Online Asbestos awareness.

[Leesparkykent]

What a joke this is, Just had to do it online as existing one expired. Skipped the lot and got to the exam and completed it in 2mins 50. How this can prove you know anything about asbestos is beyond me.

 

[DuaneMHunt1976]

I did one of them at the start of the year, telling me the different types and what year it was band in etc

Took me a few days to try and figure out what the Test was, looking up the different bodies that can give awards
and printing off my own Cert

 

[Leesparkykent]

I did one of them at the start of the year, telling me the different types and what year it was band in etc

Took me a few days to try and figure out what the Test was, looking up the different bodies that can give awards
and printing off my own Cert

yeah I've just printed off my own cert. £25 +vat on UKasl.co.uk

 

[HappyHippyDad]

Its just so you can tick the health and safety boxes isn't it Lee. I have just been on an asbestos awareness course and the vast majority wasn't applicable. The chap also said I was the first sole trader they've had that signed up for the course as usually its just companies needing to be able to tick a box so they send their employee's on the course.

I suppose the only thing I took away from the course was that the white asbestos is still dangerous and watch out for artex ceilings, and cement panels installed before the year 2000. I could have found that from the internet though!

It is a bit scary though. If you walk into a house built in 1970 which has artex ceilings which you need to start drilling into do you just pop a FFP3 mask on and hope for the best whilst all the fibres (which may or may not have asbestos) start covering your hair and clothes??

 

[Richard Burns]

Its just so you can tick the health and safety boxes isn't it Lee. I have just been on an asbestos awareness course and the vast majority wasn't applicable. The chap also said I was the first sole trader they've had that signed up for the course as usually its just companies needing to be able to tick a box so they send their employee's on the course.

I suppose the only thing I took away from the course was that the white asbestos is still dangerous and watch out for artex ceilings, and cement panels installed before the year 2000. I could have found that from the internet though!

It is a bit scary though. If you walk into a house built in 1970 which has artex ceilings which you need to start drilling into do you just pop a FFP3 mask on and hope for the best whilst all the fibres (which may or may not have asbestos) start covering your hair and clothes??

I may be out of date but I thought that if you were drilling a single hole into asbestos containing material (for which you do not need to be registered) you had to have systems in place to prevent the release of fibres into the atmosphere.
It is not only your hair and clothes that would be a problem, it is also the customers house into which you have released asbestos fibres.

Also although white asbestos is potentially dangerous it's level of danger is orders of magnitude below that for blue and brown asbestos.

 

[Andy78]

I may be out of date but I thought that if you were drilling a single hole into asbestos containing material (for which you do not need to be registered) you had to have systems in place to prevent the release of fibres into the atmosphere.
It is not only your hair and clothes that would be a problem, it is also the customers house into which you have released asbestos fibres.

Also although white asbestos is potentially dangerous it's level of danger is orders of magnitude below that for blue and brown asbestos.

Yes exactly.
You could for example end up in a situation where you drill an artex ceiling at a client's request, someone identifies it as potential white asbestos, the customer has carted the rubbish away to the tip in their merc, and suddenly your insurance company is being asked to pay for a new merc, a few rooms full of replacement furniture, hotel bills and professional cleaning services.
Squeaky bum time indeed.

 

[Leesparkykent]

A H&S elf told me that he knew of a case where british gas had to weigh out 18 grand where they had lifted a floor standing boiler off an asbestos board. I don't know the ins and outs but they must of caused contamination within the property or something to have to pay the customer 18 grand.

 

[HappyHippyDad]

So what do you guys do when you drill any holes in an artex ceiling? There are a lot of houses with artex ceilings pre the year 2000 when white asbestos was banned. What if you only need to drill one hole for one light?

Do you get it tested every time at a cost of £30?
Do you kit up fully with overalls, mask etc just for a single hole every time you drill into a ceiling with artex? Even then, like Richard has said the fibres are still falling over the customers house... perhaps spraying with water before drilling is enough?

I personally think I would ask the home owner if they know whether or not the house has any asbestos in it. If they say 'no' then this gives me a 'little' more piece if mind. If they say 'don't know' then I'm back to the above questions!

 

[Richard Burns]

My terms and conditions specify that the customer must advise me of any health and safety issues before starting work, if I am not so advised and my dynamic risk assessment does not bring this to the fore, then I carry on.

I believe shaving foam is a suggested solution to dust containment, the area is covered in foam and renewed during drilling, the residual waste is then treated as asbestos contaminated material, contained in double bags, labelled appropriately and sent for suitable disposal.

I am sure this is what everyone does for all potential asbestos risks!

 

[Spoon]

My house was built in the last 60's It had an artex half circular pattern on all the ceilings when I first moved in. They are now plastered over. Put lots of holes in it in the past years. Hope its not got any asbestos in it....

 

[Risteard]

So what do you guys do when you drill any holes in an artex ceiling? There are a lot of houses with artex ceilings pre the year 2000 when white asbestos was banned. What if you only need to drill one hole for one light?

Although Asbestos was used up until around the year 2000 it ceased to be used in Artex (and other textured coatings?) around the mid-80s I believe.

But generally speaking don't drill Artex unless you are certain it isn't Asbestos. Or at least follow ALL OF THE GUIDELINES laid down by the HSE, including Class H hoover and all the rest of it.

 

[alanl]

I despair.
You've done the Awareness course, you should now know that you do not drill it if you suspect it is any sort of asbestos.

As stated above, there are numerous different types, and some can be worked, with limitations, but you must be aware of what type it is, if you dont, then you dont get the drill out.
It isnt just you, the fibres will fall onto you, go through the house you are working on, blow off you onto anyoen near to you, then you'll be taking the fibres home with you, where the family will get the chance to breathe the dust.
Dont touch it.

 

[HappyHippyDad]

I despair.
You've done the Awareness course, you should now know that you do not drill it if you suspect it is any sort of asbestos.

As stated above, there are numerous different types, and some can be worked, with limitations, but you must be aware of what type it is, if you dont, then you dont get the drill out.
It isnt just you, the fibres will fall onto you, go through the house you are working on, blow off you onto anyoen near to you, then you'll be taking the fibres home with you, where the family will get the chance to breathe the dust.
Dont touch it.

During the asbestos awareness course it is made very clear that it is impossible to know what does and doesn't have asbestos in it without getting it tested. They spend very little time telling/showing you which products may or may not have asbestos in them, even then it is a few quick pictures on a small screen. Nobody in the group including the speaker could give an answer when I asked if I should get all artex ceilings, lagging, eaves tested every single time before drilling the smallest of holes for perhaps just a single light that may only be a 30 minute job. The speaker said the correct thing to tell you is to get to get it tested, however he admitted in reality (for the smaller sole trader) this just isn't possible otherwise you would never get the job as your prices would always be higher.

I think having the confidence to ask these type of questions is important as you then get an idea of what other electricians do in practice and you get it being talked about more and raise some awareness .

 

[Brightspark2]

I did an online one, it was quite good, you couldn't skip any of it and there was questions you had to answer throughout. Took a few hours iirc.

But as said it's all about ticking boxes...