Written By: admin on May 14, 201041 CommentsThe HSE has launched a new campaign to stress the importance of hiring a suitably qualified asbestos surveyor. A number of roadshows have been arranged to promote a better understanding of the surveying process amongst those managing the risks associated with asbestos containing materials (ACMs).The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 place a number of obligations on people with responsibility for the maintenance and repair of non-domestic properties (duty holders). These include a duty to find out if there is asbestos present in the building and to assess the risk of people in the building being exposed to airborne fibres released by ACMs. Where any asbestos is found, an ongoing obligation requires duty holders to ensure that the level of risk is monitored and managed.An asbestos surveyor can be used to carry out checks for the existence of asbestos and the level of risk posed to human health. It is vital that they have the skills, experience and training necessary to do the job well (and the Regulations make this a legal requirement). The HSE has stipulated in a recent guide that duty holders should only hire surveyors certified by a competent body. It strongly recommends the United Kingdom Accreditation Service or the Asbestos Builders Inspection Certification Scheme.Asbestos was a very popular building material, applied to a variety of purposes in residential and commercial properties between the 1950s and 1999, when the total ban on the use of this material came into force (any property built before this time is likely to contain at least some asbestos). It is found in many places in a building including ceiling tiles, pipe insulation, boilers and sprayed coatings. The material was often mixed with other materials, making it hard to know for certain if you are working with it. With a suitably qualified professional, it is at least possible to know that best practice is being followed in identifying and managing risk.Click here to read ‘Asbestos: the survey guide’ by the HSE.
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