Rank: Forum user 
|
Scenario: Engineer attends a domestic property to exchange an electric meter which is mounted on an asbestos insulation board. The board is normally non friable cement based (but could potentially be friable) and the job will take less than 1 hour. a) would this be classed as nnnl work? b) if no, and the board was to break while working; does this now become nlw? (and would an external company be required to come in to deal with the broken board) c) Would it be safer to cover, remove or re-use the existing board? d) how can the engineer tell its friable/nonfriable without testing the material, and if it is friable does this become nlw? I'm currently researching the topic and still going through the regs for asbestos in more detail but any constructive help is much appreciated :) Edited by user 04 August 2020 07:27:51(UTC)
| Reason: further clarification of question
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rank: Super forum user
|
Hardworkingdude Lots of readers but no reply, so I will have a go..... Difficult to answer without more information, but there are lots of useful information sheets accessed via the asbestos pages on the HSE website. But in essence, something that you decide rightly is non-friable shouldn't change into being friable even if broken. If the fibres are bonded in cement, then if you break e.g. an asbestos cement sheet, there will be RELATIVELY low numbers of fibres released into the atmosphere assuming that you don't crush it under a rolling machine or similar. Asbestos Insulating Board isn't usually well bonded. The threshold for what is or is not work that needs a licence is essentially risk-based. If the risk is lower (NOT no risk) then it may be done by someone without a licence. The more friable the material the more likely it is that the work needs a licensed contractor. If the engineer has attended a suitable Asbestos Awareness course and has understood its content, then they should have a reasonable idea of whether the material is likely to be friable. "Suitable" is unlikely to mean 30 minutes of e-learning! Whether to replace the backing board or not is a matter of judgement. Might be greater risk attempting to detach the board than by leaving it in place, particularly if it is in good condition. Ultimately down to having a competent team in place to assess the risk and then to do the work. P
|
 1 user thanked peter gotch for this useful post.
|
|
|
|
Rank: Super forum user 
|
Is the property part of your portfolio or are on asking on the engineer's side?
|
|
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum.
You cannot reply to topics in this forum.
You cannot delete your posts in this forum.
You cannot edit your posts in this forum.
You cannot create polls in this forum.
You cannot vote in polls in this forum.