Construction & Contractors Blog
A commercial asbestos contractor should be your first call when conducting asbestos abatement work on your property. Vetting the contractor goes a long way in helping establish their competence. Below are a few questions to ask your commercial asbestos contractor.
1. What Is Your Experience?
Commercial asbestos contractors in Australia must have a valid operating licence. The licence guarantees the contractor comprehends the safety protocols required to conduct asbestos abatement works. You must also evaluate the experience of the abatement crew. For instance, do they have requisite training in abatement work? Do they have a high-risk work licence? As a rule of thumb, the commercial asbestos contractor must have adequate insurance to cover the abatement crew, client, and third parties.
2. Do You Conduct Inspections?
Inspections are an essential aspect of the abatement process. Ideally, the contractor examines the property to establish the volume and type of asbestos they need to abate. The law requires you to remove friable asbestos. However, it would be wise if you removed friable and non-friable at once. Although non-friable asbestos might not pose an immediate threat to building occupants, deterioration and structural damages during renovation work could make the asbestos friable.
During inspections, the contractor prepares a report detailing the location and volume of asbestos on the roof, floors, walls, ceiling, insulation, pipe lagging, and water tanks. The report also contains a risk profile detailing urgent and long-term abatement works. It also contains asbestos management measures. For example, besides abatement, you could mark locations with asbestos contamination and prohibit non-qualified personnel from accessing such areas.
3. How Do You Remove The Asbestos?
The contractor should explain the safety measures they intend to take when conducting asbestos abatement. For example, they could ask tenants to vacate the building to ensure they do not inhale asbestos fibres during removal. The contractor must also provide the abatement crew with safety gear to protect them from asbestos contamination. The abatement crew must take measures to contain the asbestos and prevent the dispersal of its fibres. For instance, they could dampen the asbestos before abatement. Moreover, they should avoid using power tools or breaking the material.
The abatement crew must seal the asbestos in approved plastic bags after removal. As a rule, the contractor must dispose of the asbestos in approved landfills or store it in an accredited asbestos storage facility. Post-abatement clean-up involves using approved vacuum cleaners to remove any asbestos on the surfaces. The contractor then conducts an air test before commissioning the building as safe to occupy.
For more info, contact a local company like Lightning Asbestos and Demolition Services.
Share2 March 2023
Hello, my name is Colin and this is my construction blog. When people think of the construction industry, they often just imagine guys in hard hats building brick walls. While this is a popular image of the industry, it doesn't reflect the true diversity of different contractors and tradesmen who are involved in a construction project. Lasy year, my wife and I decided to construct our dream home. I had to arrange visits of plumbers, roofers, electricians, surveyors and home builders in order to get the job done. I learnt a lot during that experience, so I decided to start this blog.