Asbestos is a carcinogenic element that has been banned in Australia since 31st December 2003 due to its harmful characteristics. Wondering how you can identify and remove asbestos from your old house or office? Read the following guide.
In case you have an old house or office room where asbestos has been used during its construction, you should identify and remove the asbestos from the room. But before removing the asbestos from the house, you need to identify its presence.
If you plan to remove asbestos, first, you will have to conduct a thorough survey of the site and identify the locations with asbestos. Wearing protective gear, placing barricades and signage, and safely removing asbestos from the site – all are important steps that need careful handling.
Now, let’s take a look at the steps of asbestos identification and management in Australia.
Step 1: Conduct a Survey and Validate the Presence of Asbestos
The first step of the asbestos management plan should be conducting a thorough survey of the site. If you are planning to conduct a survey in the office or in a house, hire a professional asbestos management service.
In the old days, asbestos had been used in painting, construction, and insulation. The professional asbestos handlers will know the possible locations of asbestos in an old house. Depending on the probability of asbestos’s presence, the professionals will collect samples and send them to laboratories. Ask the professionals for asbestos air monitoring by collecting air samples from the site as well. It will help identify how risky the place is for human beings.
If the samples test positive for asbestos, you know that you have asbestos in your house and also the locations of asbestos.
Step 2: Offer Training to Workers
The next step is providing training to workers. According to the WHS regulation 445, all workers must be given asbestos awareness training. It will let them know what the asbestos is and how it can be managed. Besides, it will introduce them to the ideal process for managing asbestos on the site.
Additionally, if the workers are directly involved in the asbestos removal, they must know how to remove asbestos or how to use the protective gear to protect themselves from asbestos exposure. Moreover, training on managing hazardous situations should also be offered in the training.
Step 3: Risk Management Plan
After the workers’ training is done, a significant part of the asbestos management plan is considered to be done. During the risk management planning, you should ensure that no one is harmed during the asbestos removal.
You should also consider the hazardous elements that the workers might face during the removal process. It should not only consider risks related to asbestos removal, but also risks from other sources. For example, if the workers are working in a confined area, the heat can be a distracting factor. Wearing a special type of PPE kit that does not promote heat build-up will be suitable.
Besides, working in a confined space and working at a height can be dangerous. So, you will need to make sure that the workers are safe and taking proper protective measures to keep themselves safe.
Step 4: Careful Remedial Planning
An asbestos remedial plan depends on the survey report of asbestos’s presence in the house. If the asbestos present in the house is in poor condition and can cause health risks if disturbed, then removing it from the site is the only option.
If the asbestos is identified in the site in an undisturbed state, then there are other ways to contain asbestos in the site.
The professionals may repair the site, or encapsulate, isolate, or seal the place that contains asbestos. If you need to remove or encapsulate asbestos present on-site, the professionals will be able to tell you better. However, consider asbestos removal in your asbestos management plan, and ask the professionals to safely remove it from the site.
Step 5: Communicate the Risks
Finally, when you have finalized the asbestos management planning, communicate with all the stakeholders the risks associated with the removal planning. For example, if it is an office, communicate with the employees and other people involved in the office work. If it is a house, communicate with the house owners about the risks of removing asbestos from the site.
Also, communicate with the workers involved in the asbestos removal work and make sure that they understand the risk of working on the project.
Conclusion
Asbestos identification and management are a crucial task to keep yourself and other people on-site safe for the long term. Start with an on-site survey to identify asbestos and its condition. If it contains significant risks to the people living in the house, then removing it would be the best idea. Otherwise, encapsulating or repairing the site is also a viable option for asbestos management.