asbestos_faq - asbestos questions

Asbestos fibres can be a thousand times thinner than human hair and when these fibres are breathed in can become trapped in the lungs, they can become deeply imbedded because they are thin and sharp, with every breath they can dig deeper into the lung tissue. The body's own defence system cant deal with them the usual way by breaking them down, the defence system then builds a protective wall around the fibre to protect the lung and it keeps growing causing severe health problems. It can take up to 40 years to develop after exposure. Not exactly a scientifically accurate description but that is the basic premise.

Q. If asbestos is found in my property do I need to have it removed?

A. Depending on the type and condition of the ACM (Asbestos Containing Material), removal is not usually required, once it has been identified and assessed in an Asbestos Register or Asbestos Survey.

ACMs in good condition can be considered safe if sealed and left undisturbed and when controlled by an Asbestos Management Plan. An annual inspection is usually all that's required.

Q. I have 'suspect' materials in my building that people have told me contains asbestos, what can I do?

A. Asbestos survey sampling can also be used to prove that a 'suspect' material does not contain asbestos and is safe to disturb, thus dissolving fears whilst offering firm evidence and reassurance to concerned tradesmen, staff etc.

Q. How do I know if the survey I have is accurate?

A. The accuracy of a survey is very important, we have seen asbestos surveys that state there was no asbestos when there was clearly some visible, we have also seen asbestos surveys that state that the building had much asbestos when there was virtually none. A bad survey is worse than no survey because it can give you the false impression that the material you are going to disturb is not asbestos, when it is!

There are many 'asbestos surveyors' out there who have attended a 4 day course but have no real experience of the material other than what they have read, some also lack the practical knowledge of where it was used in buildings apart from the usual lists found within publications that actually only scratches the surface.

We are HSE licensed asbestos contractors with 22 years experience with dealing all types of asbestos. I have attended the same course and I felt it didn't go far enough in terms of where to find the asbestos materials in various buildings (3000+), at least another day on the course would probably be needed to cover the majority of commonly found materials and not so common materials.

I should add that the majority of asbestos surveyors are suitably trained and experienced enough to provide an accurate survey, its just the ones that haven't fully grasped the concept of risk reduction and legal compliance for their clients and are more driven by profit and ignorance. Yes I agree, strong stuff, but when you consider the stakes.

Q. Why all the fuss about asbestos now?

A. Well, to be blunt, exposure to asbestos fibres can cause cancer! There are estimated 3000 deaths each year due to asbestos related diseases. The changes to the regulations are designed to reduce the number of people contracting these diseases by making sure employees are aware of the asbestos materials in their buildings and thus reducing exposure to asbestos fibres by managing the materials and preventing disturbance by tradesmen and employees etc.

A common misconception is that only dockyard workers and power station workers are/were at risk from asbestos, when actually, electricians, plumbers, builders, shop fitters and even general employees are at risk because it was used in so many different forms and there is still much of it out there in all types of buildings.

Q. What should I do about the asbestos found?

A. Usually not much, comply with the recommendations in the report/survey regarding sealing, labelling etc, take steps to reduce the risk of the material being disturbed, before any planned refurbishment or building work refer to the survey to make sure the work is not going to disturb it, make people aware of the asbestos locations where necessary, inspect the material to ensure it hasn't changed (usually annually).

If required, we can carry out a revisit survey of your premises and upgrade your existing asbestos survey to the Envacs format whilst ensuring that all accessible ACM's have been reported accurately.

Q. I don't have any asbestos in my building's do I still need a survey?

A. Yes, this is where the experience and studying pays off, if I had a pound for every asbestos survey that I attended where I was told "there's no asbestos here mate" and then found some, I wouldn't have to be sitting here typing this, I would be on my own private island somewhere. It was used in over 3000 different materials!.

But seriously, some asbestos materials were still being used as late as 1999 in the UK and even then some 'old stock' of asbestos materials could have been used after that date, so to be fairly certain most buildings will still need a survey, even if it is a blank "no suspect materials found" type of survey, for some inexpensive peace of mind.

Its all too easy to assume you don't have asbestos in your factory, office, shop or house etc because it doesn't always look obvious, it was still being used into the 1990s and has been historically used in so many different forms with different types of asbestos used that unless you are very experienced with the material it can be hard to spot.

Q. I have asbestos materials in my building but I've been told it is the 'safe sort' is this true?

A. It is true that some asbestos materials are safer than others, but be careful of who told you and consider their likely level of expertise, the definition of 'safe' depends on various factors. With asbestos it is usually the material's content (asbestos type) and friability (ability to release fibres) that determines its level of 'safety'. Cement based corrugated garage roofs are fairly safe because the fibres are tightly packed within the cement matrix of the material, therefore it has a low friability.

AIB (Asbestos Insulation Board) is similar to plasterboard in density and strength and typically contains 40% Amosite (brown) asbestos, if the AIB is damaged it can release many fibres (>1000 f/ml) and therefore its friability is high. AIB is still found in many buildings where it was used, for example, as fire protection of steelwork (cladding) and various plant items (including domestic gas boilers). An asbestos survey should indicate the materials friability in the 'material assessment' section of the report (see sample report).

Q. I already have a survey why would I need your services?

A. Perhaps several reasons, you may an upgrade or re-inspection survey, it may be that you are not happy with the vague information in the existing survey ( I estimate 40% of surveys out there are not worth the paper they are written on!) perhaps you need something more useful and legally compliant. There is a certain amount of information about the materials that needs to be in the survey to comply with the requirements of the law, material assessments, location assessments, disturbance assessments and priority assessments, all these will help you deal with the material in the right way and in the correct timescale. It just makes life so much easier when you have the correct information in front of you. I know I harp on about complying with the regulations and Envacs, but it is important to do it right and Envacs is a very impressive tool for me and also for you, and when correctly applied, enables us both to benefit.

Q. Will I get in trouble for not having a survey?

A. Yes

Q. What type of survey do I need?

A. There are 4 types of survey:

Type 1 is a 'presumptive' survey carried out by you (not a third party!) and assumes everything in the property is asbestos, this is just a temporary stop gap measure because in reality it means you cant do anything to the property without taking a sample of the material you will be working on in case it is asbestos (you have already assumed it is), this ends up costly and wastes a lot of time and is not always correctly followed by employees/tradesmen, with serious consequences.

Type 2 is the usual survey that involves an asbestos surveyor checking all parts of the property for 'suspect' materials (materials historically known to contain asbestos) and taking samples of any found, the samples are sent to an independent (not in-house) laboratory for analysis. The results are then presented in an asbestos survey that includes an asbestos register and recommendations for the asbestos materials found.

Type 3 is a full access survey, usually prior to demolition or major refurbishment, where the fabric of the building is going to be disturbed at some point in the future. A surveyor will need to access all parts of the building which may involve pulling materials apart to see the full extent of the asbestos content of the building. A type 3 survey should find the materials no matter where they are even if it means minor destructive procedures and the disturbance of decorative surfaces. Not for the faint hearted and it usually means greater in-depth sampling is required. This type of survey should not be carried out when the building is occupied.

Type 4 is a re-inspection survey that simply refers to the previous survey and checks to see if there is any change to the material, these are usually straightforward with nothing to report. If something has been disturbed or changed since the last report then it can be reported and then actioned, the updated survey can reflect this. This would be considered good practice and part of implementing the Asbestos Management Plan.

Q. Can I remove asbestos myself?

You have to be VERY careful when considering this action, if the material is a well known low friability material like asbestos cement or vinyl floor tiles then it is possible to remove it with little or no risk (always get expert advice first!), if the material is anything else then you run the real risk of asbestos exposure and the consequences of that exposure, we have a saying in the asbestos industry 'it only takes one fibre'.

I have witnessed too many cases where the owner of a property has deliberately removed dangerous asbestos in order save some money on the cost of a survey or safe removal, ignorance and pure greed have driven them to ignore expert advice and rather than lose money on the sale of the property, they have removed it or paid someone else to remove it without telling them about the dangers (a slow painful death from cancer). Sometimes they get away with it and sometimes they don't.

Q. I am buying a house and asbestos was mentioned in the survey, what should I do?

House surveys do not usually contain much detail when referring to asbestos materials, it is always a good idea to get an asbestos expert to sample the material and give an assessment of the risks, in most cases its usually safe enough to leave alone because it is a low risk material or its in a good sealed condition. If you are planning some major refurbishment work to modify the property to suit your own tastes then a more detailed report is probably required. It is advisable to do this at an early stage of the purchase to give enough time for inspections/analysis and any re-negotiations that may result if asbestos is found in the property.

asbestos surveys kent - asbestos surveyors kent