Removal of these higher risk asbestos issues must only be undertaken by HSE licensed asbestos removers.
This is because these asbestos materials release fibres (usually tens of thousands of them) very easily, and you don’t want your office, your home, your staff or your family to be contaminated with this.
HSE licensed asbestos removers are trained, qualified and insured to deal with these materials and the detailed special precautions which are needed to properly remove them and to then environmentally clean the surrounding areas.
As part of their job, they will make the necessary registration of the site with the Environment Agency and ensure that the resulting waste is correctly taken away from site etc. they should then provide you with an Environment Agency consignment note (otherwise known as a waste receipt), to establish that the asbestos waste has indeed been correctly disposed of.
Once instructions are given to the asbestos removers to proceed, they have to issue a Method Statement to the HSE (tailored to each site). The HSE then demand a 14 day ‘stand-still’ to give them time to query the Method Statement, before any of the asbestos removal work involved, can commence.
After this 14 day waiting period, the asbestos removal can commence (unless the HSE have raised a query). Small jobs may then be done in a day or two ~ larger projects may take a week or two.
Planning the project needs to take account of the asbestos events ~ before the re-instatement or other building works can commence.
Week 1
Get asbestos survey quote
Week 2
Order asbestos survey
Week 3
Asbestos survey complete
Week 4
Asbestos register issued
Week 5
Obtain removal quotes
Week 6
Order removal
Method statement to HSE
14 day wait
Week 8
Removal commences
Week 9 (+)
Removal complete
Other works can commence