FAQs

Asbestos refers to six naturally occurring fibrous minerals that have the ability to resist heat, fire and electricity, Consisting of:

1. Chrysotile (white)
2. Crocidolite (blue)
3. Amosite (brown)
4. Fibrous Tremolite
5. Fibrous Actinolite
6. Fibrous Anthophyllite

Asbestos has unique properties including:

– Ability to Split Down its Length to Minute Sizes

– It is inert to Chemical Attack

– Ability to Remain Airborne

– Abrasive

Due to the ease of which asbestos fibres split when disturbed they become airborne and can remain so for long periods of time in certain environments. The smallest changes in air movement caused by heat convection or external over pressures can cause these fibres to migrate to other areas. However, this may also have a dilution effect where the disturbance may be minor.

Compliance with The Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 and specific Statutory Requirements of The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 – Regulation 4 – The Duty to Manage Asbestos.

Regulation 4 Summary

This regulation covers the duty to manage asbestos in non-domestic premises. It requires dutyholders to identify the location and condition of asbestos in non-domestic premises and to manage the risk to prevent harm to anyone who works on the building or to building occupants. It also explains what is required of people who have a duty to co-operate with the main dutyholder to enable them to comply with the regulation. Non-domestic premises including the common parts of domestic premises.

In this regulation “the dutyholder” means every person who has, by virtue of a contract or tenancy, an obligation of any extent in relation to the maintenance or repair of non-domestic premises or any means of access or egress to or from those premises

Chirmarn Ltd can provide bespoke compliant Asbestos Management Surveys in full consideration of the normal use, occupation and maintenance requirements of the property.  The resulting survey will include conditional assessments of all asbestos containing materials identified using the assessment criteria and methodology within current HSE best practice Guidance HSG 264. The report will indicate high and low risk materials and include immediate actions required and on-going management recommendations.    

There are currently no legal requirements to Manage Asbestos within a private domestic property. However, between the 1940’s and 2000, ACM’s were widely used within domestic buildings.  Please be aware that when purchasing or selling a property, the conveyancing building surveyor will normally report suspect ACM’s during their site inspection and recommend further investigation by an Asbestos Surveying Company.  Should asbestos be confirmed then this may delay the sale and incur significant asbestos removal costs which may lead to all party re-negotiation.

Chirmarn Ltd regularly undertake pre-sale asbestos surveys for both buyers and sellers and provide advice, guidance and support. This includes seeking competitive removal quotations for any ACM’s identified.  

Compliance with The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 and The CDM Regulations 2015.

A Refurbishment & Demolition survey is required before any Refurbishment or Demolition work is carried out. 

This level of surveying will normally be a significantly higher level of inspection than a Management Survey. However, the complexity of the inspection will be reliant on the scope of intended works and survey site conditions. The range of surveys may vary in size from small scale works affecting one or two rooms within a building to large scale demolition works of industrial sites. The Surveys will normally be intrusive and should only be undertaken within unfurnished and unoccupied areas to avoid limitations. However, the primary requirement is that the survey should reflect the intended scope of works proposed for the building within similar site conditions.

Chirmarn Ltd can undertake all levels of Refurbishment & Demolition Surveys in accurate reflection of any given proposed scope of works. ACTS Group Ltd can also assist with the post works preparation and validation of asbestos Management registers relating to any ACM’s identified but not removed during the works.    

Chirmarn Ltd regularly undertake pre-sale asbestos surveys for both buyers and sellers and provide advice, guidance and support. This includes seeking competitive removal quotations for any ACM’s identified.  

Both private home owners and landlords have duties under the current regulations to identify asbestos risk prior to refurbishment.  Should you engage any trades people to undertake works within your property then your property becomes a ‘Place of Work’ and all regulations will apply to those engaged in the works. In addition, the revised CDM 2015 requirements now extend to works within the domestic sector. However, as most home owners are not considered as experts, Domestic clients are in the scope of CDM 2015 but their duties as a ‘client’ are normally transferred to The Builder/Contractor, on a single contractor job, the principal contractor, on a project involving more than one contractor. Alternatively, a domestic client can choose to have a written agreement for the principal designer to carry out the client duties.