Southern Environmental Management Ltd has a fully licensed Asbestos Removal Division. This license has been held consecutively over 25 years, license no: 4000604426.  With a wealth of knowledge and experience in the removal, encapsulation and disposal of all types of Asbestos Containing Materials from a wide range of locations.

Specialising in occupied industrial / residential buildings and fire damaged structures. All operatives are trained and medically monitored. All Asbestos contracts are carried out in full conformance with current statutory requirements.

A wide range of people potentially have obligation under regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006. Duties rest with the person in control of maintenance in non-domestic premises, whether that be the occupier or landlord, sub-lessor or managing agent. But the extent of the practical duties will be determined by contractual and other existing legal obligations towards the property.

Where no such obligation exists, e.g. where there is no tenancy agreement or contract, or where the premise stands unoccupied, then regulation 4 places the duty on the person in control of the premise to comply with this regulation.

An Asbestos Policy provides a basis for your Asbestos management and outlines a company’s responsibilities regarding Asbestos. An effective policy should include the following:

• Introduction
• Policy Statement
• Strategy for Compliance
• Full Records of your Asbestos (Survey Report)
• Delegated Asbestos Coordinator.

The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 states all duty holders with known or presumed asbestos within their properties, must have in place an effective and working Asbestos Management Plan. The purpose of this Asbestos Management Plan is to manage any known or presumed asbestos, ensuring that as far as reasonably practicable no one can come to any harm from Asbestos on the premises.

Typically a plan should include:

• Asbestos Information
• Asbestos Inspection
• Asbestos Register
• Action Plan
• Label Asbestos
• Monitoring and Re-inspections
• Asbestos Training Arrangements
• Roles and Responsibilities
• Duties of the Asbestos Coordinator
• Emergency Procedures

Asbestos is still found in a wide number of materials from obvious sources such as pipe lagging, ceiling and roof panels to the unobvious such as bitumen based materials used on floors, textured ceiling coatings and many others.

The Southern Enviromental Management Ltd is on hand to provide testing and advice. The laboratory will test suspect materials for Asbestos and provide a 48-hour response.

Bulk samples can be taken by our technical staff or delivered. All tests are undertaken in a controlled environment, samples are tested to prove or disprove the presence of Asbestos. This is conducted using polarized light microscopy and refractive index liquids.

There are three commonly found asbestos types. These are Crocidolite (Blue), Amosite (Brown) and Chrysotile (White). Asbestos products have a varying degree of hazard associated with them, which is determined by the type of material and the asbestos content.

Using the asbestos bulk identification service it is possible to identify the type of fibres in the sample and the approximate percentage present. Once the type of asbestos has been established Southern Environmental UK can give advice on remedial action and/or removal.

Q. What is Asbestos?

• Asbestos is the name for a group of fibrous minerals that are mined and mixed into building materials.
• Asbestos is very resistant to heat and chemicals.
• Asbestos has been used in a wide range of manufactured goods including floor and ceiling tiles, coatings, texturing materials and thermal insulation.
• Currently, asbestos is used only in products where another material has not been found to replace it.
• Generally, asbestos is not a health risk when bound together with a substance that prevents the fibres from entering the environment.

Asbestos Do's and Don'ts!

• Don't panic if you think you have asbestos in your home - it's usually only a problem if it's disturbed.
• Do treat asbestos with respect.
• Don't drill, saw or disturb materials that contain asbestos.
• Do seek advice if you think you've got a problem with asbestos in your home.

Q. I thought Asbestos was banned?

A.  Asbestos containing products where only fully banned from use in 1999, so if your property was built or had building work carried out before then, there is a possibility that Asbestos Containing Materials (ACM's) could be present.

Q. What is an Asbestos Register and do I need one?

A.  This register is a record of known asbestos containing materials (ACMs). It is not a definitive record of all ACMs as those concealed within the structure of buildings would not have been detected. All non-domestic properties fall under Regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos Regulation 2006.All non-domestic properties have a duty to manage Asbestos in the work place and have a fully working Asbestos Register and Management Plan in place.

Q. What would happen if I don’t have the Register or Management Plan?

A.  The Duty Holder of non-domestic properties would then be breaking the law and be liable to prosecution. There is no limitation to fines and HSE and Local Authority Inspectors will take whatever enforcement action they deem appropriate based on the severity of the problem. To avoid the risk of prosecution, it is imperative that the duty holder has a fully working strategy.

Q. Who needs to know where Asbestos is located?

A.  The duty requires that you make information on the location and condition of the asbestos available to anyone liable to work on it or disturb it.  Any employees involved with in-house building maintenance work and any contractors working on the premises should know if the building contains, or may contain, asbestos. They should also be told where it is and that there are potential risks to their health if they disturb it.

Q. Asbestos has been located in my property do I have to have it removed?

A.  No not necessarily, it depends on the type of Asbestos Containing Material, its condition, its location, its extent, the occupancy of the area concerned. So the decision to remove, encapsulate or simply label and manage the Asbestos is based on a risk assessment.

Q. What is the Government tax incentive?

A.   As part of the government’s urban regeneration scheme (under the Finance Act 2001), a 150% tax relief scheme has been introduced on land remediation, which includes buildings. So now the costs of asbestos removal can be set against company profits as tax relief.

Please fill in our short form giving us the basic details. We will then come back to you within 24 hours with an approximate quotation, to give you an idea as to the costs which may be involved. If you then require us to attend site and issue a formal quotation then please use the FREEPHONE number above to contact us.

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