What after-survey actions are needed for asbestos air monitoring?

The combination of asbestos fibres being invisible to the naked eye and the severe health risks that can be presented to anyone who inhales or ingests such fibres, underscores the importance of carrying out asbestos air testing at certain times and in certain circumstances.

One circumstance in which asbestos air testing (also sometimes referred to as “asbestos air monitoring”) may be needed, is in the aftermath of asbestos work or disruption in a given location. In this article, we will take a closer look at the key things to know about this.

Why is air monitoring critical after asbestos work?

There are a number of reasons why asbestos air monitoring can be of great importance following asbestos work at a particular site. They include:

• Health and safety: air testing can help to ensure there are no lingering airborne asbestos fibres that could present health risks to workers and occupants.
• Regulatory compliance: it can be a key procedure for satisfying legal obligations, such as those under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 (CAR 2012).
• Project closure: it provides evidence for reoccupation clearance, while enabling the dutyholder under CAR 2012 to demonstrate responsible asbestos management.

Naturally, for different stakeholders involved in dealing with asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) at a particular building or site, there can be different aspects and benefits of asbestos air monitoring that are especially relevant to them.

If, for example, you are a health and safety manager, you are likely to be thankful for the role of asbestos air testing in helping to ensure workplace safety. Business owners and dutyholders, meanwhile, require monitoring to assist them in avoiding liability.

What are the key objectives of post-survey asbestos air monitoring?

If you are arranging for asbestos air testing to be conducted at the site or premises for which you are responsible, you will probably have the following objectives in mind:

• The verification of containment and cleaning efforts

  You will want to be sure that asbestos fibres have been adequately controlled or removed from the area, which is exactly what professional asbestos air monitoring can help ensure.

  Monitoring can also be effective in detecting any breaches in containment systems (for example, leaks of asbestos fibres into the wider space during removal work).

• Validation for safe reoccupation

  The concentration of asbestos fibres in the air will need to be within acceptable clearance limits, in order for the given location to be reoccupied. Asbestos air testing can enable the dutyholder to confirm this, in accordance with the four-stage clearance process.

• The prevention of future asbestos exposure risks

  Asbestos air testing can help identify potential residual sources of asbestos fibres. This, in turn, can help inform any necessary adjustments to asbestos management plans (AMPs).

• Documentation of compliance

  A high standard of documentation is always crucial for asbestos management. The results of asbestos air testing can serve as evidence of due diligence for regulatory audits or disputes.

When should asbestos air monitoring be conducted?

There are various circumstances in which it is important to arrange asbestos air monitoring at a given site. These include:

• Before work begins: background monitoring makes clear the baseline conditions, which is crucial for high-risk environments or disputed areas.
• During work: by carrying out leak monitoring, duty holders can help make sure containment systems (such as negative pressure enclosures) continue to be effective throughout an asbestos removal
• After work completion: clearance monitoring can be used to confirm a given work area is no longer contaminated with asbestos. This will allow the area to be reoccupied for its normal day-to-day purposes.
• Periodic monitoring: if the dutyholder knows that ACMs are present in a particular location, conducting reassurance monitoring there can enable them to determine whether asbestos fibres are present in the air. The dutyholder may be particularly likely to arrange such monitoring after repairs, maintenance, or other forms of disturbance to the ACMs.

If you are looking to carry out asbestos air testing amid ongoing work at your site, it is a good idea to coordinate air monitoring with different phases of your projects, to help prevent unnecessary delays.

In the event of initial asbestos air monitoring detecting high levels of airborne asbestos fibres, it will be vital to schedule additional testing after cleaning has taken place.

What are the different types of asbestos air monitoring and their purposes?

The processes involved in asbestos air monitoring tend to be broadly similar whatever the “type” of testing arranged; highly trained and certified analysts attend the location, and capture samples of the air for analysis.

However, there are various broad types and purposes of asbestos air testing that dutyholders should be aware of:

• Background monitoring

  This form of asbestos air monitoring is used to establish a fibre-free baseline in high-risk or sensitive areas. This creates a reference point for comparisons once asbestos work is done.

• Leak monitoring

  Undertaken directly outside of an asbestos removal enclosure, this type of testing can detect whether asbestos fibres may have leaked out of the containment system into the wider space.

  If it turns out that such a breach has occurred, immediate corrective actions can be performed to avoid widespread contamination.

• Clearance air monitoring

  This refers to the process whereby asbestos fibre levels in a given space are assessed post-cleaning, so that it can be certified that the area is safe enough for reoccupation.

  With this form of asbestos air monitoring, aggressive air disturbance techniques are typically used, in order to simulate normal occupant activity in the space. This helps to detect any remaining asbestos fibres.

  If this procedure brings a satisfactory result, an organisation that holds United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) accreditation can then issue a “certificate of reoccupation”.

• Reassurance monitoring

  As the name indicates, this process is about reassuring people (whether the dutyholder themselves, or other parties) about the asbestos situation in the given location. It entails periodic testing in buildings where ACMs remain undisturbed but are being managed.

  Reassurance asbestos air testing can greatly help build various stakeholders’ confidence in the long-term asbestos safety plan that has been put in place for the particular site.

What legal and regulatory requirements govern asbestos air monitoring?

Whenever you see or hear “the asbestos regulations” being mentioned in the UK, this will almost certainly be referring to the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 (CAR 2012). This is the country’s overarching asbestos legislation.

CAR 2012 stipulates various requirements that are relevant to dutyholders arranging asbestos air monitoring at their site.

Regulation 20 of this legislation – addressing standards for air testing and site clearance certification – requires employers undertaking their own air testing to do it in a way that satisfies the criteria outlined in ISO 17025. This regulation also outlines that employers must make sure any person they engage to carry out asbestos air testing is competent and accredited by the appropriate accreditation body.

The subject of clearance air thresholds is a very important one. The regulatory control threshold is 0.1 asbestos fibres per cubic centimetre of air (0.1 f/cm³). If the concentration of asbestos fibres in the air at the given location is found to be higher than this, rigorous control measures will be needed to bring it below the limit.

It is important to emphasise, however, that this control limit is not to be considered a “safe” level. In practice, work activities involving asbestos should be designed to be as far below this control limit as possible.

Indeed, when a clearance air test is performed, the analyst will actually be looking to ensure a standard of less than 0.01 asbestos fibres per cubic centimetre is satisfied. This is the Minimum Detectable Limit (MDL) – the lowest fibre concentration that testing equipment can reliably detect.

What steps should you take if airborne asbestos fibres are detected?

Presuming asbestos air monitoring is undertaken in the given area and the aforementioned MDL requirement is not met – in other words, asbestos fibres are detected in the air – you will need to carry out certain actions. These will include:

• Immediate containment actions

  In this situation, it will be necessary to halt all asbestos-related work without . The area should be contained and sealed off with tape to ensure no one, especially those not working in the location, enters and risks exposure to asbestos. This will need to be followed by investigation of the source of asbestos fibre release – which may be due to, for example, damaged ACMs or a failed enclosure.

• Remediation and corrective steps

  Using HEPA-filtered equipment and wet wiping, the thorough recleaning of affected areas should be carried out. Air monitoring will then need to be repeated in the space, to confirm that the concentration of airborne asbestos fibres has returned to an acceptable limit.

• Documentation and reporting

  You should be recording any incidents, findings, and corrective measures in the asbestos risk register for the given site.

  It is also important to determine whether the situation requires the relevant authorities to be notified. Under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR), exposure to asbestos is reportable when a work activity causes asbestos fibres to be accidentally released (or to escape) into the air, in a quantity sufficient to damage any person’s health.

  We have previously written about the circumstances in which asbestos is reportable under RIDDOR.

• Advanced risk mitigation

  Reassessing and updating the asbestos management plan (AMP) for your property will help to prevent future instances of asbestos fibres being present in the air.

  You should be ensuring that if similar projects are carried out in the future, you implement suitably stringent containment protocols.

Conclusion: how does air monitoring fit into your overall asbestos management strategy?

As a dutyholder under CAR 2012, you should regard air monitoring as an essential, non-negotiable step in ensuring safety and regulatory compliance following asbestos work. By arranging for regular monitoring, you can greatly help to lower long-term risks at your site, as part of a proactive approach to asbestos management.

Ultimately, asbestos air monitoring needs to be incorporated into every stage of asbestos-related work. To engage qualified professionals who can ensure your site benefits from accurate and reliable monitoring and reporting, please don’t hesitate to contact Oracle Solutions today.