Asbestos Survey London – What is it and why is it needed?

 

This blog post will be updated on a monthly basis and include informative pieces of content aimed at improving your knowledge on all things about asbestos survey London greater and ensure that you know your responsibility as a property owner and how all about asbestos can help with any asbestos containing material. We will locate, plan and eradicate the asbestos.

 

Please get in touch with a member of the trained team here at all about asbestos and we will be happy to help you and answer any questions that you may have.

 

What is asbestos?

In its natural form, asbestos is a group of naturally occurring minerals with great heat and corrosion resistance. There are two forms of asbestos: Serpentine and Amphibole:

• Serpentine is made up of long fibres of the mineral chrysotile. It is most common in homes due to its easy to its flexible properties.
• Amphibole contains the five other minerals (amosite, crocidolite, tremolite, actinolite and anthophyllite) and comes in needle shaped fibres. These are more harmful when inhaled but is less common in homes

Asbestos was not identified as having dangerous and hazardous materials until the 1990s. Between the 1950s and 1990s builders often used the dense material due to its extremely good insulating properties and fire protection. In addition to this, asbestos was also used because of its resistance to chemical erosion. Building material manufacturers also opted to put asbestos in products such as bricks, pipes, floor tiles and cement mixes due to its’ heat resistance and anti corrosion properties. 

However, it is also highly toxic and dangerous to humans and animals. At the time of production, the builders and product manufacturers were unaware of the dangers that asbestos put families in. It is only in recent years, due to technological breakthroughs, that we know. The fine fibres, that are too small to see using the naked eye, can cause a build up of scar tissue in the lungs and other parts of the respiratory systems, resulting in a loss of lung function.

 

Asbestos can be found in many places of a home or property, from floor tiles to the insulation material in your attic and basement. It is one of the reasons the government introduced laws surrounding asbestos and the need for an Asbestos Survey.

 

Why do I need an Asbestos Survey in London?

 

The government state that anyone who owns a property that was built before the year 2000 is ultimately responsible to check their property for any asbestos containing material and deal with it accordingly. The reason an asbestos survey in Kent is needed is because any asbestos containing material may be hidden within the building’s structure and will only be identified following an in depth search by a qualified asbestos testing and survey service. Enter, all about asbestos and our certified asbestos survey team.

If you are renovating your property, disturbing the asbestos can mean the dangerous fibres are disturbed and released into the air. This can include ripping up existing flooring, knocking down walls or structure parts and even painting over walls. Before any building or renovation work is undertaken and your building was built before 2000, we advise getting our team to come in to perform an asbestos survey to determine the potential dangers that can be avoided.

 

What is an Asbestos Survey in London

 

Now that we know the need for an asbestos survey London service what exactly do you get with the service? The last thing anyone wants to do is pay money for a service that they don’t really know what they will get back. Our asbestos survey in London does 2 main things:

• Firstly we identify whether there is any asbestos containing material within the property. This involves surveying the property and having an in depth look at the property. This may mean taking samples from walls, flooring and other structural objects. Our trained asbestos surveying team go into the depths of your property, from the darkest corners of your basement to the furthest point in your attic.
• Secondly, if any asbestos containing material is found then we will make a detailed report outlining where the asbestos material is, the amount that is in your property and our best asbestos removal method to resolve the issue.

 

All of the surveys that are performed by us and our team conform to the HSE guidelines. As well as this we provide an asbestos survey report – This detailed report includes the following details:

 

– Sample analysis of any ACM (asbestos containing material)

– List of any asbestos containing material(s)

– Photographic and location identification

– a detailed risk assessment of the ACM

– Management plan for the asbestos containing material

– Compliance Certification for your records

-Recommendation for what to do next

 

Duty as a property owner

 

Now that we have a brief outline of what is included in the Asbestos Survey London service offered by all about asbestos, we can look at the duty you have as a property owner which makes you need to have one of these asbestos surveys. As mentioned above, the government regulations state that anyone who owns a property before the year 2000 needs to have an asbestos survey London service provided by all about asbestos. This is because of the symptoms that can arise when people are exposed to asbestos for long periods of time.

It can be hard to see asbestos in your property due to its fine fibres and common features. Without specialised testing equipment, you are unable to detect the asbestos in your home or business property, and some online testing kits that are available are inaccurate or do not show the extent of the asbestos that could be damaging your health.

If the asbestos survey completed and compiled by our team does come back with asbestos being detected in your property, there is no need to panic. We can not only perform asbestos surveys in London, we can remove the dangerous asbestos from your property too. To read more on our asbestos removal service, please click here.

Resources for asbestos surveys

 

There are many helpful documents that can help you further understand the need to have your property surveyed for asbestos. There is a comprehensive guide to managing asbestos in buildings that will help you further understand how you can manage your asbestos containing materials, or you can call us on 01843 600765 to talk to one of our knowledgeable team.

 

Next month we will add to this blog with some more insightful bits of information relating to asbestos surveys in London. If you have any questions about our asbestos surveying in Kent service then please get in touch with a member of the team today!