Asbestos Management

Asbestos was used extensively as a building material in Great Britain from the 1950s through to the mid 1980s. Although some of this material has been removed over the years, there are many thousands of tonnes of asbestos still present in buildings. It is estimated that over half a million non-domestic premises currently have some form of asbestos in them.

The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006

Regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 creates a new legal duty to manage asbestos in non-domestic premises.

Unless this material is properly managed, building and maintenance workers may breathe in harmful asbestos fibres when carrying out everyday jobs.

The ‘duty holder’ is anyone responsible for maintaining and repairing all or part of a property, or who has control of the building’ for example, the occupier or the owner.

For a non expert, this is a daunting prospect. Cirrus Environmental Solutions Ltd is qualified and experienced to assist in the management of asbestos in buildings by offering the following services:

1. Comprehensive building surveys

   Designed to locate asbestos containing materials and determine condition. The results of the inspection are recorded, identifying the parts of the building where asbestos is located and the likelihood of accidental damage or disturbance.

   Cirrus Environmental Solutions Ltd is able to offer a number of survey types, depending on the end need.

   • Type 2 'Sampling' Surveys are generally carried out to assist in complying with CAWR
   • Type 3 'Destructive' Surveys are normally required prior to refurbishment or demolition
   • Reassessment Surveys may be undertaken at regular intervals after the initial survey to assess potential deterioration in condition of existing asbestos and allow up to date evaluation of the risk to human health.

   All survey reports are fully interpretive and discuss likely risk and required remedial measures.

2. Asbestos Management

   The asbestos survey is merely the first step in asbestos management and does not guarantee compliance with CAWR. Cirrus Environmental Solutions Ltd is able to design, implement and run efficient management plans to manage risk. The key part of the plan is to inform employees, visitors or other people coming to work on the building, to prevent accidental exposure to airborne fibre. The plan must incorporate regular checks to make sure the condition of the materials does not deteriorate.

   Our management plans offer practical and cost effective solutions for dealing with all types of asbestos in all types of situation, whether it be removal, encapsulation or simply labeling and monitoring condition.

   Asbestos management is a complex issue. As part of the management package, we can provide full asbestos awareness training to those who require a more in depth knowledge, or simply improve education amongst staff through provision of information.