Asbestos Surveys for Commercial Properties

Yes. Depending on your needs and requirements you can choose from a variety of asbestos surveys. At Crucial Environmental, we offer asbestos management surveys which are designed to locate and assess any asbestos in a property and establish the condition. These can be used for businesses to create an asbestos management plan.

If you are planning to have work carried out on your property or you are having the entire building demolished and are worried about disturbing asbestos or ACMs, you should opt for an asbestos refurbishment and demolition survey. This survey will use invasive and destructive techniques to establish the extent of asbestos within the fabric of the property.

If you are buying a property and are worried about the potential for asbestos, you should choose a home buyer asbestos survey. This will look into the asbestos and ACMs in the property that you are considering purchasing so that you can make an informed choice.

Asbestos was a commonly used building material with a wide variety of uses. This means that it can be found in a huge number of places throughout residential and commercial properties. It has been used in insulation, cement, ceiling tiles, water tanks, piping, chimneys, partition walls and more. It’s very possible that you could live in work in proximity to asbestos without being aware of it.

Generally it is the owner of the commercial or industrial property who is responsible for asbestos management, but if you are a landlord, tenant or managing agent, you should check your contract to establish whether you are responsible. If the contract indicates that you are responsible, it is up to you to carry out a risk assessment and have a plan in place to limit the risk of any exposure to asbestos. Having an asbestos survey carried out is the first step in this process.

It can be. Undamaged asbestos that has not be disturbed is a relatively low risk and poses no immediate danger to health. But when the material is disturbed and fibres are released into the atmosphere it can be breathed into the lungs. This is when asbestos is a hazard to your health.

Identifying asbestos can be very difficult, not least because it was often used within other materials such as cement and spray coatings, meaning it’s not always visible or obvious. Some materials containing asbestos look identical to those that don’t have asbestos. The only truly effective way to identify asbestos is to have a survey carried out by professionals.

No. Many commercial property or home owners believe that if they have asbestos on their property, the best thing to do is to remove it, but this isn’t the case at all. In fact if the asbestos is in good condition, it’s usually much safer to leave it in place and ensure that it is not disturbed. Your asbestos survey will guide you as to whether you need to have the asbestos removed.

If your property was built before the year 2000, it is possible that it may contain asbestos. While the use of asbestos was made illegal by regulations in 1999, it had been a material that was commonly used in building and construction. You should not assume that because asbestos is currently banned that it cannot be in your property.

An asbestos survey is valuable for a number of reasons. In the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 it states that in non-domestic premises, there must be a plan in place to minimise the risk of asbestos exposure to employees. When you have a survey carried out it can identify any asbestos currently on your premises and provide details on where the ACM is located and their current condition. From these details you will be able to create your asbestos management plan.

If you are a homeowner and you suspect you have asbestos on the property, you are not required by law to have a plan in place. However, many homeowners naturally want to be aware of the existence of the material so that they can take steps to protect themselves and anyone living there from exposure.