Asbestos – Still a Danger
Responsible for the deaths of around 4,000 Australians a year, Asbestos was finally outlawed in NSW and Australia in 2003.
There are very strict penalties for the use, purchase, importation, transportation, and storage of Asbestos Containing Materials in Australia. Asbestos management, including its removal and disposal, is highly regulated by Safework NSW, with various fines often ranging from or exceeding $6,000 for individuals and $30,000 for organisations that fail to comply with these regulations.
In November 2022, Safe Work NSW announced even further crackdowns on Asbestos related penalties to kick in early 2023. Ms Mann said “We’re also strengthening penalties to provide greater deterrents to existing offences relating to asbestos removal work in response to reoffenders within the asbestos and demolition industry." read more
Apart from looking after your health, these new tougher on the spot fines make it even more important to trust your asbestos to a highly experienced, trusted, licensed professional.
Asbestos In the Workplace
If you suspect there may be asbestos in your workplace, it is critical that you rely on a fully qualified and licensed asbestos removal contractor to help you in the identification and management of any possible asbestos. Only use a licensed asbestos removalist
In a workplace all asbestos or ACM (Asbestos Containing Material) should be sampled and analysed by NATA (National Association of Testing Authorities) accredited laboratory, or one that is approved by the regulator.
For the safety of employees and those in the direct vicinity, it is not allowable for a business owner or manager to try and deal with or remove the asbestos themselves.
Read more on the Asbestos code of Practice NSW and regulations.
What is the cost of asbestos removal?
Things that can increase the cost of asbestos removal are typically working at heights, or in confined spaces, and large transport costs. The cost to remove friable asbestos can be increased due to having to implement additional safety measures.
Asbestos removal and disposal costs vary greatly dependant on a number of factors including:
Where the asbestos is located in the structure (how accessible is the asbestos which needs removal)
The volume of asbestos to be removed.
What measures will be required to remove the asbestos.
Whether the asbestos is friable or non-friable.
How far the site is away from an asbestos disposal facility.
Whether an area needs remediation from legacy asbestos.
Unfortunately, the costs of asbestos removal gone wrong, can greatly outweigh the cost of professional, licensed asbestos removal the first time around. When demolition and asbestos removal is not treated with extreme care, contamination to the surrounding areas can occur, requiring remediation works into the future. Remediation of asbestos contaminated soil is usually more costly and renders the soil useless. The soil that has been removed then has to be replaced. Apart from the possible health consequences, the cost of cheap asbestos removal is usually short lived and counterproductive.
HTS Group employs safe asbestos removal and disposal practices on every job. We can provide asbestos removal services in Newcastle, The Hunter Valley, Northern NSW and in regional areas throughout NSW.
Asbestos Identification, Sampling and Testing
As directed by the regulator, we only use NATA accredited labs for our asbestos testing requirements.
We take great care in acquiring an asbestos sample, disturbing the asbestos as little as possible. The area where the sample is taken from will be sealed up, the sample will be double bagged, labelled as a hazard and sent to the lab.
Dealing With Asbestos
In most cases, while Asbestos is sealed, unbroken and completely intact, it won’t do any harm to occupants, but as soon as it becomes damaged from impact, age, fire, flood or human intervention, it poses a serious hazard.
The only real way to be sure that asbestos won’t cause you and others danger, is to have it removed. We can help you with commercial and residential asbestos removal. Find more information on residential asbestos removal here, or Commercial Asbestos removal, keep reading.
The cost to remove asbestos will depend on what form its present in, Eg. Asbestos containing wall boards, flooring, or asbestos present in the dirt, how difficult it is to get to, how many square metres of asbestos needs to be removed and disposed of, and the difficulty of extraction from your premises. For example, on one tight access job, we had the Asbestos Containing Material sealed up and flown out by helicopter, which obviously ultimately added to the cost of asbestos removal and disposal.
Asbestos Removal Control Plan
As your licensed contractor, we must provide you with an Asbestos Removal Control Plan. Your Asbestos removal control Plan will contain details of how the asbestos removal will happen including the method, tools, equipment and PPE used to remove your asbestos.
It also contains details on where the asbestos is located, it’s condition and the type or types of asbestos being removed.
A copy of the plan is given to the client or owner, and made readily available to any occupants, workers and health & safety representatives.
Regulator must be notified 5 days prior to the commencement of removal work. (Other guidelines are available to expedite removal in emergency situations.)
Asbestos Register
Any identified Asbestos is to be indicated by an ACM label. It must also be listed in an ‘asbestos register’.
The asbestos register must be maintained and kept up to date in accordance with regulation 422. In brief, the register should contain the DATE on which the asbestos or ACM was identified, the location type and condition of the asbestos.
The register must be updated if asbestos or ACM becomes damaged, disturbed, or removed. Any person planning to carry out works to the business must be given a copy of the asbestos register, as must any health and safety representatives. The register should be readily accessible and reviewed every 5 years or at the request of a health and safety representative if they believe circumstances have changed or the management plan is no longer adequate. The register must be passed on to the next manager or owner in case of a change of management.
Asbestos registers are not required for buildings constructed after December 2003. If you require an Asbestos Register, we can connect you with a trusted Occupational Hygienist and support the ongoing safe management according to the Hygienist’s Asbestos Management Plan.
Read the full Asbestos code of Practice NSW and regulations.
Licensed Asbestos Removal Services
While removing asbestos from your building or workplace, we utilise best practices to ensure your safety the best we can.
While removing asbestos from your building or workplace, we utilise best practices to ensure your safety the best we can. As you can see in the video, our thorough asbestos removal team has covered the surrounding area to protect it from potential asbestos dust and is wrapping every panel immediately as it’s removed. They are also spraying the removal area with a sealing agent to make the area as safe as possible for the next trades to work on the removal site.
If there are asbestos fragments present is in the soil, we may require a Remedial Action Plan for further asbestos decontamination.
Asbestos Clearance Certificate
As legally required for your added protection, a 3rd party inspector will conduct your clearance inspection, issuing the Clearance Certificate when they are satisfied that your site meets safety requirement.
Asbestos Emergency Removal
In instances such as fire, flood or earthquake, where your building becomes suddenly damaged, where asbestos has been exposed, causing a hazard to health, we can take specific measures to shore up your workplace and remove the asbestos quickly as part of our hazardous waste management solution.
Our Class A Unrestricted Asbestos Removal license is: AD210982. Find out more about asbestos licencing requirements at SafeWork Australia.
Some common products that could be harbouring asbestos:
- Asbestos containing villaboard
- Asbestos or ACM weather boards
- Insulation
- Tile underlay
- Bathroom and kitchen walls
- Roof Tiles
- Fences
- Lino or Linoleum
- Vinyl floor tiles
- Asbestos containing ahesives and mastics
- Compressed cement products
- Roof sheeting
- Exterior wall cladding (flat, moulded and weatherboards)
- Eave linings
- Fences
- Interior Wall and ceiling linings
- Ceiling Insulation
- Vinyl Floor Coverings
- Compressed floor linings
- Asbestos sealants
We have the experience, expertise, problem solving skills and the multi-skilled teams to deliver safe, professional, and timely projects around Newcastle, throughout regional NSW, and right across the country.
Hunter Tech Services Group Pty Ltd, © 2022.
ABN: 68 117 519 347
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