Asbestos survey re-inspections
The asbestos regulations (Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012) require all non domestic properties to have an asbestos management plan in place, with the core elements of this as below; with the duty to manage for whoever is responsible for maintaining all or part of business premises must also manage any asbestos in the premises.
Depending on the terms of your lease, this could be you or your landlord or managing agent. In the event that maintenance responsibilities aren't clearly specified, the legal duty rests with the party which has the greatest degree of control over the premises.
If you hold this legal duty, you must:
- Take reasonable steps to determine the location and condition of materials likely to contain asbestos. You may need to use the services of an external surveyor, alternately you should presume materials contain asbestos unless there is strong evidence that they do not.
- Keep an up-to-date record of the location and condition of the asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) or presumed ACMs in the premises, including an assessment of the risk of the likelihood of anyone being exposed to fibres from these materials. Make sure that material is analysed for asbestos content in accordance with ISO17025, which sets standards for both quality management and technical requirements in laboratories
- Prepare a plan setting out how the risks from the materials are to be managed, and take the necessary steps to put the plan into action. You should also review and monitor the plan periodically.
- Provide information on the location and condition of the materials to anyone who is liable to work on or disturb them.
An asbestos survey re-inspection is the core element to meet item 3 above, once the rest of management duties have been identified and put in place. There are two ways to undertake this part of the duty, to either do it in-house or contract out to an asbestos surveyor. The key aspect to this is understanding the competence of the individual or organisation assigned to do the re-inspection, and to ensure they are aware of the recording system in place to management the asbestos in the premises. Suitable training for such identification has been carried out by Alverprise Limited for organisations such as London Borough of Southwark, the Salvation Army and Grafton plc; which aids in their ongoing management requirements.
Alternately, use of a competent asbestos surveyor is a possible solution, and one that Alverprise Limited provide to Clipper Logistics plc use on a regular basis (no more than 12 months apart) to ensure they meet the requirements of their Health and Safety policy and procedures. This solution also allows them to stay up to date on asbestos duties and provide emergency asbestos services when an incident occurs involving asbestos.
As asbestos re-inspection is used to check the condition of existing asbestos previously identified and to update records to enable the organisation is able to review its policy and procedures on an annual basis. Should asbestos be found to have deteriorated in condition or been disturbed, this allows an appropriate course of action to be undertaken to repair / encapsulate or remove the issue identified. Asbestos Limited has the keys skills and competences to undertake these tasks in a cost effective manner to ensure continuing compliance with the asbestos regulations. Back To List