If you own or rent a commercial building, you may be responsible for any asbestos management plans for the property. While asbestos was banned in the UK from 1999, it’s still present in many commercial buildings built before this time, so its condition must be carefully monitored. If you’re organising a demolition or soft strip out, you must book an asbestos demolition survey before any work starts. Here’s everything you need to know.
What Is an Asbestos Demolition Survey?
This type of asbestos survey is often referred to as a refurbishment or demolition survey, which is used to assess the risks involved. This may include testing for the presence, type and condition of any asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) in the property before this type of work can take place. It’s an intrusive inspection to gain access to all areas requiring assessment, including those difficult to reach.
The survey allows contractors to plan the work as safely as possible, ensuring nobody is put in harm’s way. The survey may even determine an asbestos specialist is required to conduct removal work so that the demolition or refurbishment work can safely take place.
Why Is an Asbestos Assessment Required?
This type of survey will be required BEFORE any demolition or refurbishment work begins, and you may also need a survey if there’s intrusive repair or maintenance work required in your building. It’s one of the most necessary types of assessment due to the invasive nature of this type of work.
If there are any ACMs present, in-depth property strip outs and refurbishments will no doubt disturb the asbestos fibres, which can be present anywhere from inside walls and floors to ceilings, insulation and fittings. If the small fibres are breathed in, they can enter the lungs and cause damage over time, and the HSE has stated asbestos still kills around 5,000 workers each year as a result of past exposure.
What Will the Asbestos Survey Results Show?
Once the asbestos specialist has performed their survey, they’ll produce a report to highlight the risks and dangers involved. Even if you’ve already had extensive testing done so that the asbestos is well-managed, it’s still important to seek expert support so that a demolition or strip out can go ahead safely, and hopefully, most contractors will be aware of this too. If further tests are required, they’ll send these samples to the laboratory to confirm which ACMs are present and ensure you understand the full risks involved.
Commercial Asbestos Removals
From there, your commercial asbestos experts can arrange the safe removal or isolation of any ACMs, including boilers, partition walls, flooring, ceilings, cladding, pipes and much more. The same asbestos company may be able to complete the soft strip out work too so that you won’t have to liaise between suppliers. High-risk removals will require a licensed asbestos contractor.
Do you need to book a demolition survey?
Speak to the team at Goodbye Asbestos. We work across London, Surrey and the Home Counties, including Brighton, Battersea and Banstead. To talk to our team about our specialist asbestos surveys available for your project, contact us.
