Asbestos Removal What is asbestos?
Asbestos is the name given to a group of naturally occurring minerals that are contained within rock. These minerals appear as masses of strong, flexible fibres that can be separated into thin threads and woven. Asbestos fibres are not affected by heat or chemicals, and they do not conduct electricity. They are also stronger than steel and quite resilient. For these reasons, asbestos has been widely used in industry for a range of applications.
There are three types of asbestos:
> Crocidolite which are straight blue fibres
> Amosite which are straight brittle fibres light grey to pale brown in colour.
> Chrysotile which are curly, flexible white fibres.
Where is asbestos found?
Asbestos fibres derived from natural and man-made sources are found throughout the environment. Hence, everyone is exposed to a very low level of asbestos fibres every day. In the construction industry, asbestos was widely used in building materials, insulation and household products between the 1900's and the mid 1970's.
Whilst the incidence of asbestos is dependent upon the specification of materials used within the construction industry, an estimated 6 million tonnes of asbestos were imported into the UK in the 20th century.
Typical content of asbestos containing materials
Material Asbestos content (approx)
Insulation Board 16-25%
Ceiling Tiles 80%
Textured Finished 90%
Thermal Insulation 55-85%
Rope 99%
Blanket 99%
Joints/gasket 22-85%
Brake and Clutch lining 30-70%
Cement sheets/pipes 10-30%
What risks are associated with asbestos?
Exposure to asbestos may increase the risk of several serious diseases:
> Asbestos, a chronic lung ailment that can produce shortness of breath and permanent lung damage
> Lung Cancer
> Mesthelioma, a cancer of the thin membranes around the lung (pleura) and abdomen (peritoneum)
> Other cancers such as cancer of the larynx and of the gastrointestinal tract.
There are currently 4,000 deaths per annum attributed to asbestos related diseases in the UK alone.
All forms of asbestos are classified by the European Union as category 1 carcinogens. The Health and Safety Council's (and the EU's ) policy has been that exposure to all forms of asbestos should be prevented, or exposure to all forms of asbestos should be prevented, or exposure minimised where prevention is not reasonably practicable.
Who is at risk?
A quarter of the people now dying from asbestos-related diseases worked in the building trade. They were carpenters, joiners, electricians, shopfitters, plumbers etc. They may have breathed in asbestos dust during their day-to day work with asbestos materials or because work with asbestos was carried out near them. Until recently it was thought those now dying from asbestos-related diseases were exposed to large amounts of asbestos either regularly or during a single spell of work lasting from a few weeks to a few years. It is now thought possible that repeated low level exposures, occurring during routine repair work may also to lead to asbestos-included cancers.
The scientific evidence on exactly what levels of exposure cause disease is unclear. But we do know the more asbestos dust inhaled the greater the risk to health.
Many buildings contain asbestos. So electricians, plumbers, building maintenance workers, shopfitters and carpenters may still be at risk when they carry out refurbishment, repairs, or maintenance work on buildings which contain asbestos. Other workers, not normally associated with the building trade may also routinely disturb asbestos. For instance computer installers, particularly cabling installers, fire alarm installers, window blind fitters, or telecommunication engineers could also be at risk.
Legal obligations for employers
The Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002 (CAWR 2002) govern the requirements for employers and building owners to manage the risks from asbestos where existing in their premises.
The CAWR 2002 requires those responsible for workplace premises to:
> Establish if asbestos is present in their buildings and if so where it is located. Produce a written plan to locate and manage the asbestos, or remove where necessary.
> Assume that asbestos is present unless there is evidence to prove otherwise.
> Record their findings and monitor the condition. Prepare a management plan to manage the risk from asbestos and provide information to anyone liable to come into contact with it.
The Regulations now include the protection of all people who are liable to be exposed to asbestos whether through direct or incidental exposure. So for anyone with responsibility for premises and building management there are now a number of clear implications which apply during routine maintenance work, and refurbishment projects. Where there is uncertainty as to the exact location of any asbestos containing materials, safe work practices must be developed based upon a through risk assessment.
The principles behind the Regulations are contained in Regulations 8 and 12. These require that:
Regulation 8 (CAWR 2002): every employer shall:
> Prevent or, where not reasonably practicable,
> Reduce to the lowest level reasonably practicable the exposure of his employees by measures other than the use of respiratory protective equipment (RPE).
> Where theses measures are not successful in reducing exposure to below the Control Limit, RPE shall be provided and used in addition to prevent exposure to asbestos.
Regulation 12 (CAWR 2002): every employer shall:
> Prevent or, where this is not reasonably praticable,
> Reduce to the lowest level reasonably practicable the spread of asbestos from any place where work with asbestos is carried out.
Tinnelly Environmental, a specialist division of John Tinnelly and Sons Limited, offer a comprehensive answer to the problem of dealing effectively with asbestos.
Providing a service which includes:
> Surveying and Bulk Sampling
> Condition Reports
> Risk Assessment
> Management
> Removal
> Fabric and Component Reinstatement
We seek to provide our customers with a solution based on single point responsibility.
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