Asbestos register
Asbestos management survey and register
The record of where asbestos-containing materials are, or are presumed to be, in a building, which contractors must be shown before disturbing the fabric.
Any building built or refurbished before 2000 may contain asbestos. The dutyholder for a non-domestic building (usually the owner or the person responsible for maintenance) must find out whether it does, record where it is and its condition, assess the risk, and manage it, including telling anyone likely to disturb it. The register is that record, produced from a management survey. Before refurbishment or demolition, a more intrusive refurbishment and demolition survey is required for the areas to be worked on, because the management survey does not open up the fabric.
For a contractor, the rule is simple: do not start work that could disturb the fabric of a pre-2000 building until you have seen the register or the R&D survey for that area, and stop if you find anything suspicious that is not on it. Most licensable work (sprayed coatings, insulation, insulating board) needs an HSE-licensed contractor and 14 days' notice; some lower-risk work is notifiable non-licensed; and a small range of tasks can be done by trained, non-licensed workers with the right controls. Asbestos awareness training is required for anyone who might come across it, which in construction is everyone.
Where it comes from
- Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 reg.4 (duty to manage), reg.5 (identification before work), reg.10 (information, instruction and training), regs.8 and 9 (licensing and notification).
- HSE Approved Code of Practice L143 and HSG264 (Asbestos: the survey guide).
Questions people ask
The client says there is no asbestos. Do I need to see a survey?
Yes, for a pre-2000 building. "There is none" is a survey finding, not an opinion. If the client cannot produce one, the work waits or you presume asbestos is present and price accordingly.
What do I do if we find something suspicious?
Stop, keep people away, do not sweep or disturb it, and get it sampled by a competent analyst. Work in that area waits for the result. Record the event.
Asbestos register, handled on a phone
SiteLynx puts the RAMS, permits, inspections, audits, plant checks and records behind every term in this glossary on the crew's phones, signed on site, with a PDF at the end. 14 days free, no card.
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