What to Do If You Find or Disturb Suspected Asbestos

What to do immediately

I have attended many buildings where a small drilling or maintenance incident became harder to manage because someone tried to tidy the dust first. The right first response is restraint. Leave the material and debris where they are, keep movement through the area to a minimum and record what happened from a safe position.

1. Stop the task, including nearby work that could move dust.
2. Ask everyone to leave without walking through debris.
3. Close doors and restrict access with a clear warning notice.
4. Switch off local fans, air conditioning and ventilation where this can be done without re-entering the affected area.
5. Leave tools, dust sheets, clothing and debris in place for assessment.
6. Arrange professional sampling and advice on whether specialist cleaning is required.

Where a workplace is involved, tell the responsible manager and record the incident under the organisation’s health and safety procedure. A significant release or suspected exposure may need further assessment by the employer’s competent health and safety adviser.

Do not clean suspected asbestos debris yourself

Domestic and ordinary workplace vacuum cleaners are not suitable for asbestos debris. Fine fibres can pass through inadequate filtration or be released when the machine is emptied. Sweeping and dry brushing are equally poor choices because they put settled dust back into the air.

Do not put fragments into general waste, even when double-bagged. Confirmed asbestos waste is subject to controlled handling, carriage and disposal arrangements. Do not break off another piece for comparison or take a casual sample from an undamaged edge.

If the material is intact

An intact material in sound condition is usually not an immediate incident. Leave it alone and prevent drilling, cutting, sanding, scraping or fixing into it until it has been identified. Materials used before 2000 deserve particular attention because asbestos remained in widespread building use until the final UK prohibition in 1999.

Typical finds include textured coatings on ceilings and walls, thermoplastic floor tiles and black adhesive, asbestos insulating board around heaters and service risers, cement roof sheets, soffits, rainwater goods, boiler flues, pipe insulation and sprayed coatings. Age and appearance can raise or lower suspicion, but laboratory analysis is needed to confirm whether asbestos is present.

A single localised material may only require controlled sampling. Where several suspect products are present, records are poor or future work will affect the building fabric, an asbestos survey is usually the better instruction. Details of controlled sampling are covered under asbestos testing.

What professional sampling should establish

The assessor should first consider the material type, condition, extent of damage and likelihood that dust has travelled. Sampling must be planned so that taking the sample does not create a larger problem. The sample is then analysed by a laboratory competent in asbestos identification.

A negative result normally allows the asbestos precautions to be lifted, subject to any other hazards from the damaged material. A positive result does not automatically mean wholesale removal. Sound asbestos-containing materials can often remain in place under management. Damaged materials may need sealing, repair, enclosure or removal, while loose debris may require controlled cleaning and reassurance air testing depending on the circumstances.

Workplaces, communal areas and the asbestos register

For non-domestic premises and common parts of multi-occupancy domestic buildings, confirmed or presumed asbestos must be considered under the duty to manage. The record should identify its location and condition, assess the risk of disturbance and set out how that risk will be controlled.

The HSE guidance on the duty to manage asbestos covers the dutyholder’s responsibilities. Our duty to manage guidance deals with registers, management plans, inspections and information for contractors.

Information to have ready

From outside the restricted area, note the building age, room, material location, work undertaken, tool used, approximate damaged area and whether visible dust or fragments are present. Photographs taken from the doorway can help, provided nobody re-enters or crosses contaminated debris to obtain them.

Also record whether ventilation was running, whether people walked through the area and whether dusty clothing or tools were removed. These details help the assessor judge the likely spread and prepare suitable controls.