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WHY IS ASBESTOS DANGEROUS DURING DEMOLITION OR REFURBISHMENT WORK?

Asad Khan

WHY IS ASBESTOS DANGEROUS DURING DEMOLITION OR REFURBISHMENT WORK?

Asbestos was banned for use in the UK from the end of 1999. This leaves millions of buildings around the UK built before the ban date to potentially contain Asbestos. For many years, Asbestos was used by the building industry due to its numerous qualities.

Unfortunately, Asbestos is seriously harmful to human health. This risk is increased significantly if Asbestos is damaged or disturbed especially during demolition and refurbishment works. It can pose serious health issues during any type of demolition or renovation due to fibres being released from the materials being damaged. But why is it harmful now, as opposed to past times?

WHEN IS ASBESTOS MOST DANGEROUS?

Asbestos is most dangerous when disturbed. As such demolition and refurbishment works pose the highest risk where unknown Asbestos is located. It is imperative that the people carrying out these works are fully protected and the pre-start requirements have been completed before works begin.

Just because a building has had an Asbestos Survey the site manager and workforce should check that the survey covers the right areas of the building, includes all required items and is the correct survey type for the required works. Working from the wrong survey type is very risky and could get the workers in serious trouble and create significant risks. For demolition works a Demolition Survey is required. For refurbishment works a refurbishment survey is required. This is a LEGAL requirement.

Anyone in charge of demolition has a legal duty of care to protect any employees and anyone else in or around the property from the dangers of Asbestos exposure.

If dust containing Asbestos fibres is released into the air during demolition, it may be difficult to control the situation once it has occurred. The only solution at this stage is often to keep checking the air quality and wait for the fibres to settle and then fully assess the scale of the problem. This can be costly and brings significant liability on the companies or people involved.

RECOMMENDATION

Having the correct Asbestos Survey Type is critical prior to any renovation or demolition work being undertaken on a property.

Refurbishment or Demolition Asbestos Surveys employ intrusive and destructive techniques to determine the location and amount of Asbestos present in the building's structure.

This kind of survey will evaluate hard-to-reach areas including roof voids, boxings, the interiors of walls, solid floors, and under-crofts and includes the areas not standardly inspected during a standard Management Asbestos Survey.

Typically before starting any demolition works on a property all asbestos is fully and safely removed to avoid any risk of fibre release.

Contact us today and one of our experienced Asbestos consultants will take you through the process and ensure you are safely conducting your demolition works. 

If you're interested in learning more about asbestos check out our blog posts here or if you're working somewhere where asbestos exposure might be a concern, contact us for emergency response.

Our local teams can assist with any of the following asbestos-related works -

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