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Employee exposure is measured by collecting representative air samples whose aggregate sampling time is as close as possible to the employee’s full work shift, not to exceed 8 hours.

Exposure monitoring samples must be analysed by Phase Contrast Microscopy (PCM) in accordance with the Safety. Health and Welfare at Work (Exposure to Asbestos) Regulations, 2006

Asbestos Location and Condition Surveys

Under current legislation (Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Construction) Regulations 2006) there is a duty on employers to identify any Asbestos Containing Material (ACM) before commencing demolition, building maintenance or removal works. When working at a third party’s workplace, employers and contractors must obtain information from the owner regarding ACM. If there is any doubt as to the presence of ACM, then legislation requires that the employer take the necessary steps to identify the presence of ACM.

OHSS is accredited by the Irish National Accreditation Board (INAB) to undertake inspection surveys of asbestos in buildings and for the analysis of asbestos in materials. In line with legislation, we offer 3 levels of Asbestos Location and Condition Surveys:

* All surveys are carried out in accordance with MDHS 100 and HSG 248 – recognised in Ireland as best practice from the Health and Safety Executive in the UK.
* All our surveyors are trained to BOHS P402 or higher standards with extensive experience throughout the industry.

Survey Type 1: Location and Assessment Survey (Presumptive Survey) :

The purpose of the Type 1 survey is to locate, as far as reasonably practicable, the presence and extent of any suspect asbestos containing materials in the building and assess their condition. An experienced, well-trained surveyor, familiar with the range of asbestos products, can usually, by inspection alone, say that a material can be ‘presumed’ to contain asbestos.

However, it is much more difficult for surveyors to presume that some materials do not contain asbestos. Many materials such as vinyl floor tiles have exactly the same appearance whether they contain asbestos or not.

A Type 1 survey may well list many materials that are presumed to contain asbestos that would be eliminated from the asbestos register by laboratory analysis of representative samples of the materials.

This survey essentially defers the need to sample and analyse for asbestos (or the absence thereof) until a later time prior to any disturbance of the material by demolition, alteration or maintenance.

The duty holder bears the potentially significant additional costs of management for some non asbestos containing materials. Our experience suggests the additional cost of management of the non asbestos containing materials usually outweighs the additional cost of a Type 2 survey with representative sampling of such materials for laboratory analysis.

All areas are accessed and inspected as far as reasonably practicable (e.g. above false ceilings and inside risers, service ducts, lift shafts, etc) or where not accessible will be presumed to contain asbestos.
Any material which can reasonably be expected to contain asbestos will be presumed to contain asbestos, and where it appears highly likely to contain asbestos, there will be a strong presumption that it does.

For more details contact us:
Unit 2 Beat Centre, Stephenstown Industrial Estate, Balbriggan, Co. Dublin
Tel: 01 6905907
Fax: 01 8020439
Email: info@ohss.ie
Website: www.ohss.ie