Report covering investigation of asbestos found in one of Bolton Wanderers premises.
This report is a result of thoroughly carried out research towards asbestos found in a roof of one of Bolton Wanderers premises. The report is divided into the following parts: General information about asbestos. Risk assessment. Future advice./ After care Removing asbestos
The report also covers all relevant legislation and includes recommendations for future actions for all of the parties involved. General information about asbestos.
The ‘Control of asbestos Regulations', (CAR), came into force on 13th November 2006. Regulation 4a says that ‘the dutyholder’, here, Bolton Wanderers, is required to manage asbestos in their non-domestic premises. (1*)
Asbestos is a naturally occurring fibrous material that has been a popular building material particularly between 1950 and 1999. Asbestos and asbestos containing material in good condition is safe. Asbestos is only dangerous when it is in a loose form, damaged, disturbed or being worked on as this can release asbestos fibres into the air. If these fibres are breathed in over a long period of time, they may damage the lungs, and can lead to very severe diseases such as mesothelioma or lung cancer (2*). In recent cases two families have won ground-breaking claims (one of them for two hundred and forty thousand pounds) for compensation after loved ones died from cancer after exposure to "low level" asbestos on Merseyside ( 3*). The seriousness of the situation should not be underestimated, and swift action needs to be taken if a problem is thought to exist. Risk Assessment Risk assessment has already been carried out on the relevant buildings, (4*), and shows that the only part of the building that contains asbestos is the roof. It is important to know if the whole roof contains asbestos or if it is only in part. All the building documentation must be checked, insurance reports, previous asbestos surveys and any other relevant documents. The possibility that asbestos may have been used in the past to strengthen the roof must be taken into consideration.
Any documentation obtained must be shown to the site manager as quickly as possible.
As far as the Risk Assessment itself is concerned, the major questions are:
2.1Who carried out the survey?
2.2Was it done by an Individual or a company?
2.3Did they have adequate training and experience in such work? For an individual surveyor, did he have a personnel certification for asbestos surveys from a certification body, which had been accredited by a recognised accreditation body under BS EN ISO/IEC 17024 (5*) / or
2.4For an organisation carrying out the survey, were they accredited by a recognised accreditation body as complying with BS EN ISO 17020 to undertake surveys for ACMs?(6*)
The United Kingdom Accreditation Service is the sole national accreditation body recognised by government to assess, against internationally agreed standards, organisations that provide certification, testing, and inspection and calibration services. (7*)
Before employing anyone to undertake a survey, it is necessary to check that the surveyor has the relevant accreditation for the type of survey you request, and practical experience with working on this type of building.(8*)
If checks show that the original survey was done by non-accredited personnel then a different approach is needed.
A list of accredited surveyors is available online at www.ukas.com/InspectionBodySearch Some of them are shown below:
•Asbestos Consultants to the Environment Ltd; Contact: Mr I Elder; Tel: +44 (0)1268 566822 Website: www.acepsi.com
•Resource & Environmental Consultants (Asbestos) Ltd; Contact: Mr M Holt; Tel: +44 (0)1355 574160; Website: www.recltd.co.uk
•European Asbestos Services Ltd Contact: Mr A J Cornthwaite; Tel: +44 (0)1932 773088; Website: www.european-asbestos.co.uk

3) Future recommendations.
The Risk Assessment has proved that the roof contains asbestos.
3.1. The undamaged asbestos can be safely left untouched (9*). However, the following actions must be taken: Organize a meeting with all your employees and volunteers, to inform them about the hazardous material found in the building. Carefully explain the actions already taken and future actions planned towards managing the asbestos in the building. Answer any questions that they may have. Provide hard copies/ letters for employee representatives and trade union safety representatives. A record of asbestos in the building must be made and left in the Health and Safety file. This must be taken into consideration before any action regarding work on the building is taken. A warning sign that asbestos is present should be left on the roof.9** The condition of the asbestos must be monitored frequently with a record of all findings and actions taken noted in the Health and Safety file for future reference (10*). Information about asbestos located in the roof and its condition, must be available for emergency services, especially fire services. The fire services are the most likely of the emergency services to disturb ACMs or come into contact with disturbed asbestos.10**
3.2. If any future work on the roof or any other part of the building is planned, Reference must first be made to the Health and Safety file. Only authorised and accredited experts in handling asbestos should be employed for such work. All stages of the wok must be carefully monitored and recorded. All the employees and volunteers must be informed about future works taken via scheduled meetings or written communication. Clear information should be made in writing (poster) and hung in a visible place so that all members of the community approaching the premises can read it. Respiratory protective equipment could be used for workers going to carry out any means of work (even roof checks).
3.3. If the roof is damaged, some repairs can be made. It all depends on the scale of the damage. Cracks and bolt holes in the roof could be fixed by using Eternabond. This tape is a very effective and long lasting way of fixing small cracks and holes, and the result is guaranteed for 10 years. Using MicroSealant Technology, the tape works quickly and takes immediate effect. It has exceptional strength and flexibility, and the repair is guaranteed to last. (11*). Single sheets of the asbestos roof can be repaired by using GRP over the sheet. This is using glass-reinforced plastic (fibreglass) and applying it from the outside of the building. It is also completely waterproof, and no further treatment is necessary.(12*) Larger damages could be fixed by using either: Fibroseal Coatings (All loose fibres and lichen are encapsulated and bound together first with the Fibroseal Primer. The Fibroseal Topcoat then gives a long-lasting protection and a completely weatherproof roof that is also UV and dirt resistant) or: An over-cladding technique, i.e. putting another roof on top of it, normally metal. This is a common technique to use and is the next best method if you don’t want to use a coating. It also adds insulation to the building, reducing further costs for heating (13*)
There are many companies that can be hired to repair damaged roofs. The one I could recommend is The Asbestos Roof Repair Co Ltd based in Woodchester. For a free quote call on 0800 6120 750 and talk to Asbestos Roof Repair team that will suggest the best option for you.
4.After care After establishing what method to use to manage the asbestos containing material, the following steps must be undertaken:
4.1. Record all the decisions made towards fixing the asbestos roof. If the method chosen is for example, fibroseal coatings, after the process is done, a note about it must be kept in the Health and Safety File. Also, a computer record could be an easy way of keeping the details and updating it in the future.
Access to the Health and Safety File should be available on site for the entire life of the premises as far as is reasonably practicable (14*). Anybody involved in working on the roof in the future must be informed about the presence of asbestos in the roof and any potential risks to their health if they disturb it.
4.2. Inform all your workers and volunteers about future maintenance of the roof in both, written and verbal form.
4.3. Leave a warning sign (works with asbestos in progress) on the premises in order to inform any outside people wanting to come onto premises not to do so.
4.4. Check who had access to the roof space and entered it in the past.
Worker exposure must be below the airborne exposure limit (Control Limit). The Asbestos Regulations have a single Control Limit for all types of asbestos of 0.1 fibres per cm3. A Control Limit is the maximum concentration of asbestos fibres in the air (averaged over any continuous 4 hour period) that must not be exceeded.
In addition, short term exposures must be strictly controlled and worker exposure should not exceed 0.6 fibres per cm3 of air averaged over any continuous 10 minute period using respiratory protective equipment if exposure cannot be reduced sufficiently using other means. From http://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/regulations.htm
In circumstances where cases of exposure to asbestos may have occurred, the following issues should be considered:

Ascertain as far as possible the type of asbestos, the likely exposure levels involved and the duration of exposure.(Risk assessment must be checked) Consult with an HSE occupational hygiene inspector to provide a context of overall life-time risk that includes the alleged exposure or contact with appointed doctors such as:
Dr L Singer - Lydia House, 8 Sutherland Boulevard, Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, SS9 3PS -01702 552900
Dr R Doherty -2 The Paddock, Ramsbottom, Bury, Greater Manchester, BL0 9HP- 07831 554033
More available at: http://webcommunities.hse.gov.uk/connect.ti/appointeddoctors Send your employee s to one of them as soon as possible to assess the exposure to the asbestos. Further steps towards managing employee’s health depend on information from the doctors.
5. Removing asbestos
5.1. Asbestos is classified as a category 1 carcinogen, with asbestos related disease causing around 4000 deaths every year in the UK. Work with asbestos requires a high degree of regulatory control and the purpose of licensing is to achieve this.
Here is a list of asbestos licence holders who must be appointed for removing the asbestos from one of the Bolton Wanderers premises. 1st All Services Ltd, Tel. No.01268 794775 A1 Environmental Services Ltd, Tel. No. 01748 818683 Advanced Asbestos Solutions Limited, Tel. No. 01621 742979 McGee Group Limited, Tel, No. 0208 9981101
( more at http://www.arca.org.uk/)
5.2. Inform all the employees and volunteers about the removal of the hazardous material from the premises, in written and verbal form. If possible, assign another place so that they can still work, or give additional time off during works at the premises.
5.3. Make a statement for the local community informing them about the temporal closure of the building and future opening, and any changes that are going to happen (opening times, new machines in the premises to attract visitors (?)
5.4. Leave a warning sign (works with asbestos in progress) on the premises in order to inform any outsiders wanting to come onto premises not to do so.
5.5. Follow the actions described in 4.1
5.6. Removed asbestos waste, should be managed with extra care. Asbestos waste should be double-bagged in heavy duty polythene bags and clearly labelled with the label prescribed for asbestos, before it is transported to a disposal site. The waste can only be disposed of at a site licensed to receive it. Your local authority will have information on licensed sites in the area.
Conclusions
Asbestos is a killer and has to be treated with great respect. It cannot be handled like most building materials. Expert guidance must be sought before any attempt is made to repair or remove asbestos in any form. This report highlights the careful steps that need to be taken. There are no short-cuts.

Appendix:
1. Regulation 4. Duties of owners, occupiers, managing agents and others owners, occupiers,
(1) In this regulation “the dutyholder” means –
(a) every person who has, by virtue of a contract or tenancy, an obligation of any extent in relation to the maintenance or repair of non-domestic premises or any means of access thereto or egress therefrom;
2. Asbestos related disease from http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/causdis/asbestos.htm 3. Families win asbestos payouts in Supreme Court hearing ; http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-12686641
4. Asbestos Regulations require employers to: undertake risk assessments before commencing work which exposes, or is liable to expose, employees to asbestos. Copied from http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/l127.pdf .Under health and safety law, an organisation only has to have one paid employee to be an employer. If you're volunteering for an employer, it must assess any risks to your health and safety and take steps to reduce them. This is the same as if you were a paid employee.http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAndCommunity/Gettinginvolvedinyourcommunity/Volunteering/DG_10038499
5. BS EN ISO/IEC 17024:2003Conformity assessment. General requirements for bodies operating certification of persons British Standards Institution cited from: http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/l127.pdf
6. BS EN ISO/IEC 17020:2004 General criteria for the operation of various types of bodies performing inspection British Standards Institution
7. cited from:. http://www.ukas.com/about-accreditation/about-ukas/ 8 Surveying, sampling and assessment of asbestos-containing materials MDHS100 HSE Books 2001 ISBN 0 7176 2076 X Web version: www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/mdhs/index.htm copied from http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/l127.pdf
9. If the materials are in good condition and are unlikely to be damaged or disturbed, then it is better to leave them in place and to introduce a system of management.
9** The Management Regulations require that suitable labelling/signs are put in place if there are no other appropriate preventive or protective measures. Labelling should conform with the Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996.17
10. If the material is intact, there is no need to remove or interfere with it in any way. Just make sure that it is noted in the records, and that no one interferes with it unless the proper precautions have been taken.
10** Information on the location and condition of any known, or presumed, ACMs must be made available to the emergency services. The fire services in particular need to be made aware that ACMs are in the premises so that they can take the appropriate precautions in an emergency http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/l127.pdf
11, 12, 13 8 Ways To Repair Asbestos Roofs available at: http://www.asbestosroofrepair.co.uk/industrial-roofing/8-easy-ways-to-repair-or-refurbish-your-asbestos-roof/ 14. Asbestos waste, whether this is small amounts of waste or large-scale waste removed by contractors, is subject to waste management controls set out in the appropriate waste regulations, ie The Hazardous Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2005 or The Special Waste Amendment (Scotland) Regulations 2004. Asbestos waste should be double-bagged in heavy duty polythene bags and clearly labelled with the label prescribed for asbestos, before it is transported to a disposal site. The waste can only be disposed of at a site licensed to receive it. Your local authority will have information on licensed sites in the area.