With the new amendments to the asbestos regulations, the employer or self-employed person must have an inventory of all the asbestos present. This will require a walkthrough on the property by a qualified or experienced person.
All asbestos found must then be documented in an inventory that indicates the type of asbestos, the quantity, and the condition. The inventory must form part of all health & safety meetings and it must be updated every 24 months but shorter intervals may be required.
No demolition or alterations may start without the asbestos inventory that needs to be handed to the construction company and to the approved asbestos inspection authority (AAIA). The AAIA will make sure that all legal requirements are met by the asbestos contractor and that the necessary training of employees is in place.
If no asbestos was found during the inspection the responsible person must issue a site as an asbestos-free zone. The certificate must be filled along with the health & safety file.
In South Africa mainly 3 types of asbestos could be found, white, brown, and blue asbestos. White and brown asbestos are used in roofing products, side cladding, ceiling boards, and blue asbestos in the insulation of buildings.
If your building is older than 30 years the chances are good that asbestos will be present. That is the reason the Department of Health made the necessary changes. The main areas would be roofing, insulation, side cladding, rainwater goods.
Roofing products
Ceilings
Rainwater goods (gutters & downpipes)
Window sills
Flooring
Exterior panels
and many other possibilities
The first step would be to determine if asbestos is present and for the month of August we are running a special site inspection program where you could get compliant for only R2550 per site ( 3 samples only) or you may choose to order our asbestos testing kit.
A walkthrough of the site in a specific order will help to identify all possibilities.
OR
You can take the samples yourself when your asbestos testing kit will allow you to take the samples yourself and send them back to us for testing.
The testing kit includes:
How to remove samples brochure
Personal protective clothing - mask, asbestos suit, and gloves
Sample bags
Return envelop for returning samples
Now that you know if asbestos is present the next stage must be planned and that is to create an asbestos inventory of the premises.
Do you need assistance?
Visit our website www.asbestossa.net for more details or contact us on 066 220 3090
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