The Asbestos Survey: An Unavoidable Need

by Kirsten Hawkins

Now that the health hazards associated with asbestos have become a matter of common public knowledge, the necessity of conducting asbestos survey has become unquestionable. Industry owners who knowingly used the carcinogenic substance have been subjected to much litigation from victims over the years. The legal emphasis however, has now shifted from slapping lawsuits on errant parties to adopting preventive measures. A sizeable body of legislation has developed over the past three decades. Most recently, The Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations (CAWR) were amended for the fourth time in 2002. Regulation 4 aims to protect employees by holding 'dutyholders' culpable if they do not comply with strict guidelines in monitoring Asbestos Containing Materials (ACM) on their property or buildings. Only a rigorous asbestos survey can satisfactorily meet these conditions.

A Quick Guide to Asbestos and Health Issues

Gerard Simington

Unless you have been completely out of touch, you have probably heard all the hubbub about the dangers of asbestos. So, what is the big deal?

A Quick Guide to Asbestos and Health Issues

Asbestos is a fibrous material that is highly resistant to burning. It has a long history. While it was first used on a large scale commercial basis at the turn of the twentieth century, it has actually been around much longer. In fact, the ancient Egyptians were known for using it burial clothes.

Common modern applications used to include building materials, products and automobile brake pads, which all required a fire resistant element. Asbestos is still used today, but on a fairly small scope. The reason has everything to do with health. Asbestos in and of itself is not harmful to people. What is harmful, however, is asbestos dust.

Asbestos dust is a vicious thing. Due to the chemical makeup of the material, the dust is like a cloud of fine glass particles. While they will not damage your skin, they do great damage to the lungs. Making matters worse, asbestos dust is so fine that it is easily raised from asbestos material like ceiling tiles and walls. Once in the air, it is all but invisible. Prolonged exposure, such as when working on or in a building with asbestos materials, can result in massive amounts of the toxic dust entering the lungs.

Once asbestos dust is in your lungs, you cannot expel it by coughing. That doesn’t mean the body does not try. Asbestosis is scarring of the lungs from acid created by the body in an effort to get the asbestos dust out. If this process is allowed to occur for 10 to 20 years, the lungs may stop functioning because of excess scarring. If that sounds bad, it only gets worse. Asbestos dust can lead to terminal cancer in the form of mesothelioma. [What is Mesothelioma?]

Asbestos is an excellent fire resistant material that saves us from burning while killing us in a much slower manner. Since 1989, it has been banned in the United States in all but a few commercial areas.

Gerard Simington is with FindAnAttorneyForMe.com - offering asbestos and mesothelioma legal information.

A Duty holder's Responsibility:

According to the Approved Code of Practice L127 (ACOP) of Regulation 4, a duty holder is either the owner of non-domestic premises or someone who is responsible for the maintenance of the site. The duty holder is bound by law to ensure that a well-qualified and experienced expert from a specialist company inspects the building for asbestos. It is also necessary to ascertain that the asbestos survey is conducted according to the guidelines specified in 'MDHS 100: Surveying Sampling and Assessment of Asbestos-containing Materials.' Broadly, the results of the survey should reveal where the ACMs are located, provide an assessment of the condition of the materials and to measure the risk of exposure from the materials. The information garnered should subsequently be noted in an asbestos register, which should be accessible to anyone likely to be exposed to the ACMs.

Types of Asbestos Surveys:

The MDHS lists three types of asbestos surveys. Type I, or the presumptive survey only locates the presence of asbestos and usually leads up to a Type II or Type III survey. In Type II, or the sampling survey, samples of the material are gathered and subjected to tests in a UKAS accredited, ISO 17025 compliant laboratory. Finally, the Type III survey investigates every area of the premises and is known as a pre-demolition or major refurbishment survey. The asbestos survey must be carried out only by an organization that adheres to the standards stipulated in the regulations. While it is not necessary to remove ACMs that are in a satisfactory condition, the law demands that the asbestos survey be carried out to manage the ACMs in such a way that the risk of injury is minimized to the greatest extent possible.
About the Author

Kirsten Hawkins is a asbestos and mesothelioma specialist from Nashville, TN. Visit http://www.asbestosblog.org/ for information on asbestos reform, mesothelioma lawsuit news, and more.

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