Asbestos Management

This page provides information for those people who suspect or know that they have asbestos containing materials (ACMs) within their property and need to know how to manage them. It covers the full asbestos management lifecycle from the initial identification right through to removal or maintenance.

The asbestos management stages are as follows;

• Is asbestos likely to be present (asbestos in the home, asbestos in the workplace, the risks of ACMs )
• Identification (asbestos testing, asbestos survey)
• Risk assessement (material risks, priority assessment)
• Management (labelling, asbestos registers, training)
• Remedial works
• Maintenance (re-inspection)

Is asbestos likely to be present?

The short answer to this question is that if your property was built before 1980 then there is a good chance that ACMs will be present in your building. Asbestos was regarded as a wonder product by many and had a number of uses and was found in everything from floor tiles to flower pots. The good news is that when they are in good condition most of these are low risk products like guttering, roof sheets, PVC tiles, bitumen sink pads, toilet cisterns, blankets, water tanks, roof tiles, roofing felt, damp course, textured coating, resins and adhesives.

The The most dangerous materials are thermal insulation products like lagging, asbestos insulation board (AIB) and sprayed coatings. High risk products tend to be rarer within the home but are still commonly found in the workplace. 

You can find more details about common asbestos containing materials and their associated risks on our asbestos materials page.

ASBESTOS IN THE HOME
If your home was built or redecorated in the period 1930-1980 then there is every chance that there asbestos materials were used at some point. Many of these will have been removed over the years and those that haven't will probably be low risk. However if you have any of the following products in your home and they are more than 20 years old then you should get them tested if they are damaged or before you remove, drill or sand them;

• Lagging or plaster board cladding around a heat source such as a pipe or water tank.
• Underfloor insulation
• Plaster board infill panels (often found around windows)
• Fibrous ceiling tiles
• Fibrous soffits

ASBESTOS IN THE WORKPLACE
Asbestos was used extensively in the workplace between 1930 and 1980. Its industrial uses include building materials, thermal insulation, fireproofing and chemical & electrical resistance products. Common uses and products in the workplace include;

• Thermal insulation in boiler rooms (including lagging, cladding and sprayed asbestos)
• Roof sheeting
• PVC tiles
• Suspended ceiling tiles
• Fireproof ceiling and partitions
• Fire door lining
• Gaskets and seals
• Brake linings
• Millboard
• Resins & mastics

Under UK law (Control Of Asbestos at Regulations 2006) all workplaces must have a register of all products identified or suspected of containing asbestos. 

ASBESTOS TESTING
Asbestos cannot be accurately visually identified in materials although professional asbestos surveyors will be able to presume the presence of asbestos based on a number of factors that include the age and use of the product. The only accurate method of identification is analysis under a microscope which is carried out under controlled conditions in specialised laboratories. Analysis requires a sample of the material to be taken and this should be done by a trained professional to minimise disturbance of dangerous fibres.

An asbestos test can be carried out very quickly, often in under 24 hours, and the results will be presented on a certificate that indicates the asbestos types present, the quantity (trace or positive) and the material type i.e cement board. Because of the importance of accurate results asbestos laboratories are regulated and must meet competence standard ISO/IEC 17025 which, in effect, means that they must be UKAS accredited.

ASBESTOS SURVEYS
If you have a number of suspect materials in your premises then it is safer and cheaper to have an inspection undertaken by a trained (P402 certified) professional asbestos surveyor. The results will be presented to you as a report that will indicate the condition, location and material risk assessment of all of your ACMs. This will make it easier for you to perform risk assessments that will dictate which asbestos management actions you carry out. It will also make it easier to create an accurate asbestos register.

The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) have produced a document (MDHS100) that outlines their recommended methods for taking samples and performing a survey. Professional asbestos surveyors (those that have passed the BOHS P402 exam) strictly follow the processes and guidelines in thos document.

Risk Assessment

Once you have identified the presence of ACMs in your property then you should (dutyholders must) perform some sort of risk assessment to calculate which is your best course of action. There are a number of risk assessment algorithms that have been developed by various organisations (including the HSE) but essentially the process involves combining how hazardous the ACM is (the material risk) and how soon something needs to be done about it (the priority assessment) to form an overall risk assessment. 

MATERIAL RISK
You will find the material risk score in your survey but you can calculate it yourself using the algorithm in paragraph 59 of MDHS100. Essentially you assign numerical values to four factors; material type, damage, surface treatment (whether it is painted or not) and the asbestos type. These values are combined to form an overall material risk score from 0 - 12 where 12 is a very high risk.

The damage and surface treatment factors are important here because a badly damaged low risk material like a cement board can be more hazardous than asbestos lagging that is totally enclosed by a meshing material.

PRIORITY ASSESSMENT
There is no hard and fast way to calculate priority assessment but basically you need to consider factors such as how much of a hazard the material is causing now, how many people are regularly coming into contact with the material and how likely it is to be disturbed. So for example you may have a material like sprayed asbestos with a high material risk that has a low priority assessment because its in a loft space that is only accessed once a year that you calculate to be less risk than a damaged cement board partition that is in a school hallway. In this instance the sprayed insulation is clearly the more dangerous product but it posing less RISK than the cement board that is in a regularly accessed enclosed area where kids are constantly damaging it with their sports bags.

Management

LABELLING
Labelling ACMs is a good way to identify the presence of asbestos and there are many types specialist labels available.

Buy 'a' labels from AMS >>

ASBESTOS REGISTERS
Dutyholders of non-domestic premises will need to form a register of all of materials that they have identified in their property. The register should indicate the location, material type, damage, surface treatment, asbestos type and material risk of all ACMs. This document needs to be easily updateable as the detail in the report will change as ACMs are repaired, removed or damaged. This document should be made available to any of your staff or operatives that are likely to come into contact with your ACMs.

AMS provide an online asbestos registry (FREE to small businesses) here.

TRAINING
Employers are required by law (CAR) to ensure that any of their employees that regularly come into contact with ACMs are given adequate information and training about risks, necessary precautions and asbestos handling procedures.

Find out more about Asbestos Awareness Training >>

Remedial works

All ACMs are potentially hazardous and need to be managed correctly. You do not need to take any action if an ACM is good condition but you should check it regularly to ensure that it hasn't been damaged somehow. Damaged ACMs need to be repaired, painted or enclosed or removed. There are a number of factors that determine the best course of action but cost is probably the biggest. Any work on high-risk asbestos materials needs to be carried out by a licensed contractor under controlled conditions and must be notified to the HSE at least 2 weeks before commencement. This can be expensive so it may be cheaper to get them to encapsulate the material with a PVA sealant rather than remove it.

The best course of action is to consult two or three contractors and ask their opinion. They will be able to give you a better idea of practicalities and costs. For larger project syou may wish to use an independant asbestos consultant to advise you on the best course of action. They will manage the project from start to finish, supervising the work and ensuring that the necessary paperwork is submitted to the HSE.

Contact an AMS consultant for a free quotation >>

ACTION PLANS
Once you have decided upon all of your remedial actions they should be recorded in an action plan and assigned dates. This document should be updated as and when asbestos abatements are carried out or if you decide upon any different actions.

Maintenance

RE-INSPECTION
It is essential that you regularly check the condition of your ACMs to ensure that your risk assessments are still applicable. All changes should be reflected in your asbestos register and risk assessments should be recalculated where applicable. Ideally re-inspections should be carried out by professionally qualified asbestos surveyors.

Arrange for your property to be re-inspected by AMS>>