Asbestos Surveys
Crucial Environmental Ltd provides asbestos surveys to commercial and residential clients across the UK. With offices in the South East, Midlands & North West, we can cover everywhere from London, Sussex & Southampton to Birmingham, Manchester & Oxford. We are accredited to BS EN ISO/IEC 17020 by UKAS to undertake both Management Asbestos Surveys (Type 2) and Refurbishment & Demolition Asbestos Surveys (Type 3) in accordance with current HSE guidelines.
Asbestos surveys are a crucial part of management of asbestos in industrial, commercial, and residential properties. At Crucial Environmental, we have years of experience providing in-depth asbestos surveys for buildings of all types across the UK. Whether you are concerned about asbestos on your site that is being refurbished or you need to have a check to create a management plan for your premises, we can help.
For any type of survey, get in contact with us today by calling 01903 297818 or by filling out our contact form.
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Refurbishment & Demolition Surveys
Nationwide Coverage
Fully Experienced Team
What is an asbestos survey?
An asbestos survey in an inspection of a property that is specifically looking for the presence of asbestos.
During the survey, an externally accredited surveyor will inspect your property to attempt to discover any asbestos or asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) on the site. If any suspicious material is located it will be sent to an accredited lab for analysis and you will be provided with details of any asbestos found.
Crucial Environmental Ltd are accredited to BS EN ISO/IEC 17020 by UKAS to undertake both Management Asbestos Surveys (Type 2) and Refurbishment & Demolition Asbestos Surveys (Type 3) in accordance with current HSE guidelines. These are the two types of professional asbestos surveys available in the UK.
Management Asbestos Survey (Type 2)
One of the most popular services we provide are our management asbestos surveys – previously known as Type 2 asbestos surveys. These function as the first step in producing an asbestos management plan which will help you adhere to the requirements of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012.
Asbestos is not always visually obvious and it can be impossible to know whether a specific material contains asbestos just by looking at it, so an asbestos survey is the only way to be sure.
The purpose of this asbestos assessment is to locate and assess any ACMs at your property – especially where these materials could be knocked, damaged or disturbed during standard occupancy, or due to foreseeable light maintenance or installations.
If we find suspicious materials that may contain asbestos, we will take representative samples. These samples are then sent off to a favoured UKAS-accredited laboratory where they will be analysed. The results will be used to compile a register of ACMs on the premises. The condition of each ACM is then assessed and we provide recommendations regarding their current state and their future management.
After we have carried out the initial asbestos survey, we can conduct regular re-inspections to monitor the on-going condition of the ACMs. We offer fantastic deals on re-inspections if we have conducted the initial assessment on your property.
Refurbishment & Demolition Asbestos Survey (Type 3)
This asbestos refurbishment survey is similar to our management asbestos survey except that intrusive and destructive methods are used to uncover the extent of ACMs within the fabric of the building – finding materials that may be entirely hidden within the structure.
Previously known as Type 3 surveys, these will use intrusive and destructive methods to allow us to gain access to difficult-to-reach areas such as roof voids, wall interiors, solid floors and under crofts.
This survey is ideal if you are having extensive refurbishment works carried out or if the whole building is being demolished. If you were to carry out refurbishment works and asbestos was present within the building structure then you are likely to disturb it. This is when asbestos is dangerous, as fibres are released into the atmosphere and can be breathed into the lungs.
We also offer management surveys with refurbishment or in demolition specified areas. In this case the majority of the building would have a standard management survey, while intrusive and destructive methods would be used in the designated areas.
We carry out a live asbestos risk assessment on site before we commence working.
What will the survey report include?
The report that you receive at the end of your survey will contain a number of pieces of information, set out in a way that is easy to understand. In the report, you will find:
- A summary of the survey
- The main findings and the scope of survey
- Overall recommendations and conclusions
- Any further actions required
- The name of the UKAS-accredited laboratory carrying out analysis of samples
What is asbestos?
Asbestos is a naturally occurring material that was widely used in construction and for a wide variety of purposes throughout the 20th century. Unfortunately, it was discovered that asbestos fibres were actually extremely damaging to human health when they can be breathed into the lungs (when the material is in poor condition or damaged).
This was a huge problem for people involved in mining and manufacturing asbestos products, but it also meant that anyone who lived, worked or otherwise used a building that contained asbestos, was at risk of the range of health problems that long-term exposure can cause.
It was banned completely from use in the UK in 1999, but over the course of the century it had been very commonly used, meaning that many buildings and structures built during this period have the potential to contain asbestos somewhere or other.
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About Asbestos Surveys with our FAQ’s and Articles
Could my property contain asbestos?
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.
Why should I get an asbestos survey?
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.
Are there different types of asbestos survey?
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.
Where could I find asbestos in my property?
Who is responsible for asbestos in commercial buildings?
Is asbestos dangerous?
How can I identify asbestos?
If I have asbestos, do I need to remove it?
Common Asbestos Questions
Getting your facts right about asbestos is vital. However, doing so can be a lot easier said than done, largely due to how difficult asbestos is to identify.
As such, it’s important to arm yourself with the knowledge you need to understand how to deal with asbestos should you ever encounter it, and get to know why it can cause such a big problem.