Pre-Demolition Asbestos Surveys: Know How to Manage ACMs Better

Pre-demolition asbestos surveys are necessary to identify all the asbestos available in the building as much as practically possible. The survey is time consuming and intensely intrusive. It can disrupt the working of your office, seriously impacting the daily routine. Professional surveyors are generally aggressive in detecting asbestos and may resort to lifting carpets and tiles. They may even need to break through walls and ceilings, dismantle claddings and partitions and open up false ceilings and floorings to make the survey as comprehensive as possible. When a pre-demolition asbestos survey is initiated, you must make sure that there are controls in place to limit the spread of debris which in all likelihood may also contain asbestos. The surveys are generally done in isolated and unoccupied areas to minimize the risk to individuals and staff present on the premises. It is pretty obvious that all furniture and files need to be removed and the place stripped off its furnishings before the pre-demolition survey is initiated. If the survey is limited to a specific room or area, then only that part needs to be vacated of all fittings and fixtures. Non-removable things can be protected using special sheeting. Destructive inspection is sometimes inevitable to gain access to all areas. It is necessary to assist the removal of all asbestos material. The survey report necessitates inclusion of all materials inspected and sampled. They must be tested by an accredited laboratory to identify all asbestos positive materials. The pre-demolition survey must include a register that details all the findings of the survey in as comprehensive manner as possible. It must also include photographs of sampling points, site plan of individual sampling point, a certificate of analysis from an accredited UK laboratory and a full report in the prescribed format. Surveys must be done by an agency that is licensed by the appropriate authorities to carry out such tasks. Most companies specialize in pre-demolition and pre-refurbishment surveys and have trained demolition engineers to overlook and conduct the operations skillfully and in an organized manner. The use of asbestos containing materials was banned because of the serious health concerns it caused along with the environmental hazards that could follow potentially because of continuous and rampant misuse. The pre-demolition survey is a safe way of ensuring that asbestos containing materials are better managed at the very onset to prevent serious mishaps later. Pre-demolition asbestos survey must be done by agencies that have extensive experience in the task. The reports can help you put things in order for the future.