Asbestos Report | Asbestos Survey| Management or Refurbishment

Asbestos Management Report

This is a standard report to determine the presence of asbestos based products within properties together with an assessment of their condition and ability to release fibres into the air during normal occupancy or maintenance works.

Asbestos surveys are quoted on an individual basis. Please contact us for a free asbestos survey estimate! All of our highly competitive survey quotes are inclusive of the inspection, bulk samples, laboratory sample analysis and the report

Asbestos Refurbishment / Demolition Report

This type of report is required either before any building / refurbishment and more intrusive maintenance work is to be carried out that will disturb the fabric of the building.

A demolition survey should be carried out to the whole building if demolition is to occur. This type of survey is fully intrusive and all areas of the building will be accessed to locate any asbestos containing materials.

Re-inspection Report

Asbestos Management Reports

This report is also used during the pre-purchase of a property

An Asbestos Report is produced once an Asbestos Survey has been carried out on your property. This Asbestos Report includes the details of any Asbestos found during the Asbestos Survey.

A management Report 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.
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. 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).

As a rule, asbestos Management Surveys are fairly non-intrusive. Asbestos Management Surveys are designed to cover all accessible parts of a building and can be carried out around normal day-to-day use, including maintenance and repairs. See advice on keeping a good Asbestos Register.

Refurbishment and Demolition Reports

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 2012 (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. Bulk Sampling 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.

Asbestos refurbishment surveys and asbestos demolition surveys need to be conducted prior to any work being undertaken to alter fabric, fixtures, fittings, or any major structural changes including demolition. These inspections are more intrusive and often include things like breaking through walls to access behind cladding, uprooting floor coverings etc.

Re-inspection Reports

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 on going 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 damaged. As a minimum, ACMs should be checked every six to twelve months.

Legislation

Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002

Legislation has meant that owners of commercial and communal premises must make up a plan to manage asbestos in their property. They must ensure that any asbestos present is not disturbed in a way that may result in a hazard to health.

There is no UK legislation covering requirements for home owners to manage the asbestos in their homes. However, some industry sources believe that legislation to address this will eventually be introduced. In any event it would be prudent for a purchaser to consider the possible presence of asbestos before agreeing to buy a property.

Asbestos Health & Safety Executive: The survey guide

Who is the duty Holder?

Commercial Buildings

The duty holder is defined as all those who have responsibility for the maintenance and/or repair of non domestic premises. The duty holder may well be the landlord, tenant or a managing agent, depending on the circumstances of the case. In some situations, responsibility could be shared between two or more parties.

Asbestos Management Plan

How often do I need an asbestos survey?

How often you need an asbestos survey will depend on a variety of different things. If you’re the owner or duty-holder for a building and ACMs are found (usually through an asbestos survey), it’s your responsibility to ensure a robust asbestos management plan is put in place.

As part of your asbestos management plan, you will need to schedule in regular re-inspections to make sure the condition of the asbestos isn’t worsening and your premises remain safe for staff, the general public and workmen.

You have to make sure you have an up-to-date refurbishment and demolition survey completed prior to all building works. You’ll need to provide the surveyor with details of the site layout, site plans, relevant photos, hazards and any previously completed asbestos surveys too.

Buildings of multiple Occupation

Asbestos Reports

While a management asbestos survey would not usually be required in domestic buildings, it would be needed for any shared parts, such as foyers, corridors and lobbies in a block of flats for example.

Therefore many buildings with public access or tenanted properties will have a management survey in place (formally a type 2 survey).

The management survey gives you the information needed to manage and monitor asbestos-containing materials. This will include preparing an asbestos register and developing an asbestos management plan. Providing materials remain in good condition they do not pose a threat during normal occupancy, as providing asbestos is not disturbed, it does not harm you.

Types of Asbestos

There are 6 types of asbestos but only 3 have been widely used in building materials: White (Chrysotile), Brown (Amosite), Blue (Crocidolite). Strictly speaking blue is the most dangerous, followed by brown and then white. However the material with which the asbestos was mixed is an important risk factor. If the fibres are well bonded the material is lower risk as fibres are less likely to be released and to become airborne. With high risk materials even minor disturbance can release significant quantities of fibres.

Asbestos Sample Testing

UKAS Laboratories

Once we have the suspect asbestos sample it will be sent to a UKAS accredited laboratory for testing. This process allows the laboratory to break down the product in a controlled environment to determine which type of asbestos – if any – are present within the material. They will determine whether it is: amosite (brown asbestos), chrysotile (white asbestos) or crocidolite (blue asbestos).

Get your results back within 3 – 5 working days.

The dangers of asbestos

What to avoid.

Asbestos is the biggest cause of work-related deaths in the UK. It has a serious effect on the lives of those working within the construction industry. Each week nearly 40 tradesmen on average die from what is known as the ‘hidden killer’. In fact, in the UK, around 5,000 people die each year due to past asbestos exposure. Thousands more are diagnosed with fatal asbestos diseases.

It is quite possible that you will have asbestos in your home but while you should be wary of this there might not be any great cause for alarm. Asbestos can cause lung cancer if inhaled as a fine dust and as such things containing asbestos should never be sawn, sanded, drilled, brushed or disturbed in any way whereby the production of dust might result. Provided asbestos is not disturbed, the likelihood of major problems developing are very much reduced.

Fully Qualified Surveyors

UKAS document RG 8, 'Accreditation of Bodies Surveying for Asbestos in Premises', states that all asbestos surveyors must hold formal recognised qualifications (in addition to demonstrable knowledge, experience and in-house training). This qualification is recognised by UKAS for this purpose.

All of our external Laboratories are UKAS accredited. UKAS accreditation complies with international standard ISO/IEC 17025

Asbestos Use

History
Asbestos was used in UK construction from the early 1900s. It was used extensively in building materials in the 50s 60s 70s and 80s and wasn't banned in the UK until 1999. Any building built or refurbished within that period is likely to contain asbestos. That is a lot of buildings.

So which buildings contain asbestos, and where can you find it?
It is difficult to tell from just looking at a material whether it contains asbestos, and most of the time, the asbestos-containing materials may be hidden beneath other materials.

Asbestos: Where it hides
Most people know what an asbestos roof looks like but very few home owners realize that asbestos can also be found in quite a diverse range of relatively common building products, inside and outside of buildings. Some of these are as follows for both Industrial and Residential buildings:

Where Asbestos Hides - Industrial Building
Inside
1. Sprayed coatings on ceilings, walls, beams and columns
2. Asbestos cement water tank
3. Loose fill insulation
4. Lagging on boilers and pipes
5. AIB ceiling tiles
6. Toilet seat and cistern
7. AIB partition walls
8. AIB panels in fire doors
9. Asbestos rope seals, gaskets and paper
10. Vinyl floor tiles
11. AIB around boilers
12. Textiles eg fire blankets
13. Textured decorating coatings on walls and ceilings eg artex
Outside
14. Asbestos cement roof
15. Asbestos cement panels
16. Asbestos cement gutters and downpipes
17. Soffits – AIB or asbestos cement
18. Asbestos cement flue
AIB = Asbestos Insulating Board

Where Asbestos Hides - Residential Building

Inside
A. Asbestos cement Water tank
B. Pipe lagging
C. Loose fill insulation
D. Textured decorative coating eg artex
E. AIB ceiling tiles
F. AIB bath panel
G. Toilet seat and cistern
H. AIB behind fuse box
I. AIB airing cupboard and/or sprayed insulation coating boiler
J. AIB partition wall
K. AIB interior window panel
L. AIB around boiler
M. Vinyl floor tiles
N. AIB behind fire
Outside
O. Gutters andAsbestos cement downpipes
P. Soffits – AIB or asbestos cement
Q. AIB exterior window panel
R. Asbestos cement roof
S. Asbestos cement panels
T. Roofing felt
AIB = Asbestos Insulating Board

Mon 8.00am-6.00pm
Tue 8.00am-6.00pm
Wed 8.00am-6.00pm
Thur 8.00am-6.00pm
Fri 8.00am-6.00pm
Sat 8.00am-6.00pm
Sun Closed

For A Quote Email
info@uk-building-assessments.co.uk

Or Phone
Tel: 01323 841488
Mobile: 07867 960 711

Speak to our

Asbestos Assessment Manager

Asbestos Reports UK