The main reason you need an Asbestos Survey is to protect any person, especially workmen, from accidentally exposing themselves and others to asbestos fibres.
If your building was constructed or altered prior to 2000, your building may contain one or more of some 3000 products manufactured that contain asbestos and therefore you will need a survey.
Within the Control of Asbestos Regulations (CAR) 2012 it clearly creates a “Duty to manage asbestos” and to manage asbestos you need to know you have got it. The asbestos survey identifies asbestos and assists the duty holder in the compilation of the management plan.
If you allow persons to disturb asbestos in your property unknowingly you are breaking the law as well as putting the health of those persons and your employees at risk.
There are many documented instances of builders, plumbers and electricians drilling through innocuous panels, or cutting into pipe insulation, only to discover later that a potentially lethal mistake has been made.
The 'Duty to Manage' (Regulation 4) in the Control of Asbestos Regulations (CAR) 2012, is specifically designed to tighten up the law to reduce the risk from asbestos materials present in buildings.
The reason why this is done is to help prevent the loss of lives through lack of knowledge on the whereabouts and condition of asbestos-containing materials.
There are two main types of survey
- The first and most common is the asbestos management survey. This is carried out to identify asbestos, carry out a material risk assessment for each positive occurrence, complete a priority assessment if required and produce an asbestos register in an easy to read format thus helping the duty holder to fulfil their duties.
- The second type is the pre-demolition survey which is done in order to identify any asbestos containing materials so that they may be removed prior to the building being demolished.
There is a variation of the pre-demolition survey and this is called a refurbishment survey. As the name suggests this is done to a building or specific area of a building prior to any works being undertaken. This is so that any effected asbestos can be removed.