Correct Asbestos Removal – A Health and Safety Must

Asbestos is a very dangerous building material which was widely used in the last century, before its health risks were realised and it was banned. It was a popular material for building due to its many advantageous properties – including tensile strength, sound absorption, resistance to heat, fire, chemical and electrical damage and affordability. It was used in a number of applications including building insulation, hotplate wiring and electrical insulation. When exposed to the airborne fibres of asbestos, humans experience serious illnesses including mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis and thickening of the lining around the lung.

These health complications can be very severe and can often be fatal. This is why it is absolutely crucial to remove asbestos correctly and to be very careful whenever encountering it in the working environment – as any exposure can result in serious effects and life changing illnesses. This is where Asbestos Removal companies come in. They have the correct asbestos awareness training and they are highly knowledgeable about the proper way to remove this dangerous material as safely as possible. An asbestos removal firm can come into a building and conduct the entire procedure, from start to finish, eliminating the dangerous asbestos without creating a risk to health. Having the help of a removal firm can really be a “life saver”.

How Can You Tell If You Have Asbestos?

If you are conducting renovation work on a building, how do you determine whether or not the building has asbestos? In general, you should assume that any building constructed before 1985 has asbestos within it. It might not, but it is better to be safe than sorry. Brown and blue asbestos materials were banned outright in the United Kingdom in 1985 while white asbestos was outlawed in 1999. In order to find out whether your building has asbestos, you can hire a professional asbestos removal company to perform a test on the material. They will be able to identify the type of asbestos in your home or workplace and the extent to which it exists.

What Does the “Duty to Manage” Asbestos Mean?

According to the Control of Asbestos Regulations of 2012, all owners and occupiers of commercial premises have the responsibility to take care of maintenance and repair activities. They also are legally required to assess the condition and presence of any materials containing asbestos. If this material is present (or thought to be present), it is crucial that it is managed appropriately. Also, this duty applies to domestic premises if they are shared. If you have a “duty to manage” asbestos, it is very important that you follow the correct procedures.

How Does an Asbestos Survey Work?

When you hire an asbestos removal company, they will come to the contaminated site and they will take a number of photographs, notes and samples. After they have done this, they will take the samples back to their lab and analyse them. After looking closely at the samples, they will create a written report with photographs which detail the extent of the asbestos material that is suspected to be present. The asbestos survey report will be very detailed and comprehensive, so that no important detail is left out.

What Does Asbestos Removal Include?

Asbestos removal is a complicated process that must be done well in order to protect the health of all those in contact with it. This is especially true when removing high risk materials, such as asbestos insulation, asbestos coatings, asbestos insulating board and others. These materials offer a greater chance of releasing larger quantities of asbestos fibres into the atmosphere – so they require specific training to move and workers should follow particular working practices. It is also important for workers to use the correct respiratory protective equipment – which they are legally required to use. The asbestos removal workers who carry out this work must be in possession of the correct license from the HSE, so that they know how to complete the task correctly, safely and completely.

How Should Asbestos Be Disposed Of?

Asbestos waste refers to any products or materials that must be disposed. This includes any building materials that are contaminated with asbestos, including rubble, dust, damp rags used for cleaning and other items. All of the waste associated with asbestos should be placed in the correct packaging, so that no fibres whatsoever will be released. It is also important to double wrap this packaging and label it correctly with the appropriate asbestos warning labels. Asbestos waste should not be placed in your regular rubbish disposal – it should be handled by a licensed disposal site. The waste itself should be transported to the site in suitable containers, which will prevent the fibres from releasing while in transit.

Hire a Professional Asbestos Removal Expert

If you need to deal with asbestos, it is essential to hire the services of a professional asbestos removal expert. They will be able to:

  • Test the materials at your building to determine whether asbestos is present and how much there is.
  • Advise you on the very best strategy for removing the asbestos, without risking the health of anyone.
  • Avoid any dangerous mistakes that might occur if you attempt to manage the asbestos on your own.
  • Help you to adhere to the official regulations that you have put in place, ensuring that you are in compliance with the law. The removal of asbestos in the UK is subject to the Control of Asbestos Regulations of 2006 and a professional asbestos removal company will be very familiar with these laws.
  • Answer any questions that you might have about asbestos removal, so that you will not be unsure or confused.

These are just a few of the major advantages to hiring a professional asbestos removal expert. Asbestos is a very dangerous material, but if it is handled properly it can be dealt with in a safe and secure way. With the help of asbestos removal experts, it can be removed efficiently without any health risk.

Related Posts and Content

Related Courses