Asbestos

ISO 45001:2018 Clause 8.1.2 · Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 · HSE L143 — Identification, avoidance and management of asbestos-containing materials

Procedure overview

A M Water Services treats every excavation, demolition, repair or strip-out activity as potentially involving asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) until proven otherwise. The water-industry asset stock includes asbestos cement (AC) pipework, pipe joints, gaskets, lagging on legacy installations, and incidental ACMs in associated structures. The Site Supervisor confirms an asbestos survey has been completed and reviews the results before work starts; all operatives have current asbestos awareness training (UKATA, refreshed within the last 12 months). If ACMs are discovered or suspected during work, the operative stops work immediately, contacts the Site Supervisor, and the area is treated as contaminated until cleared. Removal of ACMs is undertaken only by a licensed (HSE-licensed for licensed work) or notifiable-non-licensed-work-trained (NNLW) asbestos specialist contractor — never by AMWS direct labour. Health surveillance for any AMWS operative who has been exposed is arranged under SOP 8.7. Records are retained for 40 years per the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012.

Asbestos — Process Flow

Site Supervisor & HSQE Consultant

Jason May
Sean Ashton

Survey & Plan

Could asbestos containing materials (ACMs) be present?

End process — proceed under standard RAMS

Yes

Establish if asbestos surveys have been completed and obtain results

Ensure all operatives who may encounter ACMs have completed UKATA Asbestos Awareness training within the past 12 months

Plan the work taking into account the hazards identified; complete a site-specific RAMS

OHS Hazard Assessment

Brief site-specific RAMS to staff and record briefing

Operatives & Site Supervisor

Trained operatives
Jason May (escalation)

Work, Discover, Escalate

Start work under the briefed RAMS

If ACMs are suspected and the work activity will disturb them: STOP work immediately and call Site Supervisor

STOP work until an asbestos specialist has observed the worksite and samples have been tested

ACMs confirmed present?

Resume work under original RAMS

Yes

Abort work; arrange removal of asbestos materials with approved licensed (or NNLW-trained) asbestos specialist contractor

ACMs removed?

Yes

Commence work and complete the job under the original RAMS

Do not commence; await specialist clearance certificate

Where any AMWS operative has been potentially exposed, arrange health surveillance under SOP 8.7; report incident under SOP 8.1 (RIDDOR Schedule 2 dangerous occurrence)

Process / Activity

Decision Point

Document / Cross-reference

Continue / Approve

STOP / Escalate

Licensed vs notifiable non-licensed work (NNLW) vs non-licensed

The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 distinguishes three categories. AMWS does not perform licensed or higher-risk NNLW removal in-house — specialist contractors are engaged. AMWS may perform non-licensed work where the risk assessment confirms it falls in the lowest category and operatives hold appropriate training.

Category	Examples	Required competence
Licensed work — HSE licence required	Removal of sprayed coatings, lagging, pipe insulation containing asbestos; most work with friable / loose ACMs; demolition where ACMs present in significant quantities	HSE-licensed contractor only; AMWS cannot self-perform
Notifiable Non-Licensed Work (NNLW) — notify HSE 14 days before work; medical surveillance; record-keeping	Maintenance / repair work disturbing AC pipe gaskets; small-scale removal of textured coatings (e.g. Artex) where exposure could exceed control limit briefly; cleaning up after asbestos disturbance	NNLW-trained contractor with medicals, record-keeping; AMWS uses approved NNLW specialist
Non-licensed work — awareness training sufficient; no notification	Removing intact AC pipework where exposure is below control limit and short-duration; removing small ACM screws/fasteners; sampling for survey purposes by competent surveyor	UKATA Asbestos Awareness (12-month refresher) + task-specific training; AMWS may self-perform in this category subject to RAMS sign-off

Key thresholds (Control Limit): 0.1 fibres/cm³ measured over a 4-hour reference period. Any work likely to exceed this requires licensed treatment. AC pipe in water mains: AMWS encounters AC pipe routinely on legacy network maintenance — treat every cut/break/joint operation on AC pipe as a potential ACM disturbance per Method Statements 3.9.1 and 3.10. Rule on discovery: if an unidentified material may be ACM, treat it as ACM until proven otherwise — sample, isolate the area, and engage a UKAS-accredited analytical laboratory for confirmation. Health surveillance retention: records of any potential asbestos exposure are retained for 40 years per CAR 2012 reg. 22.

Asbestos

Asbestos — Process Flow

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