Safety Management Services Asbestos Report

Introduction

Safety Management Services has been asked to provide our professional opinion on the asbestos containing paint coating found on the external elevations of Ballaughton Manor by our company during a Pre Demolition/Refurbishment Asbestos Survey

Asbestos Material Details and its Condition

The external paint found on the elevations of the building was found to contain Chrysotile asbestos fibres. All asbestos fibres are dangerous and can cause various diseases including Mesothelioma and Lung Cancer

A number of samples have been found to contain asbestos fibres and a number have not, the reason behind the sporadic nature of the sample results will be because historically this type of material was hand mixed on site and the asbestos fibres added in varying proportions to the mix so the percentage of asbestos fibres can vary throughout the paint coating.

The paint coating is in poor condition and is deteriorating. The coating is flaking away from the render coating in various areas around the elevations of building which is probably caused by damp within the existing walls.

Remedial options Encapsulate the asbestos paint coatings

Due to the paint coating flaking off from the external render we feel that this is not a viable option as there obviously nothing for any encapsulate paint to adhere to and as such the encapsulate paint will eventually peel away causing future potential for asbestos fibre release.

Removal of the asbestos paint coating

Discussions have been held with a Licensed Asbestos Removal Contractor to assess and prepare an approach to removal of the paint coating. The approaches included scraping and brushing the material but this will leave residual asbestos fibres on the external walls

The Asbestos Removal Contractor has looked at high pressure water jetting which on its own has inherent hazards, but when used during the removal of asbestos can lead to other issues such as:

•  The production of slurry which when it dries out can leave residual asbestos fibres
•  The slurry can also be difficult to contain leading to further asbestos contamination of other areas due to run off
•  The high pressure water blast can force asbestos fibres into the render leaving residual asbestos fibres engrained in the render

•  Water can cause deterioration of the filters in respiratory protective equipment worn by the removal operatives which can potentially lead to them being exposed to asbestos fibres during the removal operation
•  Other removal options like paint removing gels or Quill blasting will cause a lot of mess, possible contamination of other areas and will leave residual asbestos fibres engrained within the render coating
•  The residual asbestos fibres left in the render will be a problem during the proposed construction works and future maintenance of the building as any type of work carried out that has the potential to release asbestos fibres will expose other people to the deadly fibres e.g.

• o Drilling holes for the installation of temporary support work for façade retention
• o Connecting new masonry walls to the existing front façade walls that contain asbestos fibres
• o Installation of new windows and the need to disturb the window reveals during installation
• o A satellite dish installation company drilling walls that contain asbestos fibres or an electrician installing a floodlight or security cameras and associated cabling

Removal of the render and asbestos paint coating

Removal of the render coating and the asbestos containing paint will remove the asbestos but the removal process also has the following issues:

•  The amount of breakage during the removal of the render will be obviously difficult to minimise and also dust released will be difficult to suppress due to the water not fully soaking through the materials
•  Suppression techniques will involve water so the same issue concerning management of slurry, contamination of other areas and it drying out leaving residual fibres is an issue
•  The Contractor estimates that this work will take approximately 6 weeks to complete which means that the Asbestos removal operatives are exposed to asbestos fibres for a 6 week period

Demolition of the structure and front façade

Demolition of the whole building including the front façade will completely remove the asbestos problem and also has the following benefits

•  There is no asbestos risks during the construction of the new building which means that exposure to construction workers to asbestos fibres has been prevented
•  Controlled Demolition of the whole building will take 5-7 days which means the exposure time of demolition contractors to asbestos fibres is greatly reduced
•  There is no future maintenance issues for any person who may need to work on a piece of structure that still has residual asbestos fibres present

What the Regulations require

The key aim of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 is to prevent the exposure to asbestos so far as is reasonably practicable.

If this is not possible then exposure must be reduced to as low as reasonably practicable. CAR 2012 Regulation 11 Sub Paragraph 1 reads:

• (1) Every employer must—

• (a) prevent the exposure to asbestos of any employee employed by that employer so far as is reasonably practicable;
• (b) where it is not reasonably practicable to prevent such exposure—

• (i) take the measures necessary to reduce exposure to asbestos of any such employee to the lowest level reasonably practicable by measures other than the use of respiratory protective equipment, and
• (ii) ensure that the number of any such employees exposed to asbestos at any one time is as low as is reasonably practicable.

• (2) Where it is not reasonably practicable for the employer to prevent the exposure to asbestos of any such employee employed by that employer in accordance with paragraph (1)(a), the measures referred to in paragraph (1)(b)(i) must include, in order of priority—

• (a) the design and use of appropriate work processes, systems and engineering controls and the provision and use of suitable work equipment and materials in order to avoid or minimise the release of asbestos; and
• (b) the control of exposure at source, including adequate ventilation systems and appropriate organisational measures, and the employer must so far as is reasonably practicable provide any employee concerned with suitable respiratory protective equipment in addition to the measures required by sub-paragraphs (a) and (b).

Conclusion

Demolition does not prevent exposure but will greatly reduce exposure to asbestos fibres as it’s a quicker process requiring far less people on site compared with removal of the render.

The demolition operation will be carried out remotely by mechanical demolition equipment operated by one person in a protective cab and the machine fitted with dust suppression, rather than a large number of asbestos removal operatives hacking render off where asbestos is present

The above machine demolition method will also be quicker - 5-7 days demolition against 6 weeks to just remove the render and paint coating, which means exposure time and associated demolition risks are massively reduced

Airborne fibres during Demolition will still need to be monitored, and we would advise that reassurance air monitoring is carried out by a UKAS Accredited Air Monitoring Company that is appointed by the Client. This gives a reassurance to the client and surrounding properties that asbestos fibre levels have been suitably suppressed during the demolition process.

Full demolition will also mean that exposure of construction workers to asbestos fibres during the construction work and also maintenance workers during any future repairs or maintenance work on the building is prevented

Report prepared by Neil Curphey CMIOSH