Asbestos Surveying Activity

Why the Need for Asbestos Surveys?

Since the 1970’s a mass of legislation has been introduced to deal with the hazard of asbestos. The CAW Regulations 1987 (amended 1992, 1998) were designed to prevent exposure to asbestos in the workplace in order to protect employees, other workers and members of the public.

Since 24 November 1999 (Asbestos (prohibitions) (Amendment) Regulations 1999), with very few exceptions which apply only to chrysotile (white asbestos), any new uses of all forms of asbestos, blue, brown and white is prohibited.

The Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations (CAWR) 2002 were developed by the HSE to tighten existing legislation with the aim of reducing asbestos related deaths caused by asbestos in non-domestic buildings. They have now been superseded by The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006.

Regulation 4 - Duty to Manage Asbestos

This regulation applies to all non-domestic premises and common parts of domestic premises (guidance for this is covered in its own Approved code of practice (ACOP) L127). It places a legal duty on the ‘duty holder’ to take active steps to identify, manage and monitor asbestos containing materials (ACMs) in their building.

Are you a dutyholder?

According to the ACOPL127 the ‘dutyholder’ includes employers and the self-employed if they have responsibilities for maintaining or repairing non-domestic premises and the owner of those premises whether they are occupied or vacant. The duties in regulation 4 will rest with the person in control of maintenance in the non-domestic premises, whether that be the occupier or landlord.

This will involve carrying out an inspection of the building. Ideally, an independent expert can be appointed from a specialist organisation to undertake this work. (Note the task can be delegated but not the legal responsibility).

The results of the inspection should indicate the locations of ACMs, the risk of fibre release from the material, the condition of the material and how likely they are to be damaged.

This information must then be recorded in an asbestos register and be maintained on site for the life of each building and must be available, for example to any visiting contractor to prevent accidental exposure. The register should be periodically updated.

An independent expert/specialist organisation must:

• have adequate training and experience in survey work;
• demonstrate independence, impartiality and integrity;
• have an adequate quality management system;
• carry out any asbestos survey work in accordance with recommended guidance MDHS 100 Surveying sampling and assessment of asbestos-containing materials.

MDHS 100 states that organisations offering an asbestos survey service should be able to comply with the standard set out in EN45004 (general criteria for the operation of various types of bodies performance inspection).

There are three types of survey referred to in MDHS 100:

• Type 1: Location and assessment Survey (presumptive survey)
• Type 2: Standard sampling, identification and assessment survey (sampling survey)
• Type 3: Full access sampling and identification survey (pre-demolition / major refurbishment surveys).

The presumption that a material contains asbestos can be tested by laboratory analysis using polarised light microscopy (PLM) as outlined in HSG248 Asbestos: The Analyst’s Guide to Sampling, Analysis and Clearance Procedures..

Analysis of asbestos samples must be undertaken by a laboratory that is accredited by UKAS as complying with ISO 17025 (General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories BSI). This has been set out in CAW Regulation 20 – Standards for Analysis became law on 21st Nov. 2004. Removal of ACMs already in place in good condition is not required by the regulations but buildings should be surveyed, asbestos labelled and its position and condition recorded to allow any asbestos to be ‘managed’ safely. The type of asbestos in the material, the condition of the material, its fibre release potential and its location in the building are among the factors thatdetermine if it will be removed or repaired.

Guidance on safely controlling work with asbestos is given in ACOP L143.

This ACOP applies in particular to work on, or which disturbs materials containing asbestos. It is particularly relevant to those responsible for the maintenance and repair of non-domestic premises, where asbestos containing materials are or are likely to be present.

Contaminated Land

Asbestos contaminated soil has resulted from mixing soil with demolition rubble and other waste due to poor waste disposal practices in the past. Clearing land contaminated with asbestos, including land contaminated with asbestos insulation, asbestos coating and asbestos insulating board is not covered by an ACOP.

Since asbestos is a carcinogen all forms of it are classified as ‘special waste’ and fall within the requirements of the Special Waste Regulations 1996 (as amended). It is classified in Schedule 2, Part III to the Special Waste Regulations as ‘H7 carcinogenic’ when the asbestos content in the waste is greater than the carcinogenic threshold concentration of 0.1% w/w.

Any material containing asbestos should be disposed of in covered skips or should be double bagged and clearly labelled.

The carriage of special waste must now be notified in advance to the EA and a charge per consignment is levied. Once the waste reaches the landfill, a landfill tax is levied per tonne of waste.