Graph Contract Services

HSE Guidance on Managing Asbestos

Before you start any work in a building that might contain asbestos (e.g. built or refurbished before the year 2000), you need to do the following:

1) Identify whether asbestos is present and determine its type and condition:
People responsible for maintenance of non-domestic premises, have a ‘duty to manage’[1] the asbestos in them, and should provide you with information on where any asbestos is in the building and what condition it is in;
If no information is available or it is limited and you suspect asbestos may be present you should have the area surveyed[2] and representative samples of the material you are going to work on analysed;
Alternatively, you can assume that any material you need to disturb does contain asbestos and take the appropriate precautions for the highest risk situation.

2) Carry out a risk assessment:
Decide if its possible to carry out the building or maintenance work avoiding the risk of asbestos exposure all together;
If that’s not possible, identify who might be at risk and the level of possible asbestos exposure from any work;
On this basis, decide what work methods are necessary to provide effective control of the risks.

3) Decide if the work needs to be carried out by a licensed contractor
Most asbestos removal work will require a contractor holding a licence from HSE;
All work with sprayed asbestos coatings and asbestos lagging and most work with asbestos insulation and asbestos insulating board (AIB) requires a licence;
Identify if your work needs a licensed contractor;
Find a licensed contractor, or find out how to apply for a licence[3].

4) If the work is not licensable, decide if the work needs to be notified
If it doesn’t need a licence, you can do maintenance work on or around ACMs with the appropriate controls[4] in place;
Some non-licensed work also has additional requirements, i.e. notification of work, medical surveillance and record keeping. This work is known as notifiable non-licensed work (NNLW)[5].

5) Ensure those carrying out the work are suitably trained
Any worker who is liable to disturb asbestos during their day-to-day work needs to receive appropriate training[6] to enable them to protect themselves and others.

Graph Contract Services– We have over 25 years hands-on experience of working with asbestos in both residential & commercial premises. We offer free impartial advice based upon our years of experience.  Asbestos awareness can save lives!

If you need an asbestos survey, or a need a material sampling & analysing for asbestos, please contact Graph Contract Services on 07802 455049. We carry out asbestos sampling, asbestos management surveys, asbestos refurbishment surveys, asbestos demolition surveys, asbestos inspections, asbestos management of asbestos in domestic & non-domestic properties.

We work both local and nationally, having recently carried out asbestos surveys in Bristol, London, Manchester, Leeds, Wakefield, Bradford, Huddersfield, Halifax,

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