The purpose of all asbestos surveys is:
- To help manage asbestos in premises
- To provide accurate information on the location, amount and condition of asbestos-containing materials (ACMs)
- To assess the level of damage or deterioration in the ACMs and whether remedial action is required
- To use the survey information to prepare a record of the location of any asbestos, typically known as an asbestos register, together with an asbestos plan of the premises. The information in the register should then be used as part of a risk assessment to identify who and when any identified asbestos might be disturbed, and to establish a management plan to prevent such a disturbance
- To help identify all ACMs that need to be removed before commencement of any scheduled refurbishment or demolition works.
It is important that the purpose and scope of the survey is clearly identified when the survey is commissioned and appropriate access given to all relevant areas. This should help to ensure that the information contained within the survey report is appropriate and fit-for-purpose.
A BCS survey has three main aims:
- As far as is reasonably practicable to locate and record the location, extent and product type of any presumed or known ACMs
- To inspect and record information on the accessibility, condition and surface treatment of any presumed or known ACMs
- To determine and record the asbestos type, either by collecting representative samples of suspect materials for laboratory identification, or by making a presumption based on the product type and its appearance etc.
From 2010, the HSE have changed their terminology and criteria for asbestos surveys. Their latest publication, HSG 264 – Health and Safety: Guidance Booklets: Asbestos: The survey guide, refers to two types of asbestos survey – Management Surveys and Refurbishment and Demolition surveys – whereas previous documentation referred to type 1, type 2 and type 3 surveys. Management Surveys replace types 1 and 2, and Refurbishment and Demolition surveys replace type 3.
Although part of a transitionary process, the HSE have advised that all new asbestos surveys commissioned from 2010 should be either Management surveys or Refurbishment and Demolition surveys, and not types 1, 2 or 3 surveys.
Management surveys (formerly type 1 and type 2 surveys)
The purpose of a management survey is to control asbestos-containing materials (ACM) during the normal occupation and use of premises by ensuring that:
- Nobody is harmed by the continuing presence of ACM in the premises or equipment
- The ACM remain in good condition
- Nobody disturbs it accidentally.
A management survey is the standard survey. Its purpose is to locate, as far as reasonably practicable, the presence and extent of any suspect 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, i.e. it will depend on factors such as the type of building, the nature of construction, accessibility, etc.
A management survey should include an assessment of the condition of the various ACMs. 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. The survey will usually involve sampling and analysis.
A management survey can also ‘presume’ the presence or absence of asbestos. By presuming the presence of asbestos, the need for sampling and analysis can be deferred until a later time (e.g. before any work is carried out).
However, as far as possible, all ACMs should be identified as part of the survey. The areas inspected should therefore include, but not be limited to, underfloor voids, ceiling voids, lofts, inside risers, service ducts and lift shafts, areas behind wall linings, basements, cellars, underground rooms, undercrofts, etc.