Posted By Lee Bradbury Can anyone clarify for me whether the following is required to be undertaken by a 'Licenced Contractor'???? We are to replace the fascias, soffits and guttering on an estate of social housing properties and the asbestos survey has identified approx. 80 properties with Chrysotile asbestos cement soffits. The schedule allows for 3 person teams to replace a pair of semi's per day per team (approx. exposure 2 hours per team per day) over a period of approx. 6/8 weeks. We would of course be following the requirements of Asbestos Essentials Task A14 albeit on a larger scale. Any thoughts appreciated Lee

Posted By Peter Zunda Take a look at; "Advice to managers and sole traders on ‘Asbestos essentials’" - Asbestos Essentials sheet a0, right at the last page, left-hand side; ‘Sporadic and low intensity exposure’ Going by this I'd say the work you propose exceeds that for non-licensed work.

Posted By Peter Zunda Lee, they're contradicting their own advice, see; http://www.hse.gov.uk/as...gapplication.htm#whendoi Peter.

Posted By Lee Bradbury Thanks again everyone. It is AC (we have had absorption tests carried out) and as the soffits are generally only nailed every metre or so they can be easily removed without unneccessary breakages. This is the first time I've used this forum but if the responses you get are this quick, I will definately use again. Cheers

Posted By Peter MacDonald I would say "probably not" to using lic contractor. But.....You need to check not only sporadic and low intensity but also consider the following..... particulalrly item 2, 3(i) and especially item 3 (ii). Subject to certain covering criteria the Lic Regulations do not apply if the 1. the exposure to employees to asbestos is sporadic and of low intensity 2. it is clear from a risk assessment that the exposure of any employee to asbestos will not exceed the control limit 3. the work involves: (i) short, non continuous maintenance activities (ii) removal of materials in which the fibers are firmly linked into the material matrix (iii) encapsulation or sealing of asbestos-containing materials which are in good condition (iv) air monitoring and control, and the collection and analysis of samples to ascertain whether a material contains asbestos. Properly controlled with a decent plan of work, PPE and RPE (Tyvek suit and 1/2 mask) and somewhere to shower the work can be done without a lic contractor. Cheers Peter

Posted By MW Lee, You do not need a license for the work however they contractor must have training to remove the asbestos, they must have suitable RPE that they have been face fitted for, they must have insurance to allow them to undertake the work, they must also have (as previously mentioned) a RA & MS to undertake the works. A demolition job in our area was recently shut down by the HSE as the non-licensed contractor had none of the above (and he was working with AC) I hope this helps. MW