Asbestos Removal

You need to comply with the all the requirements of the Asbestos Regulations.

Most asbestos removal work must be undertaken by a licensed contractor but any decision on whether particular work is licensable is based on the risk. Work is only exempt from licensing if:

• the exposure of employees to asbestos fibres is sporadic and of low intensity (but exposure cannot be considered to be sporadic and of low intensity if the concentration of asbestos in the air is liable to exceed 0.6 fibres per cm3 measured over 10 minutes); and
  
• it is clear from the risk assessment that the exposure of any employee to asbestos will not exceed the control limit; and the work involves:
  
  • short, non-continuous maintenance activities. Work can only be considered as short, non-continuous maintenance activities if any one person carries out work with these materials for less than one hour in a seven-day period. The total time spent by all workers on the work should not exceed a total of two hours,
    
  • removal of materials in which the asbestos fibres are firmly linked in a matrix. Such materials include: asbestos cement; textured decorative coatings and paints which contain asbestos; articles of bitumen, plastic, resin or rubber which contain asbestos where their thermal or acoustic properties are incidental to their main purpose (e.g. vinyl floor tiles, electric cables, roofing felt) and other insulation products which may be used at high temperatures but have no insulation purposes, for example gaskets, washers, ropes and seals,
    
  • encapsulation or sealing of asbestos-containing materials which are in good condition; or
    
  • air monitoring and control, and the collection and analysis of samples to find out if a specific material contains asbestos.

Under the Asbestos Regulations, anyone carrying out work on asbestos insulation, asbestos coating or asbestos insulating board (AIB) needs a licence issued by HSE unless they meet one of the exemptions above.

REMEMBER: Although you may not need a licence to carry out a particular job, you still need to comply with the rest of the requirements of the Asbestos Regulations.

If the work is licensable you have a number of additional duties. You need to:

• notify the enforcing authority responsible for the site where you are working (for example HSE or the local authority);
  
• designate the work area (see regulation 18 for details);
  
• prepare specific asbestos emergency procedures; and
  
• pay for your employees to undergo medical surveillance.

The Asbestos Regulations require any analysis of the concentration of asbestos in the air to be measured in accordance with the 1997 WHO recommended method.

From 6 April 2007, a clearance certificate for re-occupation may only be issued by a body accredited to do so. At the moment, such accreditation can only be provided by the United Kingdom Accreditation Services (UKAS).

You can find more details of how to undertake work with asbestos-containing materials, the type of controls necessary, what training is required and analytical methods in the following HSE publications:

• Approved Code of Practice Work with Materials containing Asbestos, L143, ISBN 978 0 7176 6206 7 [6]
  
• Asbestos: the Licensed Contractors Guide, HSG247, ISBN 978 0 7176 2874 2
  
• Asbestos: The analysts' guide for sampling, analysis and clearance procedures, HSG248, ISBN 978 0 7176 2875 9
  
• Asbestos Essentials, HSG 210, ISBN 978 0 7176 6263 0

REMEMBER: You must also comply with other health and safety legislation.

More About Asbestos

About Asbestos - An Introduction
Asbestos Testing
Asbestos Register
Asbestos Regulations
Asbestos Related Illness / Disease
Asbestos Removal
Working With Asbestos

Experienced Team

Leading From the Front
Greg Byrne, senior partner and principal surveyor, heads up the asbestos survey, management and training teams. Bringing with him over 20 years of hands-on experience and an envious reputation, you can be sure of an efficient, effective and professional service from Greg and his team.

Clients & Testimonials

Don't Just Take Our Word For It...
Take a look at some of our recent clients, the work we've done for them and what they had to say.
»  More Details