AcePSI Group Asbestos Services

AcePSI offers a wide range of asbestos services to help you deal with and manage health hazards in the workplace. For more information on each of the topics, please follow the links in the headings:

Asbestos Consultants to the Environment (ACE) has been accredited by UKAS to ISO 17020 for asbestos inspection and surveying services since such certification was first made available in 2001. Both asbestos Management Surveys and Refurbishment / Demolition surveys are offered and all are conducted in accordance with the published guideline HSG 264 Asbestos: The Survey Guide.  

Management surveys are undertaken to ensure compliance with Regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations (CAR) 2006, the results being used to compile an asbestos register, assess the risk of exposure to asbestos fibres and prioritise remedial action as part of an ongoing asbestos management plan. Refurbishment / demolition surveys are undertaken to identify all asbestos so that it may be removed prior to any such activity taking place, as required by the CAR 2006.

 Asbestos Services

The use of an accredited laboratory to undertake asbestos surveys is not mandatory under the Asbestos Regulations but the HSG 264 guidance strongly recommends that an accredited organisation be employed. ACE is also accredited by UKAS to ISO 17025 for the sampling and analysis of bulk samples for asbestos content and all such samples are either analysed internally or outsourced to another UKAS accredited laboratory, dependent upon workload.

As well as being accredited to ISO 17020 and ISO 17025 for conducting 4-stage clearance inspections and the issuing of reoccupation certificates following asbestos removal or clean-up operations, ACE is also accredited for all types of air sampling and subsequent assessment of fibre-in-air concentrations. Such monitoring includes:

  • Background monitoring to establish baseline fibre concentrations
  • Leak testing to detect any breaches of asbestos enclosure integrity
  • Clearance testing as part of stage 3 of the 4-stage clearance procedure
  • Reassurance testing following dismantling of the enclosure or following a possible exposure incident
  • Workplace monitoring (static sampling within the work area)
  • Personal sampling for compliance monitoring
  • Personal sampling for confirmation of continued respirator efficacy

ACE is also licensed by the HSE to supervise the removal and safe disposal of asbestos containing materials. This service can be offered to customers as a project management / auditing role (i.e. not requiring a licence / notification) where no direct supervision of the contractor is required. In either case, the appointment of a supervisory licence holder or manager / auditor, whilst not mandatory, can assist the customer to discharge their liabilities incurred under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

Other asbestos related consulting services offered include:

  • The preparation of specifications for remediation
  • The preparation of risk assessments and method statements (RAMS)
  • Exposure evaluations
  • Investigatory and experimental work
  • Site meetings and tender evaluations
  • Expert witness

Telephone advice is given (without prejudice) free of charge to all existing customers and to most potential customers as well. Client confidentiality is taken very seriously and no information is released to third parties without the written consent of our customer (court orders excepted).

Occupational hygiene has been described as the anticipation, identification, evaluation and control of health risks arising out of work activities. As such, it encompasses a wide field but focuses mainly on the following:

  • Chemical hazards, such as dusts, fibres, gases, vapours, mists etc. which may be present as airborne contaminants or skin irritants.
  • Physical hazards, such as noise, vibration, extremes of temperature or pressure, ionizing or non-ionizing radiation etc.
  • Biological hazards such as spores, fungi, bacteria (including legionella), viruses or pathogenic agents.
  • Ergonomic hazards such as poor workstation design, inadequate illumination, work activity patterns, shift-work problems, slippery surfaces, etc.

Asbestos management is a specialised part of occupational hygiene and forms the bulk of our involvement in this field. However, we also offer expertise in most of the related areas listed above. ACE’s Senior Consultant is an experienced occupational hygienist with many years involvement in the field, including the identification, evaluation and control of the myriad of health hazards associated with deep-level metallurgical mining operations, collieries, base and precious metals refining, wire and wire-rope manufacturing, non-ferrous metals production, vanadium mining and processing, lead-acid battery manufacture and recycling, and forestry operations. His experience also extends into areas such as indoor air quality, mining and industrial ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration of mines and buildings, stack-emission monitoring, air pollution control and industrial ergonomics. Consequently, although as yet not a major focus area of our business, ACE is able to provide its customers with credible advice and guidance on most aspects of occupational hygiene. As a minimum, we can advise on whether your existing arrangements comply with current legislation and if any corrective action on your part may be required.

Asbestos Consultants to the Environment’s training division offers standard and bespoke courses covering all aspects of asbestos management, from basic asbestos awareness training (Category A) through licensed (Category C) and non-licensed (Category B) contractor training to asbestos proficiency modules leading to the award of British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS) professional qualifications. ACE is currently a Category A, B and C member of the United Kingdom Asbestos Training Association (UKATA) and a BOHS recognised course provider, both of which require annual auditing to maintain our membership status.

We are currently considering whether to maintain our UKATA membership or move to the IATP (Independent Asbestos Training Providers) which appears to be more flexible and less prescriptive in its approach, whilst still ensuring full legal compliance by its members and their customers. ACE’s membership of either association is to help its customers demonstrate that they have selected a competent organisation to provide their training. When and if membership of an association begins to impact on our customers (e.g. by prescribing certain practices to its members that we feel are over-prescriptive and unnecessary) then we will review our continued membership of such an association, as we are currently in the process of so doing.

Please note that it is not a legal requirement to engage the asbestos services of either a UKATA or IATP member; only that you ensure that the person or organisation employed is competent to provide the training required. Membership of either UKATA or the IATP (both of which are referred to on the HSE web-site although no endorsement is given or implied) can facilitate this, but other providers can also be used – it is just perhaps more difficult for such providers to demonstrate their competence to their potential customers.

For more information about any of our asbestos services click here for a quick contact and one of our asbestos consultants will contact you shortly.