Legislation requires that those who are responsible for the repair or maintenance of non-domestic premises have arrangements for the proper management of asbestos risks. To comply with the duty, you need to know where the asbestos containing materials (ACMs) are located within your building. In most cases this means having a survey carried out.
When might you have it?
Although asbestos was in use within building products up until the end of the 1990s, by this time it was very rare. Premises built or refurbished in the 1960s and early 1970s are the most likely to contain some form of asbestos. But any building that was constructed or had major refurbishment work between the 1950s and mid-1980s is also a likely culprit.
So, if your building was constructed before 1999, you should have a survey completed. Trying to avoid this just isn’t worth the risk. Disturbing asbestos is disruptive, expensive and dangerous.
How to do this
Although you may think that asbestos spotting is relatively simple, it really isn't. It can be hidden in the most unlikely places. So, rather than guessing, the safest option is to have an asbestos survey completed by a competent person. In line with HSE guidance, we offer the following types of surveys:
Management survey
An asbestos management survey must be completed on premises constructed before the year 2000. This survey covers you for general use of the premises.
The purpose is to identify, as far as reasonably practicable, the presence and extent of any suspected ACMs in a building which could be damaged or disturbed during normal occupancy, including maintenance and installation activities, and to assess their condition.
This survey will identify the location of asbestos in your premises and provide recommendations on what, if any, actions are required.
We aim to turn all fire risk assessments around in under 48-hours.
Refurbishment survey
This is the type that's needed before any major refurbishment or demolition work is carried out.
It is used to locate and identify, as far as reasonably practicable, all ACMs in the area where the refurbishment work will take place or in the whole building if its demolition is planned.
You must make the survey available to any contractors working in the areas in which asbestos has been identified.
Technical information
When sampling is carried out as part of a survey, samples from each type of suspect ACM will be collected and analysed by a UK Accredited Services approved laboratory.
Our surveys are completed in accordance with
HSE Guidance HSG264.