Asbestos Survey Reading

At 0800 Asbestos, we are experts in asbestos survey in Reading. If you think your property has signs of asbestos, it is vital for your safety that a survey is carried out as soon as possible. An asbestos survey will identify if there are Asbestos Containing Materials (ACMs) within the premises and we can design an effective Asbestos Management report that will give you fast and professional advice.

Specialists In Asbestos Survey In Reading

The Government introduced the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 (CAR 2012) in direct response to the current mortality rates associated with asbestos exposure and to fulfil its commitments under European Law. One of the key aspects of the legislation is to reduce the future exposure through the management of asbestos in domestic and non-domestic premises. February 2010 saw the replacement of MDHS 100 Surveying, sampling and assessment of asbestos-containing materials with HSG 264. At 0800 asbestos, we are specialists in management, re-inspection, refurbishment and demolition asbestos survey. All of our external Laboratories are UKAS accredited. UKAS accreditation is against the international standard ISO/IEC 17025

There are three commonly found asbestos types. They are Chrysotile, Amosite and Crocidolite. Asbestos products have a varying degree of hazard associated with them, which is determined by the type of material and the asbestos content.

Using the asbestos bulk identification service it is possible to identify the type of fibres in the sample and the approximate percentage present. Once the type of asbestos has been established a specific course of action can be recommended to the customer.

Asbestos Survey Types

Management Surveys

A management survey is the standard survey. Its purpose is 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. 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).

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, i.e. it will depend on factors such as the type of building, the nature of construction, accessibility etc.

Re-inspection Surveys

If you have already had Asbestos Surveys conducted you should have key information available such as a Material Hazard Assessment, which provides a basic indication of how liable an asbestos-containing material (ACM) is to release airborne fibre. It is then up to the duty holder to determine the specific risk that each ACM poses based on the level of occupation in the area where it was found, and then to produce an Asbestos Management Plan

As part of the ongoing management of asbestos containing materials (ACMs), continual monitoring post asbestos survey is required at regular intervals. Any ACM identified or suspected ACM will need to be inspected periodically to check that it has not deteriorated or sustained damage. As a minimum, ACMs should be checked every six to twelve months.

Refurbishment and Demolition Surveys

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.

There is a specific requirement in CAR 2006 (regulation 7) for all ACMs to be removed as far as reasonably practicable before major refurbishment or final demolition. Removing ACMs is also appropriate in other smaller refurbishment situations, which involve structural or layout changes to buildings (e.g. removal of partitions, walls, units etc). Under CDM, the survey information should be used to help in the tendering process for removal of ACMs from the building before work starts. The survey report should be supplied by the client to designers and contractors who may be bidding for the work, so that the asbestos risks can be addressed. In this type of survey, where the asbestos is identified so that it can be removed (rather than to ‘manage’ it), the survey does not normally assess the condition of the asbestos, other than to indicate areas of damage or where additional asbestos debris may be present. However, where the asbestos removal may not take place for some time, the ACMs’ condition will need to be assessed and the materials managed.

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. In these situations, controls should be put in place to prevent the spread of debris, which may include asbestos. Refurbishment and demolition surveys should only be conducted in unoccupied areas to minimise risks to the public or employees on the premises. Ideally, the building should not be in service and all furnishings removed. For minor refurbishment, this would only apply to the room involved or even part of the room where the work is small and the room large. A bulk sampling survey can be undertaken in circumstances where a full management survey is not required, to confirm or refute where possible asbestos containing materials are present.