Asbestos surveys – 2010 update

by Neil Storkes
NBS Technical Author

The purpose of all asbestos surveys is:

• To help manage asbestos in premises
• To provide accurate information on the location, amount and condition of asbestos-containing materials (ACMs)
• To assess the level of damage or deterioration in the ACMs and whether remedial action is required
• To use the survey information to prepare a record of the location of any asbestos, typically known as an asbestos register, together with an asbestos plan of the premises. The information in the register should then be used as part of a risk assessment to identify who and when any identified asbestos might be disturbed, and to establish a management plan to prevent such a disturbance
• To help identify all ACMs that need to be removed before commencement of any scheduled refurbishment or demolition works.

It is important that the purpose and scope of the survey is clearly identified when the survey is commissioned and appropriate access given to all relevant areas. This should help to ensure that the information contained within the survey report is appropriate and fit-for-purpose.

The survey will have three main aims:

• As far as is reasonably practicable to locate and record the location, extent and product type of any presumed or known ACMs
• To inspect and record information on the accessibility, condition and surface treatment of any presumed or known ACMs
• To determine and record the asbestos type, either by collecting representative samples of suspect materials for laboratory identification, or by making a presumption based on the product type and its appearance etc.

Types of asbestos surveys

From 2010, the HSE have changed their terminology and criteria for asbestos surveys. Their latest publication,  HSG 264 - Health and Safety: Guidance Booklets: Asbestos: The survey guide, refers to two types of asbestos survey – Management Surveys and Refurbishment and Demolition surveys - whereas previous documentation referred to type 1, type 2 and type 3 surveys. Management Surveys replace types 1 and 2, and Refurbishment and Demolition surveys replace type 3.

Although part of a transitionary process, the HSE have advised that all new asbestos surveys commissioned from 2010 should be either Management surveys or Refurbishment and Demolition surveys, and not types 1, 2 or 3 surveys.

Management surveys (formerly type 1 and type 2 surveys)

The purpose of a management survey is to control asbestos-containing materials (ACM) during the normal occupation and use of premises by ensuring that:

1. Nobody is harmed by the continuing presence of ACM in the premises or equipment
2. The ACM remain in good condition
3. Nobody disturbs it accidentally.

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.

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. 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.

A management survey can also ‘presume’ the presence or absence of asbestos. By presuming the presence of asbestos, the need for sampling and analysis can be deferred until a later time (e.g. before any work is carried out).

However, as far as possible, all ACMs should be identified as part of the survey. The areas inspected should therefore include, but not be limited to, underfloor voids, ceiling voids, lofts, inside risers, service ducts and lift shafts, areas behind wall linings, basements, cellars, underground rooms, undercrofts, etc.

Refurbishment and demolition surveys (formerly type 3 surveys)

A refurbishment and demolition survey aims to ensure that:

1. Nobody will be harmed by work on ACM in the premises or equipment
2. Such work will be done by the right contractor in the right way.

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 the Control of asbestos regulations 2006 (regulation 7) for all ACMs to be removed 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 the Construction design and management regulations, 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 managed), 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 relevant part, as far as reasonably practicable. Disruptive 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.

In many instances ACMs will be effectively concealed within the building fabric and even the most intrusive survey will not locate and identify all ACMs within a property. Careful consideration should therefore be given by the surveyor to stating the limitations of the survey.

In some instances ACMs will be so integral to the fabric of a building that they may only be discovered during the course of refurbishment or demolition work. As a consequence, the client should make provision for this possibility, particularly as there may be potentially significant delays to the project programme, together with increased project costs.

Survey restrictions and caveats can seriously undermine the management of asbestos in buildings and should only be included where absolutely necessary and can be fully justified. Any survey restrictions and caveats must be agreed in advance between the surveyor and client, and fully documented in the survey report.

Information taken from HSE website and guidance HSG 264 - Health and Safety: Guidance Booklets: Asbestos: the survey guide (2010).

Related NBS information:

Articles:

• The control of asbestos

Selected links:

• Hazardous materials

Written August 2010

 

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