, and will provide location, extent, product type, level of identification, asbestos type, accessibility, amount of damage or deterioration and surface treatment. Information as to how clients can compile the other elements of an asbestos register (e.g. emergency procedures, responsible people) will also be included in the report.
Asbestos Contaminated Sites
With the development of brownfield sites, previous structures can often be a source of asbestos contamination within soils and underlying materials. Dealing with the contamination using sampling, testing and localized removal of asbestos within the soil minimises the environmental impact that the removal of the materials as contaminated waste would cause, significantly reducing costs.
Raeburn Group: Asbestos Division can
- Sample and identify ACMs materials within soils/materials using ground level surveys and trial pits/soil sampling.
- Take samples to calculate the percentage of contamination across whole sites and produce certification as to its hazardous waste classification
- Produce site specific recommendations and for removal/remediation with localized areas of action.
- Assess and review method statements.
- Supervise the removal process, take samples as areas are cleared and provide onsite recommendations as work progresses.
- Produce final reports and certificates showing the hazardous waste classification.
Domestic Properties:
- Carry out sampling and identification of potential ACMs (or lack of)
- Provide a report and recommendations as to the management or removal of materials
Other Products:
- Bulk sampling and identification
- Review existing asbestos registers for compliance and advice on management
- Carry out recommended inspections on the condition of identified ACMs and provide further reports/recommendations if necessary.
Also see our other Services information.
