► Check what type of survey you need
Type 1 - assumptive: In our experience this format is now rarely used as it tends to be a false economy. Suspected Asbestos Containing Materials (ACMs) are noted and assumed to be asbestos containing. But when contractors come to site they need to KNOW what they are dealing with and so a further type 2 or type 3 survey is often called for.
Type 2 - with sampling: This is the most common survey where refurbishment is not taking place. It identifies and, where appropriate, samples suspected ACMs.
Type 3 - destructive: Type 3 surveys are normally required where refurbishment is taking place and sampling goes beyond the surfaces.
This must all be done in compliance with the HSE guidance published in MDHS 100 and, where samples are taken, be carried out by a qualified and experienced person who has passed the P402 ‘Asbestos Surveying and Sampling’ course.
► Act on the recommendations
(Not all asbestos needs to be removed; recommendations may be to leave it, encapsulate it, label it, regularly check it etc.) Please don't be tempted to tick the "Asbestos Survey Done box" and file it away. Asbestos is very serious. make sure you act on the recommendations.
► Produce an Asbestos Management Plan (AMP)
For an example AMP click on one of the yellow buttons to the left
► Link the AMP to your Contractor Controls
This should prohibit your contractors from starting any intrusive work without first referring to the Asbestos Survey/Register, paying particular attention to “findings” and “exclusions”. It is not sufficient to simply show the “findings”.
(If you might need help with controlling contractors contact us.)
► Implement the AMP
It sounds obvious but you would be amazed how many people get distracted from implementing plans by conflicting priorities and pressures on time. This plan is too serious to let that happen.
ü Clear, concise information
ü Prioritised recommendations
ü At a glance reporting
ü Unique multiple site systems
ü Powerful management reports
ü Project management service
ü Systems that inform and enable
ü Nationwide Coverage
ü Very cost effective approach
Control Of Asbestos Regulations 2006
These Regulations bring together the three previous sets of Regulations covering: the prohibition of asbestos, the control of asbestos at work and asbestos licensing. Most of the requirements are effectively unchanged.
The main changes which are likely to be relevant for controllers of properties are:
1. Asbestos removal work must be carried out by Licensed Asbestos Removal Contractors, except for materials in which the asbestos fibres are firmly linked in a matrix. Such materials include: asbestos cement; textured decorative coatings and paints which contain asbestos; articles of bitumen, plastic, resin or rubber which contain asbestos where their thermal or acoustic properties are incidental to their main purpose (eg vinyl floor tiles, electric cables, roofing felt) and other insulation products which may be used at high temperatures but have no insulation purposes, for example gaskets, washers, ropes and seals.
Note: textured decorative coatings ('Artex' etc) and asbestos rope previously had to be removed by Licensed Contractors.
2. The Regulations require mandatory training for anyone liable to be exposed to asbestos fibres at work (see regulation 10). This includes maintenance workers and others who may come into contact with or who may disturb asbestos (eg cable installers) as well as those involved in asbestos removal work.
A summary of the new Regulations can be found by clicking here
Asbestos Surveys/Registers
Asbestos Management Plans
Asbestos Re-Inspections
It's not enough to survey - after the survey you should put in place and implement an Asbestos Management Plan (AMP). They are not complicated; you can produce them yourselves or we can help you; to see a sample AMP click one of these buttons:
After Asbestos Surveys things still happen that shouldn’t, e.g. a contractor drilling through a ceiling near an air-conditioning intake, when a survey had confirmed it contained asbestos.
Asbestos Surveys/Registers don’t stop problems occurring; they identify Asbestos Hazards and make Recommendations.
It is implementing the AMP that helps stop problems.
Some simple steps you might like to follow ►
Asbestos is currently the biggest occupational health risk to workers in Britain.
About 3,500 people are dying every year as a result of exposure to asbestos many years ago, before it was banned. This figure is expected to reach 10,000 deaths annually, peaking sometime between the years 2011 and 2015.
Most of these deaths are from Mesothelioma (cancer of the space around the lungs) or lung cancer.
Asbestos booklets from the HSE can be downloaded from the
Companion Health and Safety Services Limited