Asbestos Audit

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ASBESTOS IN COMMERCIAL PROPERTY

Asad Khan

Fig 1 Source: HEC

Asbestos in commercial properties

The term commercial property covers a wide range of buildings and structures. It could be a corner shop or a large commercial shopping centre to a hospital or a police station.

They all fall under the same Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 and requirements in terms of asbestos management. From April 2004 on wards it became a legal duty to have an asbestos register and associated Asbestos Management Plan (AMP) for any building built before the end of 1999.

In order to produce an accurate AMP it is essential to have an asbestos survey of the property. This is to ensure the asbestos within the commercial building is properly identified and recorded in the correct manner to allow any AMP created to work as the regulations state.

At Asbestos Audit Ltd we have a vast knowledge of surveying commercial buildings for asbestos of all types and ages. Our team has worked upon some of the U.K.’s famous structures including The Houses of Parliament. The team is currently working on a number of hospitals, police and MOD buildings alongside a large number of local authority structures. We have also recently undertaken inspections for a large local retail outlets alongside the pre-demolition of the town centre shopping structure in Spennymoor with over 60 commercial shop units.

Commercial properties have the potential to contain all types of asbestos containing materials within them.

Asbestos Audit Ltd assists with all aspects of asbestos management for our clients Commercial properties. This could range from first time asbestos surveys, pre-refurbishment asbestos surveys, pre-demolition asbestos surveys, creation of the site AMP and everyday management, Asbestos Abatement to general asbestos advice and information.

Asbestos within commercial properties is still a major concern throughout the UK. Any commercial property constructed before the end of 1999 can contain asbestos. You can locate asbestos in the structure or finishes of a commercial property.

Asbestos fibres pose a significant risk to health. Managing the risk of asbestos is a key part of the Duty to Manage Asbestos. Regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations defines the legal duties placed upon the Duty Holder.

The UK used asbestos materials in a variety of ways until the end of 1999.

You can find asbestos in many places in your commercial property. You can see examples of asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) below.

ASBESTOS WITHIN COMMERCIAL PROPERTY

1. Asbestos Sprayed Coatings - Used on ceilings, walls, structural steelwork and areas requiring high levels of fire protection

2. Loose-fill Asbestos Insulation - used in voids for fire protection, fire proof safes, loft voids and fire doors

3. Asbestos Lagging- used on pipe work, boilers, calorifiers and plant

4. Asbestos Insulating Board (AIB) - used in ceiling tiles, panels, doors, partition walls, fire boxing around structural steelwork, soffits

5. Asbestos cement - used on roofs, fascia’s, soffits, panels, water tanks, flue pipes, ceilings, walls

6. Asbestos Composites - used as brake pads, toilet cisterns, toilet seats and stair nosing

7. Asbestos Textiles - used as rope, gaskets, packing, fire protection on clasp buildings, seals, fire blankets

8. Asbestos Bonded Materials - used in floor tiles, floor covering, plastics, putty’s, resins and mastics

9. Asbestos Textured Coatings -used on walls and ceilings as a decorative finish often referred to as Artex coating

This is by no means a complete list of all asbestos types or materials.

If you want to learn more about asbestos, check out our blog posts here. If you work in a place where asbestos exposure could be a problem, contact us for emergency help.

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

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