Asbestos Management Surveys

There are a few types of asbestos survey, but an asbestos management survey is the standard survey. Its purpose is to locate, as far as reasonably practicable, the presence and extent of any suspect asbestos containing materials (ACMs) in the building which could be damaged or disturbed during normal occupancy, including foreseeable maintenance and installation, and to assess their condition.

Management surveys will often involve minor intrusive work and some disturbance. The extent of intrusion will vary between premises and depend on what is reasonably practicable for individual properties.

A management survey should include an assessment of the condition of the various ACMs and their ability to release fibres into the air if they are disturbed in some way. This ‘material assessment’ will give a good initial guide to the priority for managing ACMs as it will identify the materials which will most readily release airborne fibres if they are disturbed.

Management surveys can involve a combination of sampling to confirm asbestos is present or presuming asbestos to be present.

All areas should be accessed and inspected as far as is reasonably practicable. Areas should include underfloor coverings, above false ceilings, and inside risers, service ducts, lift shafts etc. Surveying may also involve some minor intrusive work, such as accessing behind fascia and panels and other surfaces or superficial materials. The extent of intrusion will depend on the degree of disturbance that is or will be necessary for foreseeable maintenance and related activities, including the installation of new equipment/cabling.

Management surveys should cover routine and simple maintenance work. However, it has to be recognised that where ‘more extensive’ maintenance or repair work is involved, there may not be sufficient information in the management survey and a localised refurbishment survey will be needed. A refurbishment survey will be required for all work which disturbs the fabric of the building in areas where the management survey has not been intrusive.

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Refurbishment and Demolition Surveys

A refurbishment and demolition survey is needed before any refurbishment or demolition work is carried out. This type of survey is used to locate and describe, as far as reasonably practicable, all ACMs in the area where the refurbishment work will take place or in the whole building if demolition is planned.

The survey will be fully intrusive and involve destructive inspection, as necessary, to gain access to all areas, including those that may be difficult to reach. A refurbishment and demolition survey may also be required in other circumstances, eg when more intrusive maintenance and repair work will be carried out or for plant removal or dismantling.

There is a specific requirement in CAR 2012 (regulation 7) for all ACMs to be removed as far as reasonably practicable before major refurbishment or final demolition. Under CDM, the survey information should be used to help in the tendering process for removal of ACMs from the building before other work starts. The survey report should be supplied by the client to designers and contractors who may be bidding for the work, so that the asbestos risks can be addressed.

Refurbishment and demolition surveys are intended to locate all the asbestos in the building (or the relevant part), as far as reasonably practicable. It is a disruptive and fully intrusive survey which may need to penetrate all parts of the building structure. Aggressive inspection techniques will be needed to lift carpets and tiles, break through walls, ceilings, cladding and partitions, and open up floors.

Refurbishment and demolition surveys should only be conducted in unoccupied areas to minimise risks to the public or employees on the premises. Ideally, the building should not be in service and all furnishings removed. For minor refurbishment, this would only apply to the room involved or even part of the room where the work is small and the room large. Under no circumstances should staff remain in rooms or areas of buildings when intrusive sampling is performed.

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