Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals, which are all long, thin fibrous crystals, with each visible fibre composed of millions of microscopic "fibrils" that can be released by abrasion and other processes and it is these “fibrils” which can be lethal if they become airborne and breathed in.

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There are three main types of Asbestos:

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Blue (Crocidolite)

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Brown (Amosite)

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White (Chrysotile)

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Initially this substance was hailed as a miracle mineral, due to its strength and insulating properties, unfortunately, it was not known that Asbestos could be deadly when handled incorrectly.

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Asbestos was not just used in buildings but many other applications.  From the 1930s to 50s its use was so widespread that it could be found in everything from filter papers, including cigarette filters, to toothpaste, apparently, the latter was for the abrasive qualities of the Asbestos fibres.  Raw Chrysolite (White) Asbestos was also sold commonly as fake snow and can be seen falling on Dorothy, Scarecrow, and Lion in the film The Wizard of Oz.

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The UK has one of the highest Asbestos-related death rates in the world, due to Britain being one of the world’s biggest importers of Asbestos.

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The United Kingdom government permitted the use of Asbestos long after other countries outlawed the mineral's use.  Blue and Brown Asbestos (the two most dangerous forms) were banned in 1985. White Asbestos was banned in 1999.

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Unfortunately not every country has banned Asbestos, and even today, hundreds of thousands of tonnes of Asbestos are still being mined in Russia, China, Brazil and Kazakhstan.

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The top producer is Russia, which mined around one million metric tonnes in 2015.  The major Russian mines are located in the aptly named town of Asbest, which is approximately 900 miles northeast of Moscow.  China mined near to half a million metric tonnes, with Brazil coming in third and Kazakhstan fourth.

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The Control of Asbestos Regulations is legislation which has been introduced in a bid to safeguard anyone from coming into contact with airborne fibres, and these Regulations place a specific duty to manage Asbestos on the owners and /or those responsible for maintenance in none domestic premises.

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The specific ‘duty to manage’ requirement under the Control of Asbestos Regulations does not apply to any domestic property; however, the general duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act do apply.  Therefore, anyone conducting a business must ensure so far as is reasonably practicable that the conduct of their undertaking does not present a risk to the health and safety of people who are not their employees.

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The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations also require employers to assess the health and safety risks to third parties, such as workers carrying out work in none domestic premises and tenants, who may be affected by activities connected with their business and to make appropriate arrangements to protect all such persons from those activities.

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In order to manage the risk from asbestos in non-domestic premises, the duty holder must ensure that a suitable and sufficient assessment is carried out as to whether asbestos is or is liable to be present in the premises.

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At Crown PSM we specialise in providing a comprehensive Asbestos consultancy service (Asbestos Surveys, Asbestos Sample Testing, Asbestos Management), in accordance with HSE guidelines and quality standards accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS).  We operate a nationwide service to clients in the domestic, commercial, and industrial sectors.  We do not undertake Asbestos removal and can therefore maintain an independent and unbiased approach to the management of Asbestos or presumed Asbestos-containing materials in your premises and offer impartial advice on your removal/remediation options

 

If you would like to arrange for a free initial visit to discuss your specific requirements, you can either call us on 0114 4381707 or if out of hours you can simply make an enquiry by clicking below.